Chapter 4

Digital
Transmission

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 Chapter 4: Outline

4.1 DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

4.2 ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

4.1 TRANSMISSION MODES

 Chapter4: Objective

 The first section discusses digital-to-digital conversion. Line

coding is used to convert digital data to a digital signal. Several
common schemes are discussed. The section also describes block
coding, which is used to create redundancy in the digital data
before they are encoded as a digital signal. Redundancy is used
as an inherent error detecting tool. The last topic in this section
discusses scrambling, a technique used for digital-to-digital
conversion in long-distance transmission.

 The second section discusses analog-to-digital conversion. Pulse

code modulation is described as the main method used to sample
an analog signal. Delta modulation is used to improve the
efficiency of the pulse code modulation.
 Chapter4: Objective (continued)

 The third section discusses transmission modes. When we want

to transmit data digitally, we need to think about parallel or
serial transmission. In parallel transmission, we send multiple
bits at a time; in serial transmission, we send one bit at a time.
 4-1 DIGITAL-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

In Chapter 3, we discussed data and signals. We

said that data can be either digital or analog. We
also said that signals that represent data can also
be digital or analog. In this section, we see how we
can represent digital data by using digital signals.
The conversion involves three techniques: line
coding, block coding, and scrambling. Line coding
is always needed; block coding and scrambling
may or may not be needed.
4.5
 4.4.1 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
(see Chapter 1). 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. Figure 4.1 shows the process.

4.6
 Figure 4.1: Line coding and decoding

4.7
 Figure 4.2: Signal elements versus data elements

4.8
 Baud and Bits per second
 The terms baud and bps are often used interchangeably.
However, the two are not the same at all.
 The carrier signal is characterized by the number of signal
intervals, or pulses, that are transmitted per second. Each
pulse is called a baud.
 Bps stands for bits per second. Bps is a measure of how many
bits can be transmitted during one pulse (one baud). So,

 bps = baud * number of bits per baud.

 The two are often confused because early modems used to
transmit only 1 bit per baud, so a 1200 baud modem would
also be transmitting 1200 bps.

4.9
Example 4.1
A signal is carrying data in which one data element is
encoded as one signal element (r = 1). If the bit rate is 100
kbps, what is the average value of the baud rate if c is
between 0 and 1?

Solution
We assume that the average value of c is 1/2. The baud rate
is then

4.10
Example 4.2
The maximum data rate of a channel (see Chapter 3) is
Nmax = 2 × B × log2 L (defined by the Nyquist formula).
Does this agree with the previous formula for Nmax?

Solution
A signal with L levels actually can carry log2 L bits per
level. If each level corresponds to one signal element and we
assume the average case (c = 1/2), then we have

4.11
Example 4.3
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.

4.12
 Figure 4.3: Effect of lack of synchronization

4.13
 4.4.2 Line Coding Schemes

We can roughly divide line coding schemes into five

broad categories, as shown in Figure 4.4.
There are several schemes in each category. We
need to be familiar with all schemes discussed in this
section to understand the rest of the book. This
section can be used as a reference for schemes
encountered later.

4.14
 Figure 4.4: Line coding scheme

4.15
 NRZ (Non-Return-to-Zero)
 Traditionally, a unipolar scheme was
designed as a non-return-to-zero (NRZ)
scheme
 In this scheme the positive voltage defines
bit 1 and the zero voltage defines bit 0. It
is called NRZ because the signal does not
return to zero at the middle of the bit.

4.16
 Figure 4.5: Unipolar NRZ scheme

4.17
 Figure 4.6: Polar schemes (NRZ-L and NRZ-I)

• In the first variation, NRZ-L (NRZ-Level), the level

of the voltage determines the value of the bit.
• In the second variation, NRZ-I (NRZ-Invert), the
change or lack of change in the level of the voltage
determines the value of the bit.

4.18
Example 4.4
A system is using NRZ-I to transfer 10-Mbps data. What are
the average signal rate and minimum bandwidth?

Solution
The average signal rate is S = N/2 = 500 kbaud. The
minimum bandwidth for this average baud rate is
Bmin = S = 500 kHz.

4.19
 Figure 4.7: Polar schemes (RZ)
• The main problem with NRZ encoding occurs when the
sender and receiver clocks are not synchronized.
• The receiver does not know when one bit has ended and
the next bit is starting.
• One solution is the return-to-zero (RZ) scheme, which
uses three values: positive, negative, and zero. In RZ,
the signal changes not between bits but during the bit.

