| Analog recordings include vinyl and other types of records and the various forms of magnetic media (8-track, reel-to-reel and cassette).
In analog recordings, the audio signals are represented by physical changes (either electromagnetic alteration of the surface of recording tape or grooves in a vinyl record) and read by an electro-mechanical device which converts the analog information back into audio. Each analog recording has a certain amount of signal loss between the original source and the playback, which makes each succeeding generation of copies less accurate than the original.
Digital recordings include CD and DVD audio, MP3 files and various other audio formats (such as AIFF, RA, WAV and WMA)
In digital recordings, the audio signals are represented by groups of electronic bits (ones and zeroes) and read by an electronic device which converts the bits back into audio with negligible signal loss. Because digital information is represented numerically, it can be copied repeatedly and each succeeding generation of copies is identical to the original.
Prior to MP3's, the only way you could create a recording of your favorite songs was to copy the individual songs onto either a cassette tape or CD, which limited the recording time to a little over an hour (74 minutes, to be exact). Converting music to digital meant creating a large file on your computer's hard drive, which would need to be converted back to CD audio and copied onto a CD.
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