Chapter 4: Digital Transmission

This Chapter introduces digital transmission – how data is represented as signals for
communication. It covers three main areas:
(1) Digital-to-digital conversion (encoding digital data into digital signals),
(2) Analog-to-digital conversion (digitizing analog signals like voice),
(3) Transmission modes (parallel vs. serial data transfer).

Digital-to-Digital Conversion

Digital-to-digital conversion refers to the process of converting binary data (0s and 1s)
into a digital signal, which is a sequence of voltage pulses that can be transmitted over
a cable. This process is necessary to send data as a stream of bits over networking
media.
In practice, three techniques are used in this conversion:

• Line Coding: is a technique used to convert digital data (0s and 1s) into
electrical or optical signals that can travel over a physical communication medium
like a wire or fiber optic cable. In simple terms, line coding converts the stream of
bits (such as 10110) into a waveform (consisting of voltage or light pulses) that a
cable can carry and the receiver can understand.
Each bit (1 or 0) is represented by a specific voltage level or signal shape. For example,
a high voltage could be represented by a 1, and a low voltage or zero voltage could be
represented by a 0. This waveform travels through the medium, and the receiver reads
the voltages to recover the original data. The types of line coding are:

1- NRZ (Non-Return to Zero). In this method, a 1 is sent as a high voltage, and a 0

is sent as a low voltage. It is easy to use, but if there are too many 1s or 0s in a row,
the signal does not change. This can make it hard for the receiver to know when
each bit starts and ends.

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2- Manchester coding. Here, every bit has a change in the middle. A 1 changes from
low to high , and a 0 changes from high to low . These regular changes help
the receiver stay in sync with the signal, so it is very reliable.

3- Bipolar coding. In this method, a 0 is sent as zero voltage. A 1 is sent by switching

between positive and negative voltages. This helps maintain a balanced signal and
is beneficial for certain types of cables and equipment.

• Block Coding: is a method used with the line coding to make data more reliable
when it is being transmitted. It adds extra bits to your data before sending it. This
helps the receiver stay in sync with the sender, so it knows where each group of bits
starts and ends. And detect errors if something goes wrong during transmission.

This technique introduces redundancy to improve signal reliability. By changing blocks

of m bits to a block of n bits where n>m. For example, a 4B/5B block code turns 4-bit
groups into 5-bit sequences in such a way that specific problematic patterns (like too
many 0s in a row) are avoided.
Steps:
1- Division: divide the bits into groups of m bits.
2- Substitution: replace m bits with n bits.
3- Combination: group n bits to form a stream.>> more bits than original

• Scrambling: is a technique used in digital communication to maintain

synchronization between the sender and the receiver without increasing the number
of transmitted bits. When digital signals contain long sequences of 0s, they cause
problems for the receiver because there are no voltage transitions. This can make it
difficult for the receiver to stay in sync with the sender’s timing, leading to errors
in interpreting the data. Scrambling solves this by replacing long runs of 0s with
unique patterns that include at least one signal transition. These patterns are

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 carefully designed to appear like normal data but include known “violation pulses”
that help the receiver recognize and reverse the scrambling.

Common Scrambling Techniques:

1. B8ZS (Bipolar with 8-Zero Substitution):

Used in North America, when a string of eight consecutive 0s appears, it is replaced

by the sequence OOOVBOVB.
If the previous is positive, then we replace the 8 zeros with: 000 + - 0 - +
If the previous is Negative, then we replace the 8 zeros with: 000 - + 0 + -

These violations enable the receiver to identify and decode the original data
accurately.

2. HDB3 (High-Density Bipolar 3-Zero):

Used in Europe and other regions, it replaces four consecutive 0s with a sequence of
OOOV or BOOV. The reason for two different substitutions is to maintain an even
number of nonzero pulses after each substitution. It has two rules:
1. If the number of nonzero pulses after the last substitution is odd, the substitution
pattern will be OOOV, 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 BOOV, which makes the total number of nonzero pulses even.
HDB3 Substitution Rules
Case 1: If there are no 4 consecutive zeros

• Encoding is the same as AMI (Alternate Mark Inversion):

o Bit 0: zero voltage
o Bit 1: alternating positive and negative voltage

Case 2: If there are 4 consecutive zeros

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Scrambling is significant because it ensures more stable and accurate data transmission
over digital networks without needing extra bandwidth.

Analog-to-Digital Conversion
Analog-to-digital conversion, also known as digitization, involves converting analog
signals (such as human voices or music) into digital data, represented by bits. It has two
main methods:

• Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) is a method used to convert analog signals, such
as voice, into a digital form. It works in three steps:

1- Sampling – The system takes measurements of the signal’s strength (amplitude).

2- Quantization – Each measurement is rounded to the nearest value from a fixed
set of levels, making it easier to represent with numbers.
3- Encoding – These rounded values are then changed into binary numbers (0s and
1s).

The result is a stream of digital bits representing the original analog signal.

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• Delta Modulation (DM): Delta modulation is a simpler alternative to PCM. Instead
of encoding absolute sample values, it encodes the change from the previous
sample. it only sends whether the signal has gone up or down compared to the last
time it was checked>>> 1 = gone up , and 0 =gone down.
This method reduces complexity, but it can struggle with accuracy if the signal
changes rapidly.
In practice, DM is proper for specific low-bandwidth analog sources; however, PCM
offers higher reliability.

Transmission Modes
When binary data is transmitted, it can be sent in parallel or serial:
Figure1 parallel transmission

In parallel transmission, multiple bits travel simultaneously, each on its wire. For
example, an 8-bit byte can be sent over eight wires simultaneously. This enables parallel
transfer to occur very quickly. However, parallel links are expensive and typically have
a limited range. Parallel transmission is commonly used within computers or for devices
like old printer ports, where the distance is short and speed is required.
Figure2 serial transmission

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In serial transmission, bits are sent one at a time over a single channel, typically a
single wire or fiber. Serial transmission is slower than parallel (only one bit per cycle),
but it’s far more practical for longer distances and has a much lower cost in terms of
wiring. Nearly all network communications between devices use serial transmission –
for example, an Ethernet cable, a fiber optic link.
Despite the per-bit rate being slower, serial links can be clocked at very high speeds,
and they avoid the timing alignment issues associated with parallel wires.

Serial transmission has two sub-types: asynchronous and synchronous:

• Asynchronous Serial: In asynchronous mode, data is sent in small independent

frames – typically one byte at a time – with start and stop bits marking the frame
boundaries. The sender and receiver do not share a standard clock; instead, the start
bit signals the beginning of a byte, and the receiver uses its clock to sample the bits
until a stop bit signals the end of the byte. There may be idle gaps between bytes of
unpredictable length. This method is simple and was traditionally used for low-
speed communication, such as older serial ports, modem connections, or keyboard
input. The extra bits (start/stop) make it slightly slower in throughput; however,
asynchronous serial is reliable and cost-effective.

• Synchronous Serial: a continuous stream of bits is sent with no gaps, and the
sender and receiver stay synchronized with each other’s clocks. Data is grouped
into larger frames (multiple bytes) which are sent back-to-back. It’s the receiver’s
job to separate the bit stream into bytes using the agreed frame format. Synchronous
transmission is efficient and fast because it eliminates the per-byte overhead; there
are no start/stop bits between bytes, resulting in higher effective data rates than
asynchronous mode. This mode is used in high-speed network links and
communications between computers and network devices, such as the data link
layer on an Ethernet or a point-to-point link between routers.

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