Chapter 4

DIGITAL
TRANSMISSION

Kashif Bashir
 1 DIGITAL TRANSMISSION

A computer network is designed to send

information from one point to another. This
information needs to be converted to either a
digital signal or an analog signal for
Transmission.

Topics discussed in this section:

Line Coding
Line Coding Schemes
Block Coding

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 Line Coding
Line coding is the process of converting digital data
to digital signals.
We assume that data, in the form of text, numbers,
graphical images, audio, or video, are stored in
computer memory as sequences of bits.
Line coding converts a sequence of bits to a digital
signal.
At the sender, digital data are encoded into a digital
signal;
at the receiver, the digital data are recreated by
decoding the digital signal.
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 Figure 4.1 Line coding and decoding

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 Signal Element Versus Data Element
In data communications, our goal is to send data
elements.
A data element is the smallest entity that can represent a
piece of information: this is the bit.
In digital data communications, a signal element carries
data elements.
A signal element is the shortest unit (timewise) of a
digital signal.
In other words, data elements are what we need to send;
signal elements are what we can send.
Data elements are being carried; signal elements are the
carriers.
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Kashif Bashir
Data Rate
vs.
Signal Rate
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 Note

The data rate defines the number of data

elements (bits) sent in 1 s. The unit is
bits per second (bps). The data rate is
sometimes called the bit rate;

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 Note

The signal rate is the number of signal

elements sent in Is. The unit is the baud.
The signal rate is sometimes called the
pulse rate, the modulation rate, or the
baud rate.

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 Note

One goal in data communications is to

increase the data rate while decreasing
the signal rate. Increasing the data rate
increases the speed of transmission;
decreasing the signal rate decreases the
bandwidth requirement.

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Example

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 Note

Self-synchronization To correctly interpret the signals

received from the sender, the receiver's bit intervals must
correspond exactly to the sender's bit intervals. If the
receiver clock is faster or slower, the bit intervals are not
matched and the receiver might misinterpret the signals.

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 Figure 4.3 Effect of lack of synchronization

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 Example 4.2

In a digital transmission, the receiver clock is 0.1 percent

faster than the sender clock. How many extra bits per
second does the receiver receive if the data rate is
1 kbps? How many if the data rate is 1 Mbps?
Solution
At 1 kbps, the receiver receives 1001 bps instead of 1000
bps.

At 1 Mbps, the receiver receives 1,001,000 bps instead of

1,000,000 bps.

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 Different Conversion Schemes

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 Digital to Digital Encoding

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 Types of Digital to Digital Encoding

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 Note:

Unipolar encoding uses only one

voltage level.

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 Unipolar Encoding

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 Note:

Polar encoding uses two voltage levels

(positive and negative).

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 Types of Polar Encoding

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 Note:

In NRZ-L the level of the signal is

dependent upon the state of the bit.

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 Note:

In NRZ-I the signal is inverted if a 1 is

encountered.

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 NRZ-L and NRZ-I Encoding

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 RZ Encoding

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 Note:

A good encoded digital signal must

contain a provision for
synchronization.

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 Note:

In Manchester encoding, the

transition at the middle of the bit is
used for both synchronization and bit
representation.

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 Note:

In differential Manchester encoding,

the transition at the middle of the bit is
used only for synchronization.
The bit representation is defined by the
inversion or noninversion at the
beginning of the bit.

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 Manchester and Diff. Manchester Encoding

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 Note:

In Manchester Scheme the only

drawback is the signal rate. The signal
rate for Manchester and differential
Manchester is double that for NRZ.

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 Note:

A long sequence of Os upsets the synchronization.

If we can find a way to avoid a long sequence of
Os in the original stream, we can use bipolar AMI
for long distances.

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 Note:

In bipolar encoding, we use three

levels: positive, zero,
and negative.

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 Types of Bipolar Encoding

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 Bipolar AMI Encoding

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 Note:
Bipolar with 8-zero substitution (B8ZS) is commonly used
in North America. In this technique, eight consecutive
zero-level voltages are replaced by the sequence
000VBOVB. The V in the sequence denotes violation; this
is a nonzero voltage that breaks an AMI rule of encoding.
The B in the sequence denotes bipolar, which means a
nonzero level voltage in accordance with the AMI rule

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 B8ZS Encoding

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 Figure 4.19 Two cases of B8ZS scrambling technique

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 Solution to Example 3

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 Note:
High density bipolar 3 zero (HDB3) is commonly used
outside of north America. In this technique, four
consecutive zero-level voltages are replaced with a
sequenced with of 000V or B000V.

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 HDB3 Encoding

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 High density bipolar 3 zero (HDB3)
The two rules can be stated as follows:
1. If the number of nonzero pulses after the last substitution is
odd, the substitution pattern will be 000V, which makes the
total number of nonzero pulses even.
2. If the number of nonzero pulses after the last substitution is
even, the substitution pattern will be B00V, which makes the
total number of nonzero pulses even.

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 Figure 4.20 Different situations in HDB3 scrambling technique

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 Solution to Example 4

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 2 ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

We have seen in Chapter 3 that a digital signal is

superior to an analog signal. The tendency today is to
change an analog signal to digital data. In this section
we describe two techniques, pulse code modulation
and delta modulation.

