In Fundamentals of Digital Audio, Alan P. Kefauver and David Patschke present a systematic overview of the elements for digital recording and reproducing sound. With ideas grounded in the principles of acoustics, the authors explore the essential issues involved in preserving, transferring, and modifying sound recordings in the digital domain. In addition to references on historic methods of sound reproduction, this book includes detailed information about the latest digital audio technology.

Of special interest is the coverage of storage media and compression technologies. The authors detail a comprehensive introduction and evolution of data storage and media standards, including CD/DVD/Blu-ray/HD DVD, as well as fully (but plainly) detailing associated digital audio compression algorithms. They catalog in detail the processes involved in digitally editing recorded sound, presenting a step-by-step editing and mastering session.

Fundamentals of Digital Audio is an essential textbook for anyone who wants to better understand or work with recorded sound using today's digital equipment. The book contains many diagrams and illustrations through which the authors share their expertise with the reader. Among the few books that treats this subject both comprehensively and understandably, the new edition of Fundamentals of Digital Audio should continue to be an indispensable text in this area.

Contents
The Basics
The Digital PCM Encoding Process
The Digital Decoding Process
Other Encoding/Decoding Systems
Data Compressions Formats
Tape-Based Storage and Retrieval Systems
Disk-Based Storage Systems
Digital Audio Editing
The Digital Editing and Mastering Session
Signal Interconnection and Transmission
Glossary
Further Reading/Bibliography

Alan P. Kefauver has served as coordinator of the Recording Arts and Sciences degree program at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. He has been a recording engineer, producer, or consultant with such venues as the Casals Festival; Towson University; the University of Mexico, Mexico City; the Inter-American Arts Festival; and others. He has engineered many albums and CDs and has published articles on acoustics and recording. Kefauver has been a member of the Expert Educational Committee for SPARS and is a member of NARAS, SMPTE, and AES.

David Patschke is the Director of Technologies at the University of Baltimore, School of Communications Design, and is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music’s Recording Arts and Sciences program. He has worked in audio engineering commercially, live location recording from rock to opera, and has been active in broadcasting, where he won a George Peabody award for his work with SoundPrint on American Public Radio. He currently administers audio and video production and post-production facilities, and also manages the technology infrastructure that supports the design and media-related programs at the University of Baltimore.