Editing Digital recording

{{Short description|Audio or video represented as a stream of discrete numbers}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2023}}
{{Broader|Digital audio}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2009}}
[[File:Zoom H4n audio recording levels.jpg|thumb|Audio levels display on a digital audio recorder ([[Zoom H4n]])]]

In '''digital recording''', an [[audio signal|audio]] or [[video signal]] is converted into a stream of [[discrete number]]s representing the changes over time in [[air pressure]] for audio, or [[Color|chroma]] and [[luminance]] values for video.  This number stream is saved to a storage device.  To play back a digital recording, the numbers are retrieved and converted back into their original [[analog signal|analog]] audio or video forms so that they can be heard or seen.

In a properly matched [[analog-to-digital converter]] (ADC) and [[digital-to-analog converter]] (DAC) pair, the analog signal is accurately reconstructed, within the constraints of the [[Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem]], which dictates the [[sampling rate]] and [[quantization error]] dependent on the [[Audio bit depth|audio]] or [[Bit depth (computer graphics)|video bit depth]]. Because the signal is stored digitally, assuming proper [[error detection and correction]], the recording is not degraded by copying, storage or interference.

== Timeline ==
*October 3, 1938: British telephone engineer [[Alec Harley Reeves]] files at the [[French Patent Office]] the first patent describing the technique known today as [[pulse-code modulation]] (PCM). On November 22, 1939, Reeves files also in the US.<ref>{{cite web|title=Patent US2272070: Electric signaling system|url=https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/eb/8e/9f/32ad53d114d2d6/US2272070.pdf|publisher=United States Patent Office|access-date=23 December 2017}}</ref><ref>[http://www.privateline.com/TelephoneHistory2/reeves.html Robertson, David. ''Alec Reeves 1902–1971'' Privateline.com: Telephone History.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511182503/http://www.privateline.com/TelephoneHistory2/reeves.html |date=2014-05-11 }} Accessed November 14, 2009</ref> It was first proposed as a [[telephony]] technology.<ref name="Fine">{{cite journal |author=Thomas Fine |year=2008 |title=The dawn of commercial digital recording |journal=[[ARSC Journal]] |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=1–17 |url=http://www.aes.org/aeshc/pdf/fine_dawn-of-digital.pdf}}</ref>
*1943: [[Bell Telephone Laboratories]] develops the first PCM-based digital scrambled speech transmission system, [[SIGSALY]],<ref>[http://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/center_crypt_history/publications/sigsaly_story.shtml#3 J. V. Boone, J. V., Peterson R. R.: ''Sigsaly – The Start of the Digital Revolution''] Accessed November 14, 2009</ref> in response to German interception of military telephone traffic during [[World War II]].  The twelve transmission points were retired after the war.
*June 1950: [[Differential pulse-code modulation]] (DPCM) developed by [[C. Chapin Cutler]] at Bell Labs.<ref>U.S. patent 2605361, C. Chapin Cutler, [https://patents.google.com/patent/US2605361 "Differential Quantization of Communication Signals"], filed June 29, 1950, issued July 29, 1952</ref>
*1957: [[Max Mathews]] of Bell Labs recorded the first computer-generated music, a 17-second piece called "The Silver Scale" composed by his co-worker Newman Guttman.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/the-first-computer-musician/ | title=The First Computer Musician | date=9 June 2011 }}</ref>
*1967: The first commercial PCM encoder ([[monaural]]) was developed by [[NHK]]'s research facilities in Japan.<ref name="Fine"/> The 30&nbsp;kHz 12-bit device used a [[compander]] (similar to [[Dbx (noise reduction)|DBX Noise Reduction]]) to extend the dynamic range, and stored the signals on a [[video tape recorder]].
*1969: NHK expands the PCM encoder's capabilities to two-channel [[stereo]] and 32&nbsp;kHz 13-bit resolution.<ref name="Fine" />
*1969: The [[charge-coupled device]], the first image sensor used in digital imaging, invented by [[Willard S. Boyle]] and [[George E. Smith]] at Bell Labs,<ref>{{Cite book | title = Scientific charge-coupled devices | author = James R. Janesick | publisher = SPIE Press | year = 2001 | isbn = 978-0-8194-3698-6 | pages = 3–4 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3GyE4SWytn4C&pg=PA3 }}</ref> based on [[MOS capacitor]] technology.<ref name="Williams">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=J. B. |title=The Electronics Revolution: Inventing the Future |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319490885 |pages=245–8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v4QlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA245}}</ref>
*1970: [[James Russell (inventor)|James Russell]] patents the first digital-to-optical recording and playback system,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US3501586.pdf|title=Patent US 3501586: Analog to digital to optical photographic recording and playback system.|publisher=United States Patent Office}}</ref> which would later lead to the [[Compact Disc]].