Topics discussed in this section:

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)
Delta Modulation (DM)

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 Figure 4.21 Components of PCM encoder

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 Sampling

If we want to store the recording in the computer or

send it digitally, we need to change it through a process
called sampling. The term sampling means measuring
the amplitude of the signal at equal intervals.

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 PAM

Pulse Amplitude Modulation takes an analog signal, samples it,

and generates a series of pulses based on the results of the
sampling.

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 Quantized PAM Signal
1= +ve Value
2= -ve value

Quantization is method of assigning integral values in a

specific range to sampled instances.

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 Quantizing Using
Sign and Magnitude

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 PCM

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 From Analog to PCM

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 Pulse Code Modulation:

PCM is the most commonly used technique in digital

communications.
Used in many applications:
Telephone systems
Digital audio recording
CD laser disks
voice mail
digital video etc.

They are a primary building block for advanced communication

systems.

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 Figure 4.22 Three different sampling methods for PCM

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 Three different sampling methods for PCM
In ideal sampling, pulses from the analog signal are sampled.
This is an ideal sampling method and cannot be easily
implemented.

In natural sampling, a high-speed switch is turned on for only

the small period of time when the sampling occurs.

The result is a sequence of samples that retains the shape of

the analog signal.

The most common sampling method, called sample and hold,

however, creates flat-top samples by using a circuit.

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 Note

According to the Nyquist theorem, the

sampling rate must be
at least 2 times the highest frequency
contained in the signal.

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 Figure 4.23 Nyquist sampling rate for low-pass and bandpass signals

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 Example
What sampling rate is needed for a signal with a
bandwidth of 10,000 Hz (1000 to 11,000 Hz)?
Solution
The sampling rate must be twice the highest frequency in
the signal:

Sampling rate = 2 x (11,000) = 22,000 samples/s

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 Example
A signal is sampled. Each sample requires at least 12
levels of precision (+0 to +5 and -0 to -5). How many bits
should be sent for each sample?

Solution
We need 4 bits; 1 bit for the sign and 3 bits for the value.
A 3-bit value can represent 23 = 8 levels (000 to 111),
which is more than what we need. A 2-bit value is not
enough since 22 = 4. A 4-bit value is too much because 24
= 16.

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 Example
We want to digitize the human voice. What is the bit rate,
assuming 8 bits per sample?
Solution

The human voice normally contains frequencies from 0

to 4000 Hz.
Sampling rate = 4000 x 2 = 8000 samples/s

Bit rate = sampling rate x number of bits per sample

= 8000 x 8 = 64,000 bps = 64 Kbps

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 Note

PCM is a very complex technique. Other

techniques have been developed to reduce
the complexity of PCM. The simplest is
delta modulation. DM finds the change
from the previous sample, used for
transmission of voice information where
quality is not of primary importance.

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 Figure 4.28 The process of delta modulation

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 Figure 4.29 Delta modulation components

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 Figure 4.30 Delta demodulation components

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 Note

PCM is a more advanced encoding method that

offers noise rejection and additional features. If
used properly, PCM's only drawback is its high
cost.

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Comparison of PCM and DM

1.Signal-to-noise ratio of DM is larger than signal-to-noise ratio

of PCM.
2.For an DM signal-to-noise ratio is comparable to Signal-to-
noise ratio of PCM.
3.In PCM, that it transmits all the bits which are used to code a
sample, whereas in DM transmits only one bit for one sample.
4.In PCM system Highest Bandwidth is required since the
number of bits are high, but in DM system lowest bandwidth is
only required.
5.PCM system is complex in design when compared to DM
system.
6.No feedback exists in case of PCM system , but feedback
exists in DM system.
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 3 TRANSMISSION MODES

The transmission of binary data across a link can be

accomplished in either parallel or serial mode. In
parallel mode, multiple bits are sent with each clock
tick. In serial mode, 1 bit is sent with each clock tick.
While there is only one way to send parallel data, there
are three subclasses of serial transmission:
asynchronous, synchronous, and isochronous.

Topics discussed in this section:

Parallel Transmission
Serial Transmission

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 Figure 4.31 Data transmission and modes

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 Figure 4.32 Parallel transmission

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 Figure 4.33 Serial transmission

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 Note

In asynchronous transmission, we send

1 start bit (0) at the beginning and 1 or
more stop bits (1s) at the end of each
byte. There may be a gap between
each byte.

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 Note

Asynchronous here means

asynchronous at the byte level,
but the bits are still synchronized;
their durations are the same.

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 Figure 4.34 Asynchronous transmission

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 Note

In synchronous transmission, we send

bits one after another without start or
stop bits or gaps. It is the responsibility
of the receiver to group the bits.

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 Figure 4.35 Synchronous transmission

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 Isochronous

In real-time audio and video, in which uneven delays between

frames are not acceptable, synchronous transmission fails. For
example, TV images are broadcast at the rate of 30 images per
second; they must be viewed at the same rate. If each image is
sent by using one or more frames, there should be no delays
between frames. For this type of application, synchronization
between characters is not enough; the entire stream of bits must
be synchronized. The isochronous transmission guarantees that
the data arrive at a fixed rate.

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