4.20
Biphase: Manchester and Differential Manchester
 The idea of RZ (transition at the middle of the bit) and the idea
of NRZ-L are combined into the Manchester scheme.
 In Manchester encoding, the duration of the bit is divided into
two halves.
 The voltage remains at one level during the first half and
moves to the other level in the second half. The transition at
the middle of the bit provides synchronization.
 Differential Manchester, on the other hand, combines the ideas
of RZ and NRZ-I. There is always a transition at the middle of
the bit, but the bit values are determined at the beginning of
the bit.
 If the next bit is 0, there is a transition; if the next bit is 1,
there is none.

4.21
 Figure 4.8: Polar biphase

4.22
 Bipolar Schemes
 In bipolar encoding (sometimes called
multilevel binary), there are three voltage
levels: positive, negative, and zero.
 The voltage level for one data element is
at zero, while the voltage level for the
other element alternates between positive
and negative.

4.23
 AMI and Pseudoternary
 A common bipolar encoding scheme is called bipolar
alternate mark inversion (AMI). In the term alternate
mark inversion, the word mark comes from telegraphy
and means 1. So AMI means alternate 1 inversion.
 A neutral zero voltage represents binary 0. Binary 1s
are represented by alternating positive and negative
voltages.
 A variation of AMI encoding is called pseudoternary in
which the 1 bit is encoded as a zero voltage and the 0
bit is encoded as alternating positive and negative
voltages.
4.24
 Figure 4.9: Bipolar schemes: AMI and pseudoternary

4.25
 2B1Q
 The first mBnL scheme, two binary, one
quaternary (2B1Q), uses data patterns of
size 2 and encodes the 2-bit patterns as
one signal element belonging to a four-
level signal.
 In this type of encoding m = 2, n = 1, and
L = 4 (quaternary).

4.26
 Figure 4.10: Multilevel: 2B1Q

4.27
 Figure 4.11: Multilevel: 8B6T

4.28
 Figure 4.12: Multilevel: 4D-PAM5 scheme

4.29
 Figure 4.13: Multi-transition MLT-3 scheme

4.30
 Table 4.1: Summary of line coding schemes

4.31
 4.4.3 Block Coding

We need redundancy to ensure synchronization and

to provide some kind of inherent error detecting.
Block coding can give us this redundancy and
improve the performance of line coding. In general,
block coding changes a block of m bits into a block
of n bits, where n is larger than m. Block coding is
referred to as an mB/nB encoding technique.

4.32
 Figure 4.14: Block coding concept

4.33
 (4B/5B) coding
 The four binary/five binary (4B/5B) coding scheme was
designed to be used in combination with NRZ-I.
 Recall that NRZ-I has a good signal rate, one-half that
of the biphase, but it has a synchronization problem.
 A long sequence of 0s can make the receiver clock lose
synchronization.
 One solution is to change the bit stream, prior to
encoding with NRZ-I, so that it does not have a long
stream of 0s. The 4B/5B scheme achieves this goal.

4.34
 Figure 4.15: Using block coding 4B/5B with NRZ-I line coding scheme

4.35
 Table 4.2: 4B/5B mapping codes

4.36
Example 4.5
We need to send data at a 1-Mbps rate. What is the
minimum required bandwidth, using a combination of
4B/5B and NRZ-I or Manchester coding?

Solution
First 4B/5B block coding increases the bit rate to 4.25
Mbps. The minimum bandwidth using NRZ-I is N/2 or 625
kHz. The Manchester scheme needs a minimum bandwidth
of 1 MHz. The first choice needs a lower bandwidth, but has
a DC component problem; the second choice needs a higher
bandwidth, but does not have a DC component problem.

4.37
 Figure 4.16: Substitution in 4B/5B block coding

4.38
 4.4.4 Scrambling

We modify line and block coding to include

scrambling, as shown in Figure 4.18. Note that
scrambling, as opposed to block coding, is done at
the same time as encoding. The system needs to
insert the required pulses based on the defined
scrambling rules. Two common scrambling
techniques are B8ZS and HDB3.

4.39
 Figure 4.18: AMI used with scrambling

4.40
 B8ZS Bipolar
 B8ZS 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 000VB0VB.
 The V in the sequence denotes violation; this is a
nonzero voltage that breaks an AMI rule of
encoding (opposite polarity from the previous).
 The B in the sequence denotes bipolar, which
means a nonzero level voltage in accordance with
the AMI rule.

4.41
 Figure 4.19: Two cases of B8ZS scrambling technique

4.42
 HDB3
 High-density bipolar 3-zero (HDB3) is commonly
used outside of North America.
 In this technique, which is more conservative
than B8ZS, four consecutive zero-level voltages
are replaced with a sequence of 000V or B00V.
 The reason for two different substitutions is to
maintain the even number of nonzero pulses
after each substitution.

4.43
 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.

