Page 41 - DCAP303_MULTIMEDIA_SYSTEMS

Unit 3: Sound

3.5 MiDi versus Digital audio notes

The MIDI has several advantages and disadvantages over digital audio.
advantages
• MIDI files are much more compact than digital audio files, and the size of MIDI file is
completely independent of playback quality. In general, MIDI files will be 200 to 1000 times
smaller than CD-quality digital audio files. Because MIDI files are small, they do not take
up as much RAM, disk space, and CPU resources.

MIDI files are small

Digitized audio files size

• In some cases, MIDI files may sound better than digital audio files if the MIDI sound source
you are using is of high quality.
• You can change the length of a MIDI file (by varying its tempo) without changing the pitch
of the music or degrading the audio quality.
Disadvantages
• Since MIDI data is not sound, you can be certain that playback will be accurate only if the
MIDI playback device is identical to the device used for production.
• MIDI cannot easily be used to play back spoken dialog, although expensive and technically
tricky digital samples are available.
There are two additional and often more compelling reasons to work with digital audio:
1. A wider selection of application software and system support for digital audio is available
for both the Macintosh and Windows platforms.
2. The preparation and programming required for creating digital audio do not demand
knowledge of music theory; working with MIDI data usually requires a modicum of
familiarity with musical scores as well as audio production.

Be sure to look in the manual and online help for your software for topics
about mix down and converting MIDI to digital audio.

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