*January 1971: Using NHK's experimental PCM recording system, Dr. Takeaki Anazawa, an engineer at [[Denon]], records '''the world's first commercial digital recordings''', ''The World Of Stomu Yamash'ta 1 & 2'' by [[Stomu Yamash'ta]] (January 11, 1971)<ref name="Fine" />  and ''Something'' by [[Steve Marcus]] & Jiro Inagaki (January 25, 1971). Both had to be recorded live, without edits.  Marcus is released first (on LP, in February 1972), making it the '''first released digital recording'''.  On January 27 Yamash'ta records ''Metempsychosis'' in the Nippon Columbia studio, Tokyo, with percussion and a brass section.
*1972: Using lessons learned from the NHK encoder, [[Denon]] unveils a desk-sized 8-channel PCM encoder, the DN-023R, which uses 47.25&nbsp;kHz 13-bit PCM resolution and 4-head open reel broadcast [[video tape recorder]].<ref name="Fine"/> The first recording with this new system is the [[Smetana Quartet]] performing [[Mozart]]'s ''String Quartets [[String Quartet No. 17 (Mozart)|K.458]] and [[String Quartet No. 15 (Mozart)|K.421]]'', recorded in Tokyo April 24–26 and released that October.  At least six other Denon-recorded digital [[LP record]]s are released in October, including jazz, classical and traditional Japanese music.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Studio-Sound-IDX/IDX/80s/Studio-Sound-1988-07-OCR-Page-0062.pdf |title=D/D/Denon |magazine=Studio Sound |date=July 1988 |access-date=2023-04-06}}</ref><ref name="Fine"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Nozomi-Aoki-Columbia-New-Sound-Orchestra-Genso-Kumikyoku-Nippon-Fantasic-Suite-Japan/release/12589188|title = 青木望, コロムピア・ニューサウンド・オーケストラ – 幻想組曲 日本 (1972, Gatefold, Vinyl)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
*1973: [[Adaptive differential pulse-code modulation]] (ADPCM) developed by P. Cummiskey, [[Nikil Jayant]] and [[James L. Flanagan]] at Bell Labs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cummiskey |first1=P. |last2=Jayant |first2=Nikil S. |last3=Flanagan |first3=James L. |title=Adaptive quantization in differential PCM coding of speech |journal=[[The Bell System Technical Journal]] |date=1973 |volume=52 |issue=7 |pages=1105–1118 |doi=10.1002/j.1538-7305.1973.tb02007.x}}</ref>
*December 2–3, 1974: The [[Jean-François Paillard|Paillard Chamber Orchestra]] records the '''first digital recording outside Japan''', in [[Paris]]' [[Notre Dame Cathedral]], using Denon's newly developed second-generation compact DN-023RA. [[Bach]]'s "[[The Musical Offering]]" (BWV 1079) is released on LP May 1975.<ref name="Fine"/>
*December 12–19, 1974: [[Helmuth Rilling]] records three [[Bach]] organ works inside the Gedächtniskirche, [[Stuttgart]] Germany using the DN-023RA.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/JS-Bach-Helmuth-Rilling-Organ-Works/release/5697765|title=J.S. Bach, Helmuth Rilling – Organ Works (1983, Vinyl)|website=[[Discogs]]}}</ref> Between 1974 and 1977 over 250 PCM recordings are made by Denon, the majority recorded in Japan.
*May 1975: [[University of Utah]] professor [[Thomas Stockham]] develops a PCM digital audio recorder of his own design, using computer tape drives as the storage system. He founds the company [[Soundstream]] to offer it commercially.<ref name="arpjournal.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.arpjournal.com/asarpwp/soundstream-the-introduction-of-commercial-digital-recording-in-the-united-states/|title = Journal on the Art of Record Production » Soundstream: The Introduction of Commercial Digital Recording in the United States}}</ref>  Between 1977 and 1980 a total of eighteen 4-channel 50&nbsp;kHz 16-bit units were manufactured, of which seven were sold at about US$150,000 ({{inflation|US|150000|1975|fmt=eq}}) each. Over 200 recordings were made on his equipment, almost as many as the Denon PCM.<ref name="arpjournal.com"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/recording/stockham.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020305014118/http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/recording/stockham.html |archive-date=2002-03-05 |title=Tom Stockham and Digital Audio Recording}}</ref>
*1976: The prototype [[Soundstream]] 37.5&nbsp;kHz, 16-bit, 2-channel recorder<ref name="Fine"/> is used to record the [[Santa Fe Opera]] performing [[Virgil Thomson]]'s opera ''[[The Mother of Us All]]'' for [[New World Records]], making it '''the first US digital recording'''. However, the digital recorder is just a backup to the main analog [[multi-track recording|multi-track recorder]], and the analog recording is deemed superior and thus used for the LP release.  The backup digital tape was presented at the October 1976 [[Audio Engineering Society|AES]] Convention in New York, but never commercially released.
*January 1977: Denon develops a smaller fully-portable PCM recording system, the DN-034R.  Like the DN-023R and DN-023RA it records 8 channels at 47.25&nbsp;kHz on a 2-inch video tape recorder (VTR) running at 38.1&nbsp;cm/s, but it uses 14-bits "with emphasis, making it equivalent to 15.5 bits," yielding 89&nbsp;dB [[signal-to-noise ratio]]. It also allowed for [[overdubbing]] for the first time with the use of a second VTR, crucial for professional recording.<ref name="Fine"/>
