Module 1: Communication

• Main purpose of communication is to transfer information from a

Model of digital communication system – source to a recipient via a channel or medium.

Review of sampling – Quantization – • Basic block diagram of a communication system:

Uniform & non-uniform quantization.
Source Transmitter Channel Receiver

Recipient

Brief Description Why digital?

• Source: analog or digital
• Transmitter: transducer, amplifier, modulator, oscillator, power amp., antenna
• Channel: e.g. cable, optical fibre, free space
• Receiver: antenna, amplifier, demodulator, oscillator, power amplifier,
transducer
• Recipient: e.g. person, (loud) speaker, computer
 Digital techniques need to distinguish between discrete symbols allowing regeneration versus amplification
 Good processing techniques are available for digital signals, such as
medium.
 Data compression (or source coding)
 Error Correction (or channel coding)(A/D conversion)
 Equalization

Information Representation 
 Security

Easy to mix signals and data using digital techniques

• Communication system converts information into electrical
electromagnetic/optical signals appropriate for the transmission medium.
• Analog systems convert analog message into signals that can propagate
through the channel.

• Digital systems convert bits(digits, symbols) into signals

– Computers naturally generate information as characters/bits

– Most information can be converted into bits
– Analog signals converted to bits by sampling and quantizing (A/D
conversion)
 • Basic Digital Communication Transformations
– Formatting/Source Coding
– Transforms source info into digital symbols (digitization)
– Selects compatible waveforms (matching function)
– Introduces redundancy which facilitates accurate decoding
despite errors
• It is essential for reliable communication
– Modulation/Demodulation
– Modulation is the process of modifying the info signal to
facilitate transmission
– Demodulation reverses the process of modulation. It involves
the detection and retrieval of the info signal
• Types
• Coherent: Requires a reference info for detection
• Noncoherent: Does not require reference phase information

Basic Digital Communication Transformations

– Coding/Decoding
Translating info bits to transmitter data symbols
Techniques used to enhance info signal so that they are less vulnerable to channel impairment (e.g.
noise, fading, jamming, interference)
• Two Categories
– Waveform Coding
• Produces new waveforms with better performance
– Structured Sequences
– Involves the use of redundant bits to determine the occurrence of error (and sometimes correct it)
– Multiplexing/Multiple Access Is synonymous with resource sharing with other users
– Frequency Division Multiplexing/Multiple Access (FDM/FDMA

Main Points
• Transmitters modulate analog messages or bits in case of a DCS for transmission over a channel.
• Receivers recreate signals or bits from received signal (mitigate channel effects)
• Performance metric for analog systems is fidelity, for digital it is the bit
rate and error probability.
 Why Digital Communications?
Why Digital Communications?
– Easy to regenerate the distorted signal – Can combine different signal types – data, voice, text, etc.
– Regenerative repeaters along the transmission path can detect a digital signal and retransmit a new, clean – Data communication in computers is digital in nature whereas voice communication between people is
(noise free) signal analog in nature
– These repeaters prevent accumulation of noise along the path – The two types of communication are difficult to combine over the same medium in the analog domain.
– This is not possible with analog communication systems – Using digital techniques, it is possible to combine both format for transmission through a common
– Two-state signal representation medium
– The input to a digital system is in the form of a sequence of bits (binary or M_ary) – Encryption and privacy techniques are easier to implement
– Immunity to distortion and interference – Better overall performance
– Digital communication is inherently more efficient than analog
– Digital communication is rugged in the sense that it is more immune to channel noise and distortion
in realizing the exchange of SNR for bandwidth
– Hardware is more flexible – Digital signals can be coded to yield extremely low rates and high fidelity as well as privacy
– Digital hardware implementation is flexibleand permits the use of microprocessors, mini-processors,
digital switching and VLSI DISADVANTAGES:
– Shorter design and production cycle • Requires reliable “synchronization”
– Low cost
• Requires A/D conversions at high rate
– The use of LSI and VLSI in the design of components and systems have resulted in lower cost
– Easier and more efficient to multiplex several digital signals • Requires larger bandwidth
– Digital multiplexing techniques – Time & Code Division Multiple Access - are easier to implement • Nongraceful degradation
than analog techniques such as Frequency Division Multiple Access • Performance Criteria
• Probability of error or Bit Error Rate

Goals in Communication System Design

SAMPLING
• To maximize transmission rate, R • The process of measuring the instantaneous values of continuous-time
• To maximize system utilization, U
signal in a discrete form.
• To minimize bit error rate, Pe
• To minimize required systems bandwidth, W
• To minimize system complexity, Cx
• To minimize required power, Eb/No
 SAMPLING RATE Sampling Theorem
if sampled at a higher rate than 2w in the frequency domain.(SR>2w)

if the sampling rate is equal to twice the highest frequency (2W) (SR=2w)

Nyquist Rate
Signal is band-limited with no frequency components higher than W Hertz
Fs=2W
Sampling Theorem
• a signal can be exactly reproduced if it is sampled at the rate fs which is greater than twice the maximum
frequency W
• consider a band-limited signal, i.e., a signal whose value is non-zero between some –W and W Hertz.

