This mixed-signal component acts as the bridge between digital processing systems and the analog real world. It takes a stream of digital words and outputs proportional analog steps, which are usually smoothed by a reconstruction filter. Their performance is defined by resolution in bits and sampling rate, dictating how accurately they can synthesize audio, video, or RF waveforms.
The audio output sounds gritty because the DAC is only running at 8 bits of resolution.
Also heard as
- D/A converter
Related terms
Analog-to-digital converter
A mixed-signal circuit component that translates continuous physical voltages into discrete digital numbers.
Quantize
The process of mapping a continuous range of analog signal values to a finite set of discrete digital levels.
Signal processing
The mathematical manipulation of physical data streams to filter, compress, or extract information.