*September 1977: Sony introduces the PCM-1 Audio Unit ($4400 street price {{Inflation|JP|4400|1977|fmt=eq}})<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-PCM-1.html |title = Sony PCM-1 on thevintageknob.org}}</ref> (44.056&nbsp;kHz, 14-bit), the first consumer PCM encoder.  It required the use of a home video tape recorder for storage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/2-07.html|title = Sony Group Portal - Sony History Chapter7 Making Digital Audio a Reality}}</ref>
*November 4–7, 1977: [[3M]] demonstrates a prototype 2-channel 50.4&nbsp;kHz 16-bit digital recorder running on 1-inch tape at {{val|45|u=ips}} at the New York [[Audio Engineering Society|AES]] Convention.<ref name="Fine" /> As no true 16-bit converters were available, it combined separate 12-bit and 8-bit converters to create 16-bit performance.<ref name="mixonline 3m"/>
*November 28, 1977: Denon brings their DN-034R to [[New York City]]'s Sound Ideas Studios and records [[Archie Shepp]]'s ''On Green Dolphin Street'', making it '''America's first {{em|released}} digitally-recorded commercial album'''.<ref name="Fine"/> The following two days, November 29–30, [[Frank Foster (jazz musician)|Frank Foster]] records ''[[Manhattan Fever]]'' which is released April 1978.<ref name="Fine"/>  Five other jazz albums are recorded with the DN-034R in New York before it returns to Japan in December.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jazzdisco.org/archie-shepp/discography/|title=Archie Shepp Discography|website=www.jazzdisco.org|publisher=Jazz Discography Project|language=en-US|access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2015}}
*February 1978: Soundstream's first commercial release, ''[[Diahann Carroll]] With the [[Duke Ellington]] Orchestra Under The Direction Of [[Mercer Ellington]] – A Tribute To [[Ethel Waters]]'', is recorded.<ref>Penchansky, Alan. "Audiophile Labels—The List is Growing." Billboard, 20 May 1978, 50.</ref>
*March 1978: Sony introduces the professional-grade [[PCM-1600]] at a list price of US$40,000 ({{Inflation|US|40000|1978|fmt=eq}})<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KCQEAAAAMBAJ&q=Sony+PCM-1600+list+price&pg=PT57 |title = Billboard|date = 1979-07-21}}</ref> used with an external [[U-matic]] tape drive, making digital recording commercially available to recording studios for the first time.  PCM-1610 and PCM-1630 follow.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/SonyHistory/2-10.html|title = Sony Group Portal - Sony History Chapter10 Studio Recorders Go Digital}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thegreatbear.net/audio-tape/early-digital-tape-recordings-umatic-betamax-video-tape/|title = Early digital tape recordings on PCM/ U-matic and Betamax video tape|date = 3 February 2014}}</ref><ref>[https://www.realhomerecording.com/docs/Sony_PCM-1610_brochure.pdf Digital Audio Processor PCM-1610]</ref>
*April 4–5, 1978: [[Telarc]] uses Soundstream's PCM system to record [[Frederick Fennell]] and his [[Cleveland Symphonic Winds]] playing [[Gustav Holst]]'s ''Suites for Military Band'' and [[George Frideric Handel]]'s ''[[Music for the Royal Fireworks]].''  When released on LP this became the '''first US-recorded digital classical release'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=3791|title=Holst, Handel, Bach / Fennell, Cleveland Symphonic ... - Telarc: TRC-80038 - Buy from ArkivMusic|website=www.arkivmusic.com|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>
*June 2, 1978: [[Sound 80]] studios in Minneapolis records the [[Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra]] performing [[Aaron Copland]]'s ''[[Appalachian Spring]]''.  This session is set up as a [[direct-to-disc recording]], with the prototype [[3M]] 50.4&nbsp;kHz digital recorder running in the background.  There is some disagreement,<ref name="Fine"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thespco.org/about-us/recording-discography/|title=Recording Discography|date=18 February 2014|website=thespco.org|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> but it appears the resulting LP record (Sound80 Records S80-DLR-101) was taken from the digital backup tapes rather than the direct-to-disc acetate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Aaron-Copland-Charles-Ives-Conductor-Dennis-Russell-Davies-Orchestra-The-Saint-Paul-Chamber-Orchestr/master/1069988|title = Aaron Copland, Charles Ives / Conductor Dennis Russell Davies Orchestra the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra - Aaron Copland: Appalachian Spring - Charles Ives: Three Places in New England|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>  In 1984 the session is re-released on [[Compact Disc]] by ProArte.  This recording was nominated for three [[Grammy Award]]s, winning "[[Best Chamber Music Performance]]" (1980),<ref name="mixonline 3m"/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-chamber-orchestra-grabs-grammy-for-best-chamber-performance/471556164/ |title=St. Paul Chamber Orchestra grabs Grammy for best chamber performance |author=Jon Bream |date=January 28, 2018 |work=[[Star Tribune]] |quote=The SPCO previously grabbed a Grammy in 1980 in the same category for Dennis Russell Davies conducting “Copland: Appalachian Spring; Ives: Three Places in New England.”}}</ref> making it the '''first digital recording to win a Grammy'''.
