Posted by Doug McDonald on 11/29/07 23:28

Richard Crowley wrote:
> "Doug McDonald" wrote...
>> Richard Crowley wrote:
>
>>> Anyone who has cleaned a black-vinyl LP, or used
>>> Cedar (etc.) to extract a conversation out of the noise
>>> would agree.
>> Cleaning an LP is not for removal of white noise ...
>> it's very very far from that.
>
> I didn't say that cleaning an LP removed white noise.
> I was observing that *masking* the signal is very
> different than *irrevocably discarding* it. The first is
> reversable while the second is not.
>
>

What I am saying is that a properly
working lossy compression system, such as MP3, given enough bits,
is equivalent to adding white (or pink) noise. If one
can be "undone" (which it can't ) so can the other. If
one can't, neither can the other.

Some people have difficulty understand this.

Cleaning an LP is not for removal of white noise, it
removes clicks and pops. These can, to some extent,
be removed ex post facto in software. Added white noise
can't be, at least not without removing actual information
buried in it.

Doug McDonald

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