Editing Quantization (signal processing) (section)

===Rate–distortion optimization===
''[[Rate–distortion theory|Rate–distortion optimized]]'' quantization is encountered in [[source coding]] for lossy data compression algorithms, where the purpose is to manage distortion within the limits of the [[bit rate]] supported by a communication channel or storage medium. The analysis of quantization in this context involves studying the amount of data (typically measured in digits or bits or bit ''rate'') that is used to represent the output of the quantizer and studying the loss of precision that is introduced by the quantization process (which is referred to as the ''distortion'').