Linear Pulse Code Modulation (LPCM)

Linear pulse code modulation (LPCM) is a method for digitally encoding uncompressed audio information, where audio waveforms are represented by a sequence of amplitude values from a sample on a linear scale in which the values are proportional to the amplitudes, as opposed to being the log of the amplitudes. This means that the values are linearly quantized, thus approximating a very large set of possible values with a relatively small set of values that may be integers or even discrete symbols.

LPCM is also used as a collective reference to audio formats that occur as a result of using this encoding method. Pulse code modulation (PCM), a more general method of encoding, is often used to describe LPCM. LPCM is capable of very high throughput.