Chapter 3 / 3.8 / 3.8.6

3.8.6 What Is Quantization Noise?

Explore the error introduced when continuous signal amplitudes are rounded to discrete quantization levels. Learn why increasing the number of bits per sample improves fidelity and how this improvement is measured using SQNR.

1. What Causes Quantization Noise?
2. Why Is Quantization Necessary?
3. Why Does Quantization Noise Resemble Random Noise?
4. How Large Can Quantization Error Become?
5. What Is Signal-to-Quantization-Noise Ratio (SQNR)?
6. Why Does Increasing the Number of Bits Improve Quality?
7. Why Does Each Additional Bit Improve SQNR by About 6 dB?
8. How Good Is 8-Bit Quantization?
9. Why Does Audio Equipment Use 16 Bits or More?
10. Is Quantization Noise Always Audible?
11. Why Are Small Signals More Affected by Quantization Noise?
12. What Is Companding?
13. Can Quantization Noise Be Eliminated Completely?
14. What Is Dithering?
15. How Does Quantization Noise Affect Communications Systems?
16. Why Is Quantization Noise Important?

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