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Attenuation

A decrease in the level of an audio signal.

Audio Compression Manager (ACM)

The Audio Compression Manager from Microsoft® is a standard interface for audio compression and signal processing for Windows. The ACM can be used by Microsoft® Windows® programs to compress and decompress WAV files.

AVI

A file format of digital video. Vegas software allows you to open, edit and create new AVI files.

Bandwidth

Refers to the EQ plug-in that is built in. Each frequency band has a width associated with it that determines the range of frequencies that are affected by the EQ. An EQ band with a wide bandwidth affects a wider range of frequencies than one with a narrow bandwidth.

Bandwidth can also refers to the amount of data that can be transferred via a connection, such as a network or modem. For example, streaming media must be compressed due to the limited bandwidth of most Internet connections.

Beats Per Measure

In music theory, the time signature of a piece of music contains two pieces of information: the number of beats in each measure of music, and which note value gets one beat. This notion is used to determine the number of ticks to put on the ruler above the track view, and to determine the spacing when the ruler displays in measures and beats format.

Beats Per Minute (BPM)

In music theory, the tempo of a piece of music can be written as a number of beats in one minute. If the tempo is 60 BPM, a single beat occurs once every second. Lower BPM’s equal slower tempo, and vice versa.

Bit

A bit is the most elementary unit in digital systems. Its value can only be 1 or 0, corresponding to a voltage in an electronic circuit. Bits are used to represent values in the binary numbering system. As an example, the 8-bit binary number 10011010 represents the unsigned value of 154 in the decimal system. In digital sampling (specifically the PCM format), a binary number is used to store individual sound levels, called samples.

Bit Depth

The number of bits used to represent a single sample. Vegas software uses either 8, 16, or 24-bit samples. Higher values increase the quality of the playback and any recordings that you make. While 8-bit samples take up less memory (and hard disk space), they are inherently noisier than 16 or 24-bit samples.

Bus

A virtual pathway where signals from tracks and effects are mixed. A bus’s output can be a physical audio device in the computer from which the signal is heard.

Byte

Refers to a set of 8 bits. An 8-bit sample requires one byte of memory to store, while a 16-bit sample takes two bytes of memory to store.

GLOSSARY

APPENDIX B