1

DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING

Lecture 1 - Chapter 1
Classification of Signals: Continuous-Time verses Discrete-Time Signals
Continuous time or analog signals are signals that are defined for every value of a < t <
b, where (a, b) can be ( + , ), i.e., x (t) = e
-|t|
or ). cos( ) ( t t x = .
Discrete-time signals are defined at discrete-time instants and between the two discrete
time instants are undefined but are not zero. They can be obtained either by sampling
analog signals or they can be discrete in nature like discrete measurement signals.
A discrete-time signal having a set of discrete values is called a digital signal. Note that
sampling an analog signal produces a discrete-time signal. Then quantization of its
values produces a digital signal.
Deterministic versus Random Signals
Any signal that can be uniquely described by an explicit mathematical expression or a
well-defined rule is called deterministic. The past, present and future of a deterministic
signal are known with certainty. Otherwise, it is called Random and its properties is
explained by statistical techniques.
Review of Sinusoids in Continuous and Discrete Time

( ) ( )
( ) F 2 Ft 2 A
t t A t x
a


= + =
< < + =
cos
cos
( ) ( )
F
T t x T t x
p a p a
1
, = = + : fundamental period. Increasing F means increasing
oscillation in time domain. F = 0 corresponds to Tp = .
2
Also, for complex exponential signals, ( )
( ) +
=
t j
a
Ae t x . A sinusoidal signal then can
also be expressed as
( ) ( )
( ) ( )

+ +
+ = + =
t j t j
a
Ae
2
1
Ae
2
1
t A t x cos
Discrete-Time Sinusoid Signals

( ) ( )
( ) ( ) < < + =
= + =
n n f A n x
f n A n x


0
0
2 cos
2 cos
A few important differences between continuous sinusoid and discrete sinusoids:
1) A discrete-time sinusoid is periodic only if its frequency is a rational number.
By default, ( ) ( ) n x N n x = + for all n if x(n) is periodic. The smallest N is called
Fundamental Period.
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) + = + + = + n f N n f A N n x
0 0
2 cos 2 cos
This relationship is true if and only if K N f 2 2
0
=
N
K
f =
0
: a rational number.
To determine the period N of a periodic discrete time sinusoid, we express f as two
relatively prime numbers. Observe that a small change in frequency can result in a
large change in period. For example, ( ) ( ) + =

= n A n A n x cos
2
1
2 cos
1
its
period is
60
30
2
1
1
= = =
f
K
N .
Now consider ( ) 60 517 . 0
60
31
,
60
31
2 cos
2 2 2
= = =

= N f n A n x
2. An analog ( ) + , F maps to
2
1
f
2
1
or equivalently to or in
other words, the highest rate of oscillation occurs at
2
1
f + = or + = . To see
what happens for 2 consider
1
=
0
and
2
= 2 -
0
. When
1
varies
between to 2, then
2
varies between and 0. Now
( ) n A n A n x
0 1 1
cos cos = =
3
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) n x n A n A n A n A n x
o o 1
*
0 2 2
cos cos 2 cos cos ) ( = = = = =
* this is only true because n is an integer value, i.e., x(n) is a discrete signal.
Hence, ( ) ( ) n x n x
1 2
= is an alias because + < < F maps only to
2
1
f
2
1

by sampling.
Analog to Digital Conversion (A/D)
- sampling (sampling rate)
- quantization
Sampling:
( ) ( )
( )
nTs t a
s a
t x
n nT x n x
=
=
< < = where ,
s
s
F
n
nT t = = , F
s
= Sampling rate (Frequency) (Hz)
Consider an analog sinusoid: ( ) ( ) + = Ft 2 A t x
a
cos
( ) ( ) ( )

+ = + = = n
F
F
2 A nT F 2 A nT x n x
s
s s a
cos cos
Now recall that < < F maps to
2
1
f
2
1

2
1
F
F
f
2
1
s
=

max
2F F
s
Nyquist rate
Example 1:
( )
( ) Hz 50 F t 100 t x
Hz 10 F t 20 t x
2 2 a
1 1 a
= =
= =

cos
cos
If we digitize both of these signals with Fs = 40Hz, then
( ) ( ) n
2
n
40
20
40
n
x nT x n x
1 a s 1 a 1

cos cos = =

= =

( )
( ) ! ! cos
cos cos cos
n x n
2
n
2
2 n
2
5
n
40
100
40
n
x n x
1
2 a 2
= =

+ = = =

Therefore, by this sampling rate x
2
(n) has become same as x
1
(n), which is an aliasing
error. Equivalently, in this case, the frequency of 50 Hz is an alias of 10 Hz by sampling
max
2F F
s

4
rate of 40 Hz. Furthermore, all frequencies (F
1
+ 40K) are aliases of F
1
. Hence, do not
use the Nyquist rate blindly.
Example 2: ( )
43 42 1 4 43 4 42 1 43 42 1
3 2 1
x x x
a
t 100 t 300 10 t 50 3 t x cos sin cos + =
Nyquist rate? f
1
= 25, f
2
= 150, f
3
= 50 Hz
F
max
= 150 Hz F
s
= 300 Hz?!
Problem: with F
x
= 300 Hz, ( ) 0 n 10
F
n
x n x
s
2 a 2
= =

= sin all the time!

If it had a phase shift n o < < , then it would have been fine, but it is best to choose a
higher sampling rate.
Sampling
( ) ( ) ( ) t p t x t x
a p
=
( ) ( )

+

=
s
nT t t p
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) [ ]
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
s a
s
p
Ks
s
s
a p
s s nT t p
k X
T
X
k
T
P
P X X
nT t nT x t x n x
x

=
=
=
= =

+

+

+

=
1
2
*
2
1
|
Therefore, X
p
() is a periodic function of shifted the X
a
().
x
P(t)
x
a
(t)
x(n)
T
s
x(n)
( ) t x
a
5
( ) X
Obviously, if
M s
2 there is no
aliasing and the signal can be
reconstructed accurately.
In practice however, generating very narrow impulse is very difficult. Therefore, the
practical way for sampling is zero-order hold. Such a system samples x
a
(t) at a given
sampling instant and holds that value until the succeeding sampling instant.
Reconstruction of x
r
(t) from the output of this system requires a cascade of low-pass
filters or a non-constant gain of LPF.

X
p
()

M

s
x
p
(t)
It is as if ( ) t x
a
x
P(t) H
0
(t)
( ) t x
o
( )
( )
r
r
H
t h
x
r
(t)
|H
r
()|
-
s
/2
s
/2
w

s
/2
-
s
/2 2

<Hr()