*Early June 1978: [[Sound 80]] records ''[[Flim and the BB's]]'' debut self-titled album as another [[direct to disc recording]] again with the experimental [[3M]] recorder in the background. Again the acetate is deemed not as good as the digital backup, so the digital master is used for the LP record (Sound80 Records S80-DLR-102).  This makes it the '''first U.S. non-classical digital release'''. Within 6 months the hand-built ("very bulky and finicky") 3M digital recorder is disassembled, rendering the non-standard master tape unplayable.  Therefore, no [[Compact Disc]] release is possible.  The compact disc release of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, which used the same machine, is unexplained.
*March 8, 1979: The first prototype [[Compact Disc]] player is demonstrated by [[Philips]] in [[Eindhoven]], [[Netherlands]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Origins and Successors of the Compact Disc (Philips Research Book Series, Volume 11)|last1=Peek|first1=Hans|last2=Bergmans|first2=Jan|last3=Van Haaren|first3=Jos|last4=Toolenaar|first4=Frank|last5=Stan|first5=Sorin|publisher=Springer Science+Business Media B.V.|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4020-9552-8|pages=10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/philips_press_first_philips_cd_prototype_1978/|title=Philips first CD prototype|date=December 22, 2017|publisher=Dutchaudioclassics.nl}}</ref><ref name="dutchaudioclassics.nl">{{Cite web | url=https://dutchaudioclassics.nl/Philips_Pinkeltje_prototype_cdplayer_march_1979_joop_sinjou/ | title=Philips Pinkeltje - preproduction CDM0 - DutchAudioClassics.nl }}</ref>  Prototype CDs played on the unit were a pressing of [[Antonio Vivaldi]]'s ''[[Le quattro stagioni]]'' played by [[Vittorio Negri]] and the [[Kammerorchester Berlin]] (Philips 9500 100, recorded analog 1976), and [[Joseph Haydn]]'s ''String Quartet No. 31''(?).<ref name="dutchaudioclassics.nl"/>  A third prototype disc, on [[Archiv Produktion]] is pictured but the details are not legible.  The text indicates it might be [[Franz Schubert]]'s ''[[Unfinished Symphony]]''. [[Herbert von Karajan]] and the [[Berlin Philharmonic]]'s recording of [[Richard Strauss]]'s ''[[Eine Alpensinfonie]]'' is also mentioned as a contender for earliest test pressing of a CD,{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}} but it was not recorded until December 1–3, 1980.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://elusivedisc.com/herbert-von-karajan-strauss-eine-alpensinfonie-metamorphosen-hybrid-stereo-japanese-import-sacd/ | title=Herbert von Karajan Strauss eine Alpensinfonie & Metamorphosen Hybrid Stereo Japanese Import SACD }}</ref>
*July 11, 1979: The '''first U.S.-recorded digitally-recorded LP of [[popular music]] (with vocals)''', ''[[Bop Till You Drop]]'' by guitarist [[Ry Cooder]], was released by [[Warner Bros. Records]]. The album was recorded in [[Los Angeles]] on a 32-track digital machine built by the [[3M]] corporation.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nichols|first1=Roger|title=I Can't Keep Up With All The Formats II|url=http://rogernichols.com/EQ/EQ_2001_08.html|publisher=Roger Nichols|access-date=23 December 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20021020102042/http://rogernichols.com/EQ/EQ_2001_08.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 October 2002}}</ref><ref name="mixonline 3m">{{cite web|title=1978 3M Digital Audio Mastering System|url=https://www.mixonline.com/technology/1978-3m-digital-audio-mastering-system-377974|publisher=NewBay Media, LLC|access-date=23 December 2017|date=1 September 2007}}</ref> 
*August 27, 1979: [[Giorgio Moroder]]'s ''[[E=MC² (Giorgio Moroder album)|E=MC²]]'' is released, the '''first electronic live-to-digital LP''' recorded on Soundstream PCM.
*September 4, 1979:  Scoring begins for Star Trek The Motion Picture soundtrack, recorded to [[Multitrack recording|multitrack]] analog, mastered to digital stereo tape for LP release to coincide with film debut December 6, 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shurley |first=Neil |title='Star Trek: The Motion Picture' Soundtrack Producer Offers Details On New Score Release |url=https://trekmovie.com/2022/03/02/star-trek-the-motion-picture-soundtrack-producer-offers-details-of-new-score-release/ |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=TrekMovie.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
*October 12, 1979: [[Fleetwood Mac]]'s ''[[Tusk (album)|Tusk]]'' is released on LP.  It, and ''[[Live (Fleetwood Mac album)|Live]]'', December 8, 1980, were mastered on the Soundstream PCM from analog multi-tracks.<ref name="arpjournal.com"/>
