Digitization is the process of converting something from analog to digital form. Turning physical analog information into data that can be read and processed by computers. Whether it is text sound or an image, the general idea is the same. Take something continuous and break it down into discrete units. Using text this is very straightforward. Each letter is assigned a code. “A” becomes 01000001 and other letters have their variation of 1’s and 0’s. The digitization process is fast, accurate and reversible without any real loss in quality. This is part of why digital text is so easy to store and copy. Sound is a bit trickier. Sound is analog by nature. It is a wave that continuously flows. To digitize sound, we sample the wave at regular intervals and record each individual piece. The more frequently we sample the better the quality. This does lead to a larger file which consumes more storage. Lower bitrates will save space but also lose detail leaving the recording sounding much more artificial. The costs matter digitization gives us access and convenience but it also gives us choices about what we want to leave in and cut out of the clip. More accuracy means more data which leads to more storage. Understanding the pros and cons can help you decide if digitizing is the way to go for you.
