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Digitization Guidelines Initiative

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Term: Channel (audio)

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Term: Channel (audio)

Definition:

A single stream of recorded sound with a location in a sound field ("left front loudspeaker"). This definition reflects common (although not universal) usage. Some writers use the term more broadly (no requirement for sound field location) or apply it to a signal that has been stored on media ("a two-channel tape").

Audio professionals sometimes use track for the meanings outlined in the preceding paragraph. In order to distinguish track from channel, however, this working group defines track as a stream of sound with no defined location in a sound field.

Category:
Audio
See also:
Track (audio); Multitrack (audio); Multichannel (audio); Sound field