Aliasing
Numericals
• A signal x(t)=2cos400pit+6cos640pit is ideally sampled at 500Hz. If the sampled
signal is passed through an ideal LPF with cut off frequency of 400Hz. What
frequency components will appear in the output?
Ans:
x(t) = 2cos(400𝜋t) + 6cos(640𝜋t)
fs = 500Hz, fc = 400Hz
Types of Sampling (Refer notes for detailed Explanation) x(t) = Acos/sin(2𝜋t(y))
• Natural Sampling x(t) = 2cos(2𝜋t(200)) + 6cos(2𝜋t(320))
f1 = 200Hz, f2 = 320Hz
• Flat top sampling
Op freq = ±𝑓1, ±𝑓2, 𝑓𝑠 ± 𝑓1, 𝑓𝑠 ± 𝑓2, 2𝑓𝑠 ± 𝑓1, …
= ±200; ±320; 700, 300; 820, 180; 1200, 800; …
fc = 400Hz and op freq should be less than cut-off so, op = 180, 200, 300, 320 Hz
 Pulse Code Modulation
Objectives
Module 2:
Pulse Code Modulation
• PCM
• DPCM
• SNR
• Companding Regenerative Repeater
• Delta modulation

Receiver Section for PCM

Pulse-Code Modulation
Block Diagram
• Coded version of the signal. (digital representation)
Transmitter
Analog PCM Data
• Simple method. Signal Sequence
Sampler Quantizer Encoder
• First developed digital coding methodology.

• Widely used  Telecommunication. PCM data Transmission Path

shaped for Channel
• A message signal is represented by a sequence of coded transmission Regenerative Regenerative
Output
pulses, which is accomplished by representing the signal in Repeater Repeater
discrete form in both time and amplitude
Receiver
• The basic operations Channel
output
Destination
Regenerative Reconstruction
Decoder
• Transmitter : Sampling, Quantization, Encoding Circuit filter

• Receiver : Regeneration, Decoding, Reconstruction

 PCM-Transmitter PCM-Transmitter
• Operations in the Transmitter
3. Encoding
1. Sampling
1. To translate the discrete set of sample values to a more
1. The incoming message signal is sampled with a train of appropriate form of signal. (radio path, optical fiber)
rectangular pulses.
2. A binary code
2. fs>2W, Pre-alias filter.
 The maximum advantage over the effects of noise in
3. The reduction of the continuously varying message a transmission medium is obtained by using a binary
signal to a limited number of discrete values per second. code, because a binary symbol withstands a relatively
2. Quantization high level of noise.

1. The sampled signal is quantized to generate a signal  The binary code is easy to generate and regenerate.
that is discrete in both time and amplitude  A binary code of n bits length  2n distinct codes
2. uniform , nonuniform  nonlinear/piecewise linear 3.There are several formats for the representation of binary
approximations sequences  Line codes (NRZ, RZ- polar, unipolar)

Binary number system for n=4

 PCM-Transmission path
PCM-Regeneration
• To control the effects of distortion and noise produced in
transmitting a PCM signal over a channel regenerative Equalizer
repeaters.
• Shapes the received pulses so as to compensate for the
• Main functions Equalization, timing, decision making effects of amplitude and phase distortions produced by the
transmission.
Timing circuitry
• Provides a periodic pulse train, derived from the received
pulses .
• Renewed sampling of the equalized pulses.

PCM-Receiver Section
PCM-Regeneration
1. Decoding
Decision-making device • regenerating a pulse whose amplitude is the linear sum of all the pulses in the code word

• The sample so extracted is compared to a predetermined 2. Reconstruction

threshold ideally, except for delay, the regenerated signal • Recover the message signal: passing the decoder output through a low-pass reconstruction
filter(fc-W)
is exactly the same as the information-bearing signal.
3. Multiplexing
• The unavoidable presence of channel noise and
• To combine several independent message sources (N).
interference causes the repeater to make wrong decisions
• N ↑  time interval for each source will get reduced.
occasionally, thereby introducing bit errors into the
• Pulse generation and transmission becomes more difficult.
regenerated signal.
• Pulses will be prone to impairments in the transmission medium.
• If the spacing between received pulses deviates from its
4. Synchronization
assigned value, a jitter is introduced into the regenerated
• Local clock
pulse position, thereby causing distortion.
• Frame synchronization
 Advantages Disadvantages

