Customer Reviews

Digital Signal Processing: Instant Access

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This book is a great introduction to DSP for the practicing engineer or hobbyist who finds himself in the position of needing DSP, yet having no background or knowledge of the subject.

The book's back cover says "a thorough yet compact overview of the fundamental concepts and basic techniques of digital signal processing", and that's exactly what it is.

Instead of spending chapters going into complex math or number theory, the book provides a broad introduction and overview of DSP techniques and applications.

All the DSP 101 usual suspects are covered: sampling, quantization, Nyquist, aliasing, DACs and ADCs, FIR & IIR filters, convolution (very well), Discrete and Fourier Transforms (DFT/FFT), and many applications that are only possible with DSP.

The book is *very* well-written. The language is clear, direct and not overbearing; the diagrams and figures are extremely helpful and plentiful; and the entire layout and organization of the book lends itself to a satisfying and enriching learning experience.

If you need to go from 0 to "using it" with DSP, this is the book for you. It totally removes the intimidation and barriers that normally accompany an introduction to DSP.

The book's "Instant Access" tagline delivers. I hope there are more titles in the "Instant Access" series.

This book is good for the practicing engineer trying to recall some of the undergrad signal processing theory. It personally helped me when I went back to grad school and took a DSP class after working for some years... However, one needs to bear in mind that this is a very condensed and brief work, and covers a lot of DSP topics without mathematical rigor.

It is best used in conjunction with a standard signals and systems textbook, as an explainer or reference. Don't expect it to cover all your needs, but do realize that it will help crystallize your understanding of the main text you use - we all know that these texts can be rather cryptic.