Digital-to-analog converter
In electronics, a
digital-to-analog converter is a function that converts digital data into an analog signal. An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse function. Unlike analog signals, digital data can be transmitted, manipulated, and stored without degradation, albeit with more complex equipment. But a DAC is needed to convert the digital signal to analog to drive an earphone or loudspeaker amplifier in order to produce sound. DACs and their inverse, ADCs, are part of an enabling technology that has contributed greatly to the digital revolution. To illustrate, consider a typical long-distance telephone call. The caller's voice is converted into an analog electrical signal by a microphone, then the analog signal is converted to a digital stream by an ADC. The digital stream is then divided into packets where it may be mixed with other digital data, not necessarily audio. The digital packets are then sent to the destination, but each packet may take a completely different route and may not even arrive at the destination in the correct time order. The digital voice data is then extracted from the packets and assembled into a digital data stream.