LexBrew
Usage Entry 1467 / 1605 60-second read

Analogue vs. Digital

A continuous representation versus a discrete representation.

The comparisoni

✗ Wrong

A vinyl record is digital.

✓ Correct

A vinyl record is ANALOGUE — sound is encoded as continuous physical waves in the groove. DIGITAL representations are discrete numbers (CDs, streaming).

The ruleii

ANALOGUE = continuous. DIGITAL = discrete.

ANALOGUE signals are continuous physical analogues of the original (vinyl grooves, magnetic tape). DIGITAL signals are sampled and quantised — represented as numbers (1s and 0s). Same audio can be either; the encoding differs.

Memory aidiii

Remember it like this

Wavy vs counted.

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