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μ-law & A-law

 

µ-law
The µ-law algorithm (often u-law, ulaw, or mu-law) is a companding algorithm, primarily used in the digital telecommunication systems of North America and Japan. Companding algorithms reduce the dynamic range of an audio signal. In analog systems, this can increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) achieved during transmission, and in the digital domain, it can reduce the quantization error (hence increasing signal to quantization noise ratio). These SNR increases can be traded instead for reduced bandwidth for equivalent SNR.

 

A-law
The A-law algorithm is a standard companding algorithm, used in European digital communications systems to optimize, i.e., modify, the dynamic range of an analog signal for digitizing.
It is similar to the μ-law algorithm used in North America and Japan.