*October 30, 1979: [[Stevie Wonder]] releases his [[soundtrack album]], ''[[Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants"|Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants"]]'' recorded onto [[U-matic]] video tapes using a Sony PCM-1600 digital adapter, and assembled into album form with a digital editing controller.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Studio-Sound-IDX/IDX/80s/Studio-Sound-1980-01-OCR-Page-0041.pdf |pages=40–41 |last=Ford |first=Hugh |title=Digital recording – next year? |date=January 1980 |magazine=Studio Sound }}</ref>
*December 1, 1979: The Grammy Award-winning self-titled ''[[Christopher Cross (album)|Christopher Cross]]'' album is released. Cross' album becomes the '''first digitally recorded album to chart''' (recorded on the 3M system) in the United States, eventually winning 5 Grammys.  Digital recording is now mainstream.
*1980: The [[Red Book standard]] (44.1&nbsp;kHz, 16-bit)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/definition/Red-Book |title = What is compact disc (CD)? - Definition from WhatIs.com}}</ref> is established for [[Compact Disc Digital Audio]].
*1980: [[Mitsubishi Electric]] introduces the X-80 [[ProDigi]] [[open reel]] 1/4" tape {{val|15|ul=ips}} 50.4&nbsp;kHz 16-bit digital recorder ($5000 {{inflation|US|5000|1980|fmt=eq}}). Only 200 are sold worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/archives/retro-review-mitsubishi-x-80-open-reel-digital-recorder|title=RETRO REVIEW Mitsubishi X-80 Open Reel Digital Recorder|date=September 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307064042/https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/archives/retro-review-mitsubishi-x-80-open-reel-digital-recorder |archive-date=2021-03-07}}</ref>
*1980: Soundstream merges with Digital Recording Corporation, becoming DRC/Soundstream, to develop and market 50&nbsp;kHz PCM recording to an optical card. This is subsequently eclipsed by the rise of the 44.1&nbsp;kHz [[Compact Disc]] and the company is out of business after 1983.<ref name="arpjournal.com"/>
*1981: Sony releases the PCM-F1 Digital Audio Processor ($1900 {{Inflation|US|1900|1981|fmt=eq}}) (44.056&nbsp;kHz, 16-bit) and matching SL-2000 [[Betamax]] VCR ($700 {{Inflation|US|700|1981|fmt=eq}}) as a complete affordable portable (with optional batteries) home digital recording system<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mixonline.com/technology/1981-sony-pcm-f1-digital-recording-processor-377975|title = 1981 Sony PCM-F1 Digital Recording Processor|date = September 2007}}</ref>
*1981: Technics releases the SV-P100 digital audio recorder suitable for both professional (digital mastering) and consumer (home use) recording. It used PCM 14-bit recording on a VHS format cassette tape, resulting in an up to 3 hours programme of 2-channel stereo recording.
*1982: Sony releases the PCM-501ES [[PCM adaptor]] (44.1&nbsp;kHz, 16-bit) ($895 list price) which is used with an external [[VHS]] or [[Betamax]] video recorder.{{cn|date=November 2023}}
*August 17, 1982: [[Claudio Arrau]]'s March 1979 analog recording of [[Frederic Chopin]] waltzes (Philips 400 025) becomes '''the first classical Compact Disc ever commercially manufactured'''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.chonday.com/16551/decbucdkl3/ | title=Attack Detected }}</ref><ref name="kodakdigitizing.com">{{Cite web | url=https://kodakdigitizing.com/blogs/news/what-were-the-first-albums-released-on-cd | title=What were the First Albums Released on CD? }}</ref>  It is made by the Philips plant in [[Langenhagen]], [[Hanover Region]] [[Germany]]. Arrau himself was invited to press the button to start the manufacture.  This CD was not actually released until 1983 so it presumably ran into manufacturing problems like the ABBA release (below).
*August 17, 1982: The '''first popular Compact Disc ever manufactured''', [[ABBA]]'s 1981 album ''[[The Visitors (ABBA album)|The Visitors]]'' (selected because it was "mostly digitally recorded")<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/ABBA-The-Visitors/release/8771945|title=ABBA – the Visitors (Prototype (2), Red Face, CD)|website=[[Discogs]]}}</ref> is produced at the same plant.  However, due to production problems with it the third version didn't actually hit stores until March 1983.
*September 5, 1982: [[Peter Gabriel]] releases his fourth studio album (titled [[Security (album)|''Security'']] in North America and ''Peter Gabriel IV'' elsewhere).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://petergabriel.com/release/peter-gabriel-4/|title = Peter Gabriel}}</ref>  When released on CD in October 1984 it becomes the first full-digital [[SPARS code|DDD]] release. It was recorded on [[Sony]]'s Mobile One digital studio<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_o8BDQAAQBAJ&q=%22mobile+one%22+recording+studio+peter+gabriel&pg=PA97 | title=Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion| isbn=9781442252004| last1=Bowman| first1=Durrell| date=2016-09-02}}</ref> and mixed to a Sony PCM-1610.<ref>CD liner notes</ref>