• Robustness immune to transmission noise and • Increased System Complexity.

interference.
• Use of VLSI techniques to make it cost effective
• Efficient regeneration of coded signal along the
transmission path. • Delta modulation can be used to reduce
complexity
• Increased channel bandwidth with increased SNR ratio
• Increased Channel bandwidth.
• Uniform format for transmission of baseband signals
easy multiplexing. • Wideband communication channels can be used
(fiber optics, satellites).
• Secured Communication (encryption and decryption)
• Data compression techniques (removes
redundancy and reduces bit rate)

Noise in PCM Systems

Summary
• Channel Noise
• Quantizing Noise

• Basics of PCM and its block diagram are discussed Channel Noise
• The need for regenerative repeaters and its working •Affects reconstruction
are also illustrated. •Measured by error rate
•Consider binary coded PCM s(t), uses unipolar format
•When symbol 1 is sent, s(t) equals s1(t) is transmitted
 Channel Noise Signal Space diagram
• Transmitted Signal: S1(t)=sqrt(Emax/Tb)
REGION Z2 REGION Z1
• S2(t)=0
• Received Signal:x(t)=S(t)+w(t) 0 Emax

DECISION BOUNDARY

Quantization noise and signal to

Quantization noise and signal
noise ratio
to noise ratio

Rounding off sample values
Signal dependant
Mathematical analysis of problem
Memoryless quantizer-uniform and symmetric
X is quantizer input y is quantizer output
Y=Q(X)
Input x lies in the interval between xk to xk+1
Y takes discrete values from 1,2,…L+1
q denotes Quantization error
Y=q+x
 Differential Pulse-Code Modulation
Differential Pulse Code Modulation
• Voice/video signals sampled at a rate higher than the
Objectives Nyquist rate will have high degree of correlation
between adjacent samples.(no rapid change in signal)

Differential Pulse Code • Variance of the difference between adjacent samples is

modulation smaller than the variance of the signal.

Prediction Gain • Hence the samples have redundant information.

• DPCM aims at removing the redundancy and

performing an efficient coding process.

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Differential Pulse-Code Modulation

Prediction Filter
• If we know the past behavior of a signal up to a certain point in
time, it is possible to make some inference about its future
values
• Tapped-delay-line filter (discrete-time filter)
• A simple and yet effective approach to implement the
prediction filter
• With the basic delay set equal to the sampling period

e(nTs )  m(nTs )  m(nTs )
• The quantizer output may be expressed as e (nT )  e(nT )  q(nT )
q s s s

• The accumulator output may be expressed as


mq (nTs )  m(nTs )  e q (nTs )

mq (nTs )  m(nTs )  e(nTs )  q(nTs )
m q (nTs )  m(nTs )  q(nTs )
3 3/29 4 3/29
 Block Diagram-DPCM Prediction Gain
 M2
Output signal-to-noise ratio (SNRO) (SNR) O  (3.79)
 Q2
2
σM – variance of m[n]
2
σQ – variance of quantization error q[n]
2
Rewriting using variance of the prediction error σE
  M2    E2 
(SNR)O   2   2   Gp (SNR)Q
 E  Q 
(3.80)
 E2  M2
(SNR)Q  (3.81) Gp  (3.82)
 Q2  E2

Signal-to-Quantization Prediction Gain

Noise Ratio
5 3/29 7/29

Prediction Gain Comparison with other techniques

• The prediction gain Gp when greater than unity, represents the
signal-to-noise ratio that is due to the differential quantization
scheme (predicted).
• For a given input message signal, σ2M is fixed, so smaller the
σ2E , greater the Gp.
• This is the design objective of the prediction filter.
• For voice signals advantage of DPCM over PCM in SNR is
between 4-11 dB
• Advantage expressed in terms of bit rate (bits)
• 1 bit =6 dB of quantization noise
• So for fixed SNR, sampling rate 8 kHz – DCPM provides
saving of 8-16 kb/s (1 -2 bits per sample) PCM
Comparing DPCM with DM system,
• Uses quantizer with multiple levels rather than one-bit
(two-level) quantizer in the DM system
• Replacement of single delay element in the DM by a
prediction filter
Considering noise
• DPCM, like DM, is subject to slope-overload distortion
whenever the input signal changes too rapidly for the
prediction filter to track it
• Like PCM, DPCM suffers from quantization noise.

