Digital Signal Processors (DSP) take real-world signals like voice, audio, video, temperature, pressure, or position that have been digitized and then mathematically manipulate them. A DSP is designed for performing mathematical functions like "add", "subtract", "multiply" and "divide" very quickly.
Signals need to be processed so that the information that they contain can be displayed, analyzed, or converted to another type of signal that may be of use. In the real-world, analog products detect signals such as sound, light, temperature or pressure and manipulate them. Converters such as an Analog-to-Digital converter then take the real-world signal and turn it into the digital format of 1's and 0's. From here, the DSP takes over by capturing the digitized information and processing it. It then feeds the digitized information back for use in the real world. It does this in one of two ways, either digitally or in an analog format by going through a Digital-to-Analog converter. All of this occurs at very high speeds.
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A DSP's information can be used by a computer to control such things as security, telephone, home theater systems, and video compression. Signals may be compressed so that they can be transmitted quickly and more efficiently from one place to another (e.g. teleconferencing can transmit speech and video via telephone lines). Signals may also be enhanced or manipulated to improve their quality or provide information that is not sensed by humans (e.g. echo cancellation for cell phones or computer-enhanced medical images). Although real-world signals can be processed in their analog form, processing signals digitally provides the advantages of high speed and accuracy.
