µ-law

µ-law uses a type of compression known as companding to reduce a sample with a 12-bit resolution into an 8-bit form. ie the 8-bit data format has the dynamic range of 12-bit linear. The 7 magnitude bits (the 8th bit is the sign) are split into a 4-bit magnitude and a 3-bit shift value. This mapping from 8-bit µ-law to 12-bit linear looks like a logarithmic curve made from straight line segments.

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