View source for Lecture 1, 8/24/2009 (ECE 438 Fall09) - Rhea

[[Category:ECE438 (BoutinFall2009)]]
== ECE 438 ==

'''Q:''' What is ECE 438 about?

'''A:''' Digital signals and systems.


'''Q:''' What is a digital signal?

'''A:''' A signal that can be represented by a sequence of 0's and 1's.
*The signal must be discrete time (D.T.):
**x[n], n &isin; Z
*The signal values must come from a discrete and finite signal.
**e.g. x[n] &isin; {0,1}
**e.g. x[n] &isin; {0,1,2,3,...,255} (grayscale values)


== The Digital System ==

[[Image:Digitalsystem.png|frameless|upright=3]]

Three main types:
*Software (MATLAB, C program)
*Firmware
*Hardware


== Advantages of Digital Signals & Systems ==

Digital Systems are:
*Precise
*Reproducible
*Easy to build
*Adaptable
*Easy to upgrade/fix
*Can be saved on a bistable storage device


== The Continuous Time World and The Discrete Time World ==

[[Image:Worlds.png|frameless|upright=3]]

'''The Continuous Time (C.T.) World'''
*Most natural signals live here
*Things are intuitive
*Easy math

'''The Discrete Time (D.T.) World'''
*Digital media lives here, along with computers, MATLAB, and digital circuits.

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