Digital-to-Analog Converter

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What Does Digital-to-Analog Converter Mean?

A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is a device, usually consisting of a single chip, for converting binary or digital code into an analog signal. A DAC device converts an abstract finite precise number, typically a fixed-point binary number, into a definite physical variable such as voltage or pressure.

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Techopedia Explains Digital-to-Analog Converter

An example of a DAC device is a modem. A modem requires DAC to convert data to analog signals, which can be carried by a telephone wire. Another example of a DAC device is a video adapter. A video adapter requires a single chip called a random access memory digital to analog converter (RAMDAC), which converts digital data to an analog signal displayed or processed by a monitor or a display screen.

Conversion in DAC is common for digital devices and computer-based systems such as modems, video adapters and household appliances. DACs translate digital data into real-world signals such as speech, picture and videos, which are more understandable and usable by humans than 0 and 1 digital signals.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist
Margaret Rouse
Technology Specialist

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.