Sound and Light vs Audio and Video
People often refer to “sound and video” as a concept pair. That is confusing because, in my thinking, “sound” and “video” refer to very different things. In this post, I will explain the difference.
Sound and Audio
In a previous blog post, I have written about the difference between sound and audio. The short story is that “sound” refers to the physical phenomenon of vibrating molecules, such as sound waves moving through air. “Audio” describes technologies that can capture and reproduce such vibrations. So a sound recording is stored as an audio file. Audio technologies include microphones, recording devices (both analog and digital), and speakers that can produce sound.
Light and Video
“Light” and “video” can be thought of as similar to the distinction between “sound” and “audio.” “Video” technologies (cameras, storage devices, and screens) can capture and reproduce visible “light,” that is, electromagnetic radiation perceived by the human eye.
Audition and Vision
In addition to the physical signals (“sound” and “light”) and related technologies (“audio” and “video”), we also talk about how they are perceived through “audition” and “vision.” From this follows the related cognitive processes: “auditory” and “visual.”
It is easier to differentiate between them once you understand that all these terms refer to different things.