Glosario

Aliasing (Audio)

Audio Aliasing

Distortion occurring when audio frequencies above the Nyquist limit are sampled, producing false lower frequencies.

Audio Codec

Software that encodes raw audio into a compressed format and decodes it back for playback (e.g. MP3, AAC, FLAC).

Audio Fingerprint

Acoustic Fingerprinting

A compact digital summary of an audio signal used to identify songs or detect duplicate content.

Bit Depth (Audio)

Audio Bit Depth

The number of bits in each audio sample, determining the dynamic range and noise floor (e.g. 16-bit, 24-bit).

Bitrate

Tasa de bits (velocidad de datos)

El número de bits procesados o transmitidos por segundo en un flujo de audio o vídeo, que afecta directamente tanto la calidad del contenido como el tamaño del archivo.

Channel

Canal (ruta de señal de audio)

Un flujo individual e independiente de datos de audio dentro de una grabación. El audio mono tiene un canal, el estéreo tiene dos (izquierdo y derecho), y el sonido envolvente usa seis o más canales para un posicionamiento espacial del sonido.

Chorus Effect

Audio Chorus Effect

An effect that duplicates a signal with slight pitch and timing variations to simulate multiple voices or instruments.

Clipping

Recorte o clipping (distorsión de audio)

Una forma de distorsión de audio que ocurre cuando una señal excede el nivel máximo que un sistema puede representar, provocando crestas planas en la forma de onda y un sonido áspero y distorsionado.

De-esser

Audio De-esser

A specialized compressor targeting sibilant frequencies (4-10 kHz) to reduce harsh 's' and 'sh' sounds in vocals.

Dithering (Audio)

Audio Dithering

Adding low-level random noise when reducing bit depth to mask quantization distortion and preserve detail.

Dynamic Range

Audio Dynamic Range

The difference between the quietest and loudest parts of an audio signal, measured in decibels.

FLAC

Free Lossless Audio Codec

An open-source audio codec that compresses audio without any loss in quality, reducing file sizes by 50-70%.

Loudness War

The trend of increasing audio loudness in mastering at the expense of dynamic range, countered by LUFS standards.

Pitch

Audio Pitch

The perceived frequency of a sound, determining how high or low a tone sounds to the listener.

Sample Rate

Frecuencia de muestreo

El número de veces por segundo que una señal de audio analógica es medida (muestreada) para crear una representación digital, determinando directamente la frecuencia más alta que puede capturarse con precisión.

Codec

Códec (codificador-decodificador)

Un componente de software o hardware que comprime (codifica) y descomprime (decodifica) datos de audio o vídeo, permitiendo el almacenamiento y la transmisión eficientes de archivos multimedia.

Waveform

Forma de onda (representación visual del audio)

Un gráfico visual que muestra cómo varía la amplitud de una señal de audio a lo largo del tiempo, mostrando las ondas sonoras como una forma bidimensional que revela la intensidad, el ritmo y la estructura del audio.

Equalization

Ecualización (ajuste del balance de frecuencias)

El proceso de aumentar o reducir selectivamente rangos de frecuencia específicos en una señal de audio para ajustar el balance tonal, corregir problemas acústicos o dar forma creativa al sonido.

Noise Reduction

Reducción de ruido (limpieza de audio)

El proceso de eliminar o reducir sonidos de fondo no deseados (siseo, zumbido, ruido ambiental, ruido de viento) de una grabación de audio para mejorar la claridad del habla o la música.

Fade

Fade (transición de volumen de audio)

Un aumento gradual (fade in) o disminución (fade out) del volumen de audio durante un período específico, creando transiciones suaves al inicio o final de un clip de audio, o entre dos clips (crossfade).

Compression (Audio)

Dynamic Range Compression

Reducing the volume difference between the loudest and quietest parts of an audio signal.

PCM

Pulse-Code Modulation

The standard method of digitally representing analog audio signals by sampling amplitude at regular intervals.

Mono

Monaural Audio

Audio reproduced through a single channel, where all sound comes from one source.

Spectrogram

Audio Spectrogram

A visual representation of audio frequencies over time, showing the spectrum of a signal.

Tempo

Audio Tempo

The speed or pace of an audio track, measured in beats per minute (BPM).

Reverb

Reverberation

The persistence of sound in a space after the original sound stops, simulated digitally for spatial effects.

Limiter

Audio Limiter

A compressor with a very high ratio that prevents audio from exceeding a set maximum level.

Delay

Audio Delay Effect

An effect that records and plays back audio after a set time interval, creating echo and rhythmic repetitions.

Noise Gate

Audio Noise Gate

A processor that silences audio below a threshold level, eliminating background noise between sounds.

Sidechain

Sidechain Processing

Using one audio signal to control the processing of another, commonly used to duck music under voiceover.

LUFS

Loudness Units Full Scale

A standardized loudness measurement reflecting perceived volume, used for broadcast and streaming normalization targets.

RMS Level

Root Mean Square Level

An average audio level measurement that better represents perceived loudness than peak level readings.

Peak Level

Audio Peak Level

The highest instantaneous amplitude in an audio signal, used to prevent clipping and set headroom.

Stereo Imaging

Techniques for widening, narrowing, or repositioning the perceived stereo field of an audio mix.

Frequency Spectrum

Audio Frequency Spectrum

The range of frequencies present in an audio signal, typically from 20 Hz (bass) to 20 kHz (treble) for human hearing.

Harmonic Distortion

Total Harmonic Distortion

The presence of frequencies that are integer multiples of the fundamental, sometimes added intentionally for warmth.

Nyquist Frequency

Half the sample rate, representing the highest frequency that can be accurately captured in digital audio.

Psychoacoustics

The study of how humans perceive sound, informing audio compression, spatial audio, and loudness standards.

Crossfade

Audio Crossfade

A smooth transition between two audio clips where one fades out while the other fades in simultaneously.

Audio Watermark

Audio Watermarking

Embedding imperceptible identifying data into an audio signal for copyright tracking and content identification.

Spatial Audio

3D sound technology that positions audio sources in virtual space around the listener using HRTF and head tracking.

Normalization

Normalización (ajuste de nivel de audio)

El proceso de ajustar el volumen general de una grabación de audio para que su punto más alto o su sonoridad promedio alcance un nivel objetivo estándar, asegurando una reproducción consistente entre diferentes pistas y plataformas.

Mid-Side Processing

Mid-Side Audio Processing

A technique separating stereo audio into center (mid) and sides signals for independent processing.

Stereo

Stereophonic Audio

Audio using two independent channels (left and right) to create a sense of spatial width.