*October 1, 1982: The '''first [[compact disc]] players''' are marketed by Sony (CDP-101, $900 {{inflation|US|900|1982|fmt=eq}}) and Philips (CD-100, $700 {{inflation|US|700|1982|fmt=eq}}).<ref>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] – Compact Disc''. 2003 Deluxe Edition CD-ROM</ref>
*October 1, 1982: [[Billy Joel]]'s analog-recorded ''[[52nd Street (album)|52nd Street]]'' becomes '''the first CD to hit the market''' in Japan, beating out ABBA's ''[[The Visitors (ABBA album)|The Visitors]]'' and Claudio Arrau's Chopin Waltzes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mendoza |first1=Alvaro |title=La historia del cd, música clásica a los oídos del éxito » Alvaro Mendoza |url=https://mercadeoglobal.com/blog/historia-cd-musica-oidos-exito/ |access-date=16 September 2021 |work=MercadeoGlobal |date=4 October 2017 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=El mundo conmemora los 25 años de la aparición del CD |url=https://www.cooperativa.cl/noticias/tecnologia/inventos/el-mundo-conmemora-los-25-anos-de-la-aparicion-del-cd/2007-08-17/142957.html |access-date=16 September 2021 |work=Cooperativa.cl |language=Spanish}}</ref> Forty-nine other CDs are released in Japan on the same day including [[Toto (band)|Toto]]'s ''[[Turn Back (album)|Turn Back]]'', [[Pink Floyd]]'s ''[[Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd album)|Wish You Were Here]]'' and [[Michael Jackson]]'s ''[[Off the Wall]]''.<ref name="kodakdigitizing.com"/>
*October 1982: [[New England Digital]] offers the Sample-to-Disk [[hard disk recorder]] option on the [[Synclavier]], the first commercial [[hard disk]] recording system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.500sound.com/synclavierhistory.html|title=Synclavier history|website=500sound.com|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>
*November 26–28, 1982: [[Flim & the BB's]] record their second studio album, ''Tricycle''. Released in early 1983, it becomes the '''first non-classical fully digital CD to be released'''. (Later given a [[SPARS code]] of DD).
*March 2, 1983: CD players and 16 CDs from [[Sony Music|CBS Records]] are introduced in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Compact Disc (CD) is Developed : History of Information |url=https://www.historyofinformation.com/detail.php?id=949 |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=www.historyofinformation.com}}</ref>
*September 1984: [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s ''[[Born in the U.S.A.]]'' becomes the '''first US-manufactured CD''' to be released.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What were the First Albums Released on CD? |url=https://kodakdigitizing.com/blogs/news/what-were-the-first-albums-released-on-cd |access-date=2024-04-23 |website=Kodak Digitizing}}</ref>
*12 November 1984: American singer [[Madonna]]'s second studio album ''[[Like a Virgin (album)|Like a Virgin]]'' is released. It became the first digitally-recorded album that topped the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart.
*13 May 1985: English rock band [[Dire Straits]]' fifth studio album ''[[Brothers in Arms (album)|Brothers in Arms]]'' is released. It became the best-selling digitally-recorded album of the 80s, and the first album whose CDs' sales outsold LPs'.
*1987: Sony develops [[Digital Audio Tape]].
*1989: Test broadcasts for [[NICAM stereo]] digital audio for broadcast TV began in the UK.
*1990: [[Digital radio]] begins in [[Canada]], using the [[L-Band]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/recording/dars.html |publisher=University of San Diego |title=Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015103302/http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/recording/dars.html |archive-date=2009-10-15}}</ref>
*1991: Alesis Digital Audio Tape ([[ADAT]]) is a tape format used for simultaneously recording eight tracks of [[digital audio]] at once, onto [[Super VHS]] magnetic tape – a format similar to that used by consumer [[VCR]]s. The product was announced in January 1991 at the [[NAMM Show]]. The first ADAT recorders shipped over a year later in February or March 1992.<ref>Peterson, George; Robair, Gino [ed.] (1999). ''Alesis ADAT: The Evolution of a Revolution''. Mixbooks. p. 2. {{ISBN|0-87288-686-7}}</ref>
*1993: Random Access Digital Audio Recorder ([[RADAR (audio recorder)|RADAR]]) is the first single box device used for simultaneously recording 24 tracks of [[digital audio]] at once, onto hard disk drives. The product, manufactured by [[Creation Technologies]] was announced in October 1993 at the [[Audio Engineering Society|AES]] convention in New York. The first RADAR recorders shipped in August 1994.
*1996: [[DVD player]]s begin selling in Japan.
*1999: [[Ricky Martin]]'s "[[Livin' la Vida Loca]]" becomes the first No. 1 single to be recorded, edited, and mixed fully within a [[digital audio workstation]]. Produced by [[Charles Dye]] and [[Desmond Child]] using [[Pro Tools]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_recordin_la_vida/ |title=Recordin' "La Vida Loca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604161013/http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_recordin_la_vida/ |archive-date=2011-06-04 |work=Mix Magazine, Nov 1999}}</ref>

