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Advantages of digital over analog systems

Short answer

Analog systems are simple, require less bandwidth, but noise accumulates and error correction is not possible. Digital systems allow regenerative repeaters, error detection/correction, encryption, compression, and multiplexing, but need more bandwidth, analog-to-digital conversion, and synchronization.

Mention the advantages and disadvantages of analog and digital communication systems.

Analog communication

Advantages

  • Simple, cheap equipment for short-distance links (AM/FM radio).
  • Needs less bandwidth for the same message than digital transmission.
  • Directly matches natural signals (voice, video), so no conversion is needed.

Disadvantages

  • Noise and distortion are amplified along with the signal and cannot be removed.
  • Hard to detect or correct errors, and weak security.
  • Difficult to store, multiplex and process; quality falls with every copy.

Digital communication

Advantages

  • Regenerative repeaters rebuild the pulses, so noise does not accumulate over long distances.
  • Error detection and correction are possible (parity, CRC, Hamming).
  • Easy encryption, compression and multiplexing (TDM); many data types (voice, video, text) share one network.
  • Easy storage and processing by computers; stable, uniform quality; integrated circuits are cheap.

Disadvantages

  • Needs more bandwidth than the analog form.
  • Analog signals must be sampled and quantized, which adds quantization error.
  • Needs synchronisation between transmitter and receiver.
  • Conversion circuits (ADC/DAC) add cost and complexity.

✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)

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