In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC or D-to-A) is a device for converting a digital (usually binary) code to an analog signal (current, voltage or electric charge). Digital-to-analog converters are the interface between the abstract digital world and the analog real life. Simple switches, a network of resistors, current sources or capacitors may implement this conversion.
An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) performs the reverse operation.
A DAC usually only deals with pulse-code modulation (PCM)-encoded signals. The job of converting various compressed forms of signals into PCM is left to codecs.