== Process ==
'''Recording'''
# The analog signal is transmitted from the [[input device]] to an [[analog-to-digital converter]] (ADC).
# The ADC converts this signal by repeatedly measuring the momentary level of the analog (audio) wave and then assigning a binary number with a given quantity of bits (word length) to each measurement point. The longer the word length the more precise the representation of the original audio wave level.
# The frequency at which the ADC measures the level of the analog wave is called the [[sample rate]] or sampling rate. The higher the sampling rate the higher the upper audio frequency of the digitized audio signal.
# The ADC outputs a sequence of digital audio samples that make up a continuous stream of 0s and 1s.
# These binary numbers are stored on recording media such as [[Magnetic-tape data storage|magnetic tape]], a [[hard drive]], [[optical drive]] or in [[solid state memory]].
'''Playback'''
# The sequence of numbers is transmitted from storage into a [[digital-to-analog converter]] (DAC)
# The DAC converts the numbers back to an analog signal by sticking together the level information stored in each digital sample, thus rebuilding the original analog waveform.
# This signal is amplified and transmitted to the [[loudspeaker]]s.

== Recording of bits ==
===Techniques to record to commercial media===
For [[digital cassettes]], the [[tape head]] moves as well as the tape, typically in a [[helical scan]] configuration, in order to maintain a high enough speed to keep the bits at a manageable size.

