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The DSP performs the MP3 encoding and saves the file to memory. This analog signal is then converted to a digital signal by an analog-to-digital converter and passed to the DSP. During the recording phase, analog audio is input through a receiver or other source. To illustrate this concept, the diagram below shows how a DSP is used in an MP3 audio player. It does this in one of two ways, either digitally or in an analog format by going through a Digital-to-Analog converter. It then feeds the digitized information back for use in the real world. From here, the DSP takes over by capturing the digitized information and processing it.
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Converters such as an Analog-to-Digital converter then take the real-world signal and turn it into the digital format of 1's and 0's. In the real-world, analog products detect signals such as sound, light, temperature or pressure and manipulate them.
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Signals need to be processed so that the information that they contain can be displayed, analyzed, or converted to another type of signal that may be of use. A DSP is designed for performing mathematical functions like "add", "subtract", "multiply" and "divide" very quickly. Digital Signal Processors (DSP) take real-world signals like voice, audio, video, temperature, pressure, or position that have been digitized and then mathematically manipulate them.
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