4.44
 Figure 4.20: Different situations in HDB3 scrambling technique

4.45
 4-2 ANALOG-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION

The techniques described in Section 4.1 convert

digital data to digital signals. Sometimes, however,
we have an analog signal such as one created by a
microphone or camera. 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.
4.46
 4.2.1 Pulse Code Modulation (PCM)

The most common technique to change an analog

signal to digital data (digitization) is called pulse
code modulation (PCM). A PCM encoder has three
processes, as shown in Figure 4.24.

4.47
 Figure 4.21: Components of PCM encoder

4.48
 Figure 4.22: Three different sampling methods for PCM

4.49
Example 4.6
For an intuitive example of the Nyquist theorem, let us
sample a simple sine wave at three sampling rates: f s = 4f (2
times the Nyquist rate), fs = 2f (Nyquist rate), and fs = f
(one-half the Nyquist rate). Figure 4.24 shows the sampling
and the subsequent recovery of the signal. It can be seen that
sampling at the Nyquist rate can create a good
approximation of the original sine wave (part a).
Oversampling in part b can also create the same
approximation, but it is redundant and unnecessary.
Sampling below the Nyquist rate (part c) does not produce a
signal that looks like the original sine wave.

4.50
 Figure 4.23: Nyquist sampling rate for low-pass and bandpass signals

4.51
 Figure 4.24: Recovery of a sine wave with different sampling rates.

4.52
 Figure 4.25: Sampling of clock with only one hand.

4.53
Example 4.8
An example related to Example 4.7 is the seemingly
backward rotation of the wheels of a forward-moving car in
a movie. This can be explained by undersampling. A movie
is filmed at 24 frames per second. If a wheel is rotating more
than 12 times per second, the undersampling creates the
impression of a backward rotation.

4.54
Example 4.11
A complex bandpass signal has a bandwidth of 200 kHz.
What is the minimum sampling rate for this signal?

Solution
We cannot find the minimum sampling rate in this case
because we do not know where the bandwidth starts or ends.
We do not know the maximum frequency in the signal.

4.55
 Figure 4.26: Quantization and encoding of a sampled signal

−/2 ≤error ≤∆/2.

4.56
Example 4.12
What is the SNRdB in the example of Figure 4.26?

Solution
We can use the formula to find the quantization. We have
eight levels and 3 bits per sample, so
SNRdB = 6.02(3) + 4.76 = 19.82 dB. Increasing the number
of levels increases the SNR.

4.57
Example 4.13
A telephone subscriber line must have an SNR dB above 40.
What is the minimum number of bits per sample?

Solution
We can calculate the number of bits as

Telephone companies usually assign 7 or 8 bits per sample.

4.58
Example 4.14
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. So the sampling rate and bit rate are calculated as
follows:

4.59
 Figure 4.27: Components of a PCM decoder

4.60
Example 4.15
We have a low-pass analog signal of 4 kHz. If we send the
analog signal, we need a channel with a minimum
bandwidth of 4 kHz. If we digitize the signal and send 8 bits
per sample, we need a channel with a minimum bandwidth
of 8 × 4 kHz = 32 kHz.

4.61
 4.2.2 Delta Modulation (DM)

PCM is a very complex technique. Other techniques

have been developed to reduce the complexity of
PCM. The simplest is delta modulation. PCM finds
the value of the signal amplitude for each sample;
DM finds the change from the previous sample.
Figure 4.28 shows the process. Note that there are
no code words here; bits are sent one after another.

4.62
 Figure 4.28: The process of delta modulation

4.63
 Figure 4.29: Delta modulation components

4.64
 Figure 4.30: Delta demodulation components

4.65
 4-3 TRANSMISSION MODES

Of primary concern when we are considering the

transmission of data from one device to another is
the wiring, and of primary concern when we are
considering the wiring is the data stream. Do we
send 1 bit at a time; or do we group bits into larger
groups and, if so, how? The transmission of binary
data across a link can be accomplished in either
parallel or serial mode. and isochronous (see
Figure 4.31).
4.66
 Figure 4.31: Data transmission modes

4.67
 4.3.1 Parallel Transmission

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
(see Chapter 1). 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. Figure 4.1 shows the process.

4.68
 Figure 4.32: Parallel transmission

4.69
 4.3.2 Serial Transmission

In serial transmission one bit follows another, so we

need only one communication channel rather than n
to transmit data between two communicating devices
(see Figure 4.33)..

4.70
 Figure 4.33: Serial transmission

4.71
 Figure 4.34: Asynchronous transmission

4.72
 Figure 4.35: Synchronous transmission

Direction of flow
Frame Frame Frame

11110111 11111011 11110110 • • •1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 11110011

4.73