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Difference Between Digital Audio and MIDI
There are different types of audio formats that are used to store audio files so that users can listen to songs on their electronic devices. Some of these formats are WMA, WAV, and many more. These sounds are stored in the form of digital audio and the MIDI protocol helps in establishing communication between musical devices like synthesizers, digital keyboard piano, etc. In this article, we will discuss the difference between Digital Audio and MIDI.
What is Digital Audio?
Digital audio is a technology in which sound is represented with the help of binary data. It uses digital technology to convert analog sound waves to digital counterparts. This digital version can be stored on any device for listening to music.
What is MIDI?
The full form of MIDI is Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It is a protocol which helps in establishing communication between different digital and electronic devices. It does not record sound instead it encodes the musical notes in the form of digital information.
Difference between Digital Audio and MIDI
Here is the table of the difference between Digital Audio and MIDI.
| Digital Audio | MIDI |
|---|---|
| Digital audio is a technology which is used for transmitting and reproducing sounds that are stored in a digital format like WMA, WAV, MP3, etc. | MIDI is a protocol which helps in representing musical information in a digital format. |
| Sound effects, voiceovers, music playback, etc. can be recorded in a digital file. | MIDI is used to create and control electronic music. |
| Digital audio consists of analog sound waves that are converted into the digital version. | A series of commands is used in MIDI which consists of different parameters related to music. These parameters include volume, musical notes, sound quality, etc. |
| A digital audio file stores actual sound. | The MIDI file does not store actual sound. |
| The size of the files is large and they are loose. | The size of files are small and they are compact. |
| The quality of sound of a digital audio file depends on the size of the file. | The sound quality of a MIDI file does not depend upon the size of a file. |
| Digital audio represents physical sound waves. | MIDI provides an abstract representation of sound effects and musical sound. |
| Exact sound is reproduced in a digital audio file. | The sound is a little different from the original sound. |
Which is best: Digital Audio or MIDI?
Digital audio helps to store audio files in various formats. These files can be played on any electronic device that supports any of these formats like WAV, WMA, MP3, etc. MIDI is a protocol which is used to establish connections between musical devices. It does not record sound but encodes the musical information. The sound quality of digital audio is better than MIDI.
Conclusion
People love to listen to music and they use different electronic devices to listen to music that is stored in the form of digital audio. There are various types of file formats in which digital audio is stored and these include MP3, WAV, WMA, etc. MIDI also stores music in MIDI files but the quality of sound is not good in comparison to digital audio.
FAQs on Digital Audio Vs. MIDI
1. What is the reason behind the popularity of Digital Audio?
Digital audio is popular because there are many formats available in which digital sound can be stored. Digital signal processing technology is available in the digital audio which can be used to convert analog sound into digital sound while controlling it.
2. What factors should be considered to convert analog audio into digital audio?
The factors that are to be considered while converting analog audio into digital audio are as follows ?
- Quality
- Condition of analog source
- Equipment
- Software
3. What is the minimum sampling rate to store a digital audio?
The minimum sampling rate is 44.1 KHz but 96 KHz should be preferred.
4. What is the usage of MIDI?
MIDI is used to connect musical instruments like digital piano keyboards, drum machines, and music synthesizers to communicate with each other. Sound waves are not sent by MIDI. It only transmits the information which is received by the receiving device to generate sounds.
5. What is a MIDI cable?
A MIDI cable consists of five pins which are used for the transmission of MIDI signals between different pieces of equipment. The connection is made by inserting the plug in a device output and the other end to the input of another device.
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