Text: From Page to Pixels
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Scan at 300 dpi – each square inch ≈ 9 M discrete dots.
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Binarize (threshold) to isolate glyphs.
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OCR pass → converts glyph clusters into Unicode code points (discrete integers 0–1 114 111).
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Trade-off: Higher dpi ↑ accuracy but quadruples file size every time you double resolution.
Sound: From Pressure Waves to PCM
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Nyquist theorem: sample ≥ 2× highest frequency.
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CD standard: 44.1 kHz × 16 bits ≈ 1.4 Mbit s⁻¹.
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Bit-depth controls dynamic range (96 dB @ 16-bit, 144 dB @ 24-bit).
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Compression: MP3 removes masked frequencies—saves ≈ 90 % space but loses spatial cues and cymbal shimmer.