by Rose Wyman, ValuLink Technology Solutions
Analog phone lines. Analog signals. Digital security. Digital PBX. What does it all mean? In the telecom world, understanding analog versus digital isn't as simple as comparing one technology to another. It depends on what product—and in some cases, which product feature—you happen to be talking about.
Is one technology better than the other?
Analog technology has been around for decades. It's not that complicated a concept and it's fairly inexpensive to use. That's why we can buy a $20 telephone or watch a few TV stations with the use of a well-placed antenna. The trouble is, analog signals have size limitations as to how much data they can carry. So with our $20 phones and inexpensive TVs, we only get so much.
Analog lines, also referred to as POTS lines (Plain Old Telephone Service), support standard phones, fax machines, and modems. These are the lines typically found in your home or small office.
Digital technology breaks your voice (or television) signal into binary code—a series of 1s and 0s—transfers it to the other end where another device (phone, modem or TV) takes all the numbers and reassembles them into the original signal. The beauty of digital is that it knows what it should be when it reaches the end of the transmission. That way, it can correct any errors that may have occurred in the data transfer. What does all that mean to you? Clarity. In most cases, you'll get distortion-free conversations.
You'll get more, too. The nature of digital technology allows it to cram lots of those 1s and 0s together into the same space an analog signal uses. Like your button-rich phone at work or your 200-plus digital cable service, that means more features can be crammed into the digital signal.
Digital lines are found in large, corporate phone systems.
These fundamentals are key to the understanding of new technologies and services.
Next time we begin converting and connecting from the foundation.
Analog phone lines. Analog signals. Digital security. Digital PBX. What does it all mean? In the telecom world, understanding analog versus digital isn't as simple as comparing one technology to another. It depends on what product—and in some cases, which product feature—you happen to be talking about.
Is one technology better than the other?
Analog At a Glance
As a technology, analog is the process of taking an audio or video signal (in most cases, the human voice) and translating it into electronic pulses.Analog technology has been around for decades. It's not that complicated a concept and it's fairly inexpensive to use. That's why we can buy a $20 telephone or watch a few TV stations with the use of a well-placed antenna. The trouble is, analog signals have size limitations as to how much data they can carry. So with our $20 phones and inexpensive TVs, we only get so much.
Analog lines, also referred to as POTS lines (Plain Old Telephone Service), support standard phones, fax machines, and modems. These are the lines typically found in your home or small office.
Enter Digital
"Digital" is a song by the band Joy Division that is featured on the compilation albums Substance, Heart and Soul, and Still. But that's not what we're talking about here. Just want to make sure you're paying attention!Digital technology breaks your voice (or television) signal into binary code—a series of 1s and 0s—transfers it to the other end where another device (phone, modem or TV) takes all the numbers and reassembles them into the original signal. The beauty of digital is that it knows what it should be when it reaches the end of the transmission. That way, it can correct any errors that may have occurred in the data transfer. What does all that mean to you? Clarity. In most cases, you'll get distortion-free conversations.
You'll get more, too. The nature of digital technology allows it to cram lots of those 1s and 0s together into the same space an analog signal uses. Like your button-rich phone at work or your 200-plus digital cable service, that means more features can be crammed into the digital signal.
Digital lines are found in large, corporate phone systems.
Why do I care about this information, you ask?
Well, how the telephone system and industry work, provide the essential foundation on which everything else, including digital communications, data circuits and networking are built.These fundamentals are key to the understanding of new technologies and services.
Next time we begin converting and connecting from the foundation.
