pulse code modulation Last modified: Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Short for pulse code modulation, a sampling technique for digitizing analog signals, especially audio signals. PCM samples the signal 8000 times a second; each sample is represented by 8 bits for a total of 64 Kbps. There are two standards for coding the sample level. The Mu-Law standard is used in North America and Japan while the A-Law standard is use in most other countries. PCM is used with T-1 and T-3 carrier systems. These carrier systems combine the PCM signals from many lines and transmit them over a single cable or other medium. PCM is also the usual digital method used for music audio playback of music CDs. While supported by DVDs, DVDs have a greater volume so they use Linear PCM, which has a higher sampling rate — up to 24-bit at a sampling rate of 96 kHz.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• For internet.com pages about pulse code modulation . Also check out the following links! Bitstream versus PCM debate for high-density compact disc  Implicit to the ARA proposal is the use of uniform sampling and uniform amplitude quantization with dither, where specifications up to 24 bit at a sampling rate of 96 kHz are supported, a process designated linear PCM. It is a fundamental premise of our proposal that there will be no form of lossy perceptual coding employed and that each channel of the system will be bit-transparent from input to output. Webopedia's Quick Reference Section  Use this Webopedia reference section for information on common Internet and computer facts and occurrences.	CD-ROMs Multiplexing ADM ADPCM A-Law CD-ROM digitize modulate sampling TDM Give Us Your Feedback Shopping pulse code modulation Products Compare Products,Prices and Stores Shop by Category: Health Aids 0 Store Offers Toys 0 Store Offers Expansion Modules 1 Store Offers