Quantization converts continuous signals to discrete levels and is lossy

Evidence

Quantization is the process of taking an audio or video signal and converting it to a discrete set of levels. The input to this process may be from a continuous audio signal, like the one you get from a microphone, or may be from an already quantized signal, for example, the signal from a compact disc. An important parameter is the number of levels in the quantizer. This is due to the fact that the act of quantization is lossy because it throws away information. If the input signal is not exactly the same as the desired output, there will be an error between the input and the output, as shown in Figure 7.50. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2653

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core psychoacoustics/audio term: quantization, and why it is lossy.
• XREF: Connects to earlier chapters on sampling and bit depth as the two axes of digital audio fidelity.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2653