Why do you need to encode a signal?

Answer 1

Encoding converts data in one format to another format. This is important in computer technolgoy, communications engineering, control engineering and signal processing.

Encoding is typically done to utilise one or more of the following advantages:

1. Compression of data for more efficient data transfers or storage.
2. Improve the quality of a transmission signal - digital encoding is often used to recude the effect of noise and signal attenuation.
3. Remove unneeded information relative to the application (digital TV signals consider the quality of human vision and encode the signal accordingly - animals who can see at higher rates than us, such as birds, would be very unimpressed with what they see on the TV!)
4. Convert data into a format to communicate with attached peripherals.
5. Encrypt data for security reasons.

There are certain to be other uses, since the methods of encoding are so varied, but this should give you an idea of why it is an important process.