For [[optical disc recording technologies]] such as [[CD-R]], a [[laser]] is used to alter the optical properties of the dye layer of the medium. A weaker laser is used to read these patterns.

== Performance parameters ==
===Word size===
The [[Audio bit depth|number of bits]] used to represent an audio signal directly affects the resulting [[Noise (electronics)|noise]] or [[distortion]] in a recording.{{efn|Intentionally added [[dither]] in the recording process transforms [[quantization distortion]] into noise.}}<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Journal of the Audio Engineering Society
|volume=47 
|date=March 1991
|title=The future of digital audio recording
|author=Kees Schouhamer Immink
|author-link=Kees Schouhamer Immink 
|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322974158
|pages=171–172
|quote=Keynote address was presented to the 104th Convention of the Audio Engineering Society in Amsterdam during the society's golden anniversary celebration on May 17, 1998.}}</ref>

===Sample rate===
As stated by the [[Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem]], to prevent [[aliasing]], the audio signal must be sampled at a rate at least twice that of the highest frequency component in the signal. For music-quality audio, [[44,100 Hz|44.1]] and 48&nbsp;kHz sampling rates are the most common.

Master recording may be done at a higher sampling rate (i.e. 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192&nbsp;kHz). High-resolution PCM recordings have been released on [[DVD-Audio]] (also known as DVD-A), [[DualDisc]] (utilizing the DVD-Audio layer), or [[High Fidelity Pure Audio]] on Blu-ray. In addition, it is possible to release a high-resolution recording as either an uncompressed [[WAV]] or lossless compressed [[FLAC]] file<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flac.sourceforge.net/news.html|title=FLAC - news|first=Josh|last=Coalson|website=flac.sourceforge.net|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref> (usually at 24 bits) without [[Sample rate conversion|down-converting]] it.  There remains controversy about whether higher sampling rates provide any verifiable benefit to the consumer product.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/digital-audio-basics-sample-rate-and-bit-depth.html|title=Digital Audio Basics: Audio Sample Rate and Bit Depth}}</ref>

When a [[Compact Disc]] (the [[Compact Disc Digital Audio|CD Red Book]] standard is 44.1&nbsp;kHz 16 bit) is to be made from a high-res recording, the recording must be [[Sample rate conversion|down-converted]] to 44.1&nbsp;kHz.  This is done as part of the [[Audio mastering|mastering]] process.

Beginning in the 1980s, music that was recorded, mixed or mastered digitally was often labeled using the [[SPARS code]] to describe which processes were analog and which were digital.  Since digital recording has become near-ubiquitous the SPARS codes are now rarely used.

===Error rectification===
One of the advantages of digital recording over analog recording is its resistance to errors. Once the signal is in the digital format, it is not subject to [[generation loss]] from copying. Instead of the gradual degradation experienced with analog media, digital media is subject to a [[cliff effect]].

==Examples of digital recording devices==
* [[Camcorder]]
* [[Data logger]]
* [[Dictation machine]]
* [[Digital video recorder]]

==See also==
*[[Phone surveillance]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Audio formats}}
{{Music technology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Digital Recording}}
[[Category:Digital audio recording| ]]
[[Category:Sound]]
[[Category:Video]]
[[Category:Sound recording]]