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 DPCM-Example
Predictor Order – One, Distortion=0.0034
DPCM-Example

Predictor Order – Two [0.6 0.25], Distortion=0.0027

10/29 12/29

Summary Companding
Robust Quantization(Non Uniform)
• The concept of differential pulse code modulation is
Motivation
discussed. • Speech signals have the
• Processing gain due to differential process is analyzed. characteristic that small-
amplitude samples occur more
frequently than large-amplitude
ones
• Human auditory system exhibits a
logarithmic sensitivity
• More sensitive at small-
amplitude range (e.g., 0 might
sound different from 0.1)
• Less sensitive at large-amplitude
range (e.g., 0.7 might not sound
different much from 0.8) histogram of typical speech signals

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 -law algorithm
Non Uniform Quantization- Companding
• It has continuous compressor characteristics (low-linear, high-
logarithmic)
• The -law algorithm (μ-law) is a companding algorithm,
primarily used in the digital telecommunication systems of
North America and Japan.
Compressor Expander
• Its purpose is to reduce the dynamic range of an audio signal.
• In the analog domain, this can increase the signal to noise ratio
achieved during transmission, and in the digital domain, it can
reduce the quantization error (hence increasing signal to
quantization noise ratio).
•  = 255

10

-law algorithm A-law algorithm

• It has piecewise compressor characteristics (low-linear
segment, high-logarithmic segment)
• A-law algorithm provides a slightly larger dynamic range
than the  -law at the cost of worse proportional distortion
log(1  m )
v for small signals.
log(1 ) • PCM telephone systems in Europe.
• A=87.56

 Am
 1 log A , 0  m  A
1
v
1
฀ , log Am 1  m 1
 1 log A A
10
 Delta Modulation
Delta Modulation • An incoming message signal is oversampled to purposely to
increase the correlation between adjacent samples of the
Objectives signal
• The difference between the input signal and its
Delta modulation approximation is quantized into only two levels -
corresponding to positive and negative differences
Advantages • The output is a staircase approximation.

e(n)  m(n)  m q (n  1) m(n) input sample

Quantization errors
mq(n-1)latest approximation
eq (n)  sgn[e(n)]
e(n)error signal
Example
mq (n)  mq (n 1)  eq (n) Sgn signum function

2/29 3/29

Illustration System Details

Comparator
• Computes the difference between its two inputs
m(n)  mq (n)  
m(n)  mq (n)  
Quantizer
• Consists of a hard limiter with an input-output characteristic
that is a scaled version of the signum function
Accumulator
• Operates on the quantizer output so as to produce an
approximation to the message signal.
n
mq (n)  sgn e(i)
i1
n
  eq (i)
4/29 i1 5/29
 Block Diagram Quantization Error q(n)

m q (n)  m(n)  q(n) Derivative of the

e(n)  m(n)  m q (n  1) input signal

 m(n)  m(n  1)  q(n  1)

• For the step approximation to be as fast as input sequence of

samples

  max
dm(t)
Ts dt

6/29 8/29

Quantization Errors Quantization Errors-Contd..

Slope-overload distortion
• The step size is too small for the staircase approximation to
follow a steep segment of the original message signal
• The result that the approximation signal falls behind
the message signal
Granular noise
• When the step size is too large relative to the local slope
characteristic of the original message signal
• The staircase approximation has to hunt around a relatively
flat segment of the message signal.
Large Δwide dynamic range
Trade-off to decide the optimum
small Δaccurate representation step size that reduces error

of low level signals 9/29 10/29

 DM-Example
DM-Example
Let us consider a row of pixels, whose intensity values are given
as follows:
33 35 34 36 35 34 35 35 38 44 50 59 73 81 82 82 81 81

M(n)

n Delta Modulated Output

A plot of intensity vs. pixel
11 /29 12/29

Advantages
DM-Example
m̂[n]  w1mq [n 1] , w1  1 e q [n]   sgn( e[n]) where   4.5
• One bit codeword for the input eliminates the
need for framing
e[n]  m[n] - m̂[n] m q [n]  m q [n -1]  e q [n] • Simplicity of design
Input Encoder Decoder
n m[n] m̂[n] e[n] eeq [n]
[n] mq [n] m̂[n] m
mqq [n]
[n] m[n] -m
m[n] -mqq[n]
[n]
q mq [n]
Summary
1 33 - - - 33.0 - 33 0.0
2 35 33.0 2.0 4.5 37.5 33 37.5 -2.5
3 34 37.5 -3.5 -4.5 33.0 37.5 33.0 1.0 • The concept of Delta modulation and its advantages
4 36 33.0 3.0 4.5 37.5 33.0 37.5 -1.5 were discussed.
• Slope overload and granular noise were discussed.
5 35 37.5 -2.5 -4.5 33.0 37.5 33.0 2.0
⁝ ⁝ ⁝ ⁝ ⁝ ⁝ ⁝ ⁝ ⁝

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