The Video Home System (VHS) was an analog system for playing movies in the home.
Analog is a concept that refers to something based on analogy : a link of similarity between different elements. This adjective, derived from the Greek word analogikós , is usually used to refer to a type of system or device.
Analog devices , in this framework, present information through a continuous physical magnitude that is proportional to the value of the information itself . Analog is generally opposed to digital , which works with information created, stored or transported with a combination of bits (a unit of measurement linked to the amount of information, which is equivalent to the choice between two alternatives with the same degree of probability).
Characteristics of analog
Analog electronics , for example, refers to systems with variables that change continuously over time and that, according to theory, are capable of adopting infinite values. In digital electronics , on the contrary, the variables always have a defined state and can only acquire discrete values.
An analog signal , meanwhile, is produced with an electromagnetic phenomenon that can be represented by a continuous mathematical function. The digital signal , on the other hand, is associated with magnitudes with discrete values (and not values that appear within a certain range).
The computer replaced an analog device like the typewriter.
Cameras and watches
Let's look at the case of cameras. Analog cameras use film or reels, while digital cameras use a memory card. Analog photography , likewise, is captured on paper, while digital photography is observed on a screen.
An analog clock , for its part, indicates the time with needles or hands on a circle with numbers: that is why it is also known as a clock with hands . Digital clocks generally fulfill their function by directly displaying the numbers.
The compass is an analog instrument that travelers can use to locate themselves.
Differences between analog and analog
It is important not to confuse this term with analogue , something that often happens in everyday speech. The first meaning presented to us by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) defines it as a thing that has an analogy with another; that is, it is similar to her.
It can also be a reasoning that is based on the similarity seen in the attributes of different things or individuals. On the other hand, in the field of biology it is used to talk about a minimum of two organs whose aspects are similar because they fulfill the same function although they are not considered homologous, as occurs with wings in insects and birds.
The blackout of television broadcasts
The end of analogue television broadcasts that took place when digital television arrived is known as the analogue blackout . On the European continent, for example, this process has taken place since May 2005 , although each country adopted it at different times.
Once analog broadcasting ceases, it becomes necessary to purchase a new antenna and digital decoder for the TV. Since this phenomenon entailed extraordinary economic costs, many people were dissatisfied, although they had no choice but to adapt because analog television stopped working.
Analogue in video games
The term analog has great importance in the field of video games , where it is used to describe the technology of buttons and sticks (small levers that are moved using the thumbs). One of the pioneering companies in the use of analog pressure was Nintendo , when it launched its Nintendo 64 console in 1996 , the first to use an analog stick , which detected different degrees of inclination to allow, for example, a character to go from walking to very slowly to run without having to touch any other button on the controller.
Later, analog buttons appeared on the top of the controllers, which are often used to simulate the different degrees of pressure on car pedals in racing games. Unlike a digital button, which only supports the "resting" or "pressed" states, the analog one can represent several hundred degrees of pressure.
Technological evolution
The opposition between analog and digital marks the evolution of technology . In numerous fields and in multiple activities, analog devices were left aside, being replaced by digitally operated devices.
Take the case of music. The vinyl record is a physical object that is played on a record player , just as the audio tape cassette can be listened to with a cassette player. For many reasons, today digital songs are usually accessed over the Internet via streaming.
Previously, to enjoy AM/FM radio you had to search for the broadcast on the dial, tuning to the corresponding frequency. Today, broadcasters broadcast on the Web.
Regarding communications, we moved from the telegraph , the fax and the rotary dial telephone to the computer and the smartphone. Thus, the transition from analog to digital occurred in almost all areas.