Review of Discrete-time

signals
Some Practical Signals:
– Audio Signals
– Video Signals
– Seismic Signals
– Biomedical Signals
– Time Series

2
 Â Discrete Time Signals

Sampling
Unit impulse sequence
Unit step sequence
Complex Exponential sequence
Periodicity
 Discrete-Time Signals
 A discrete-time signal, commonly referred to as a sequence, is only
defined at discrete time instances, where t is defined to take
integer values only.
 Discrete-time signals may also be written as a sequence of
numbers inside braces:
{x[n]} = {K, − 0.2, 2.2,1.1, 0.2, − 3.7, 2.9,K}
↑
ªn indicates discrete time, in integer intervals, the bold-face denotes time t=0.
 Discrete time signals are often generated from continuous time
signals by sampling which can roughly be interpreted as quantizing the
independent variable (time)
{x(n)} = x(nTs ) = x(t ) t =nT s
n = L,−2,−1,0,1,2,L

Sampling interval / period

 Sampling
 Think of sampling as a switch, that stays closed for an
infinitesimally small amount of signal time. It takes samples from the
continuous time.
It

Ts
 Discrete Signals
 A length-N sequence is often referred to as an N-point sequence
 The length of a finite-length sequence can be increased by zero-padding, i.e., by
appending it with zeros
 A right-sided sequence x[n] has zero-valued samples for n<N1. If N1>0, a right-
sided sequence is called a causal sequence

n
N1

 A left sequence x[n] has zero-valued samples for n>N2. If N2<0, a left-sided
sequence is called an anti-causal sequence

N2
n
 Discrete Time Signals
Unit Impulse (sequence)

1, 𝑛=0
𝛿 𝑛 =
0, 𝑜𝑡𝑕𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒
⎨

The sifting property carries into discrete time domain

⎧ f [n0 ], n = n0
f [n]δ [n − n0 ] = f [n0 ]δ [n − n0 ] = ⎨
⎩0, n ≠ n0
a<n0, b>n0
b b
∑ f [n]δ [n − n0 ] = ∑ f [n0 ]δ [n − n0 ] = f [n0 ]
n=a n=a

𝛿 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 1

δ(t) is non-zero only around t = 0

 Discrete Time Signals
Unit Impulse (sequence)

 The sifting property has one very important

consequence: A sequence can be generated in terms of impulses
x[n] = ... + x[−1]δ [n + 1] + x[0]δ [n] + x[1]δ [n − 1] + ...
∞
= ∑ x[m]δ [n − m]
m=−∞

=x[-5]δ[n+5]

We will use this property in the future to define any system in terms of its “impulse response”
Discrete Time Signals

Unit Step (sequence)

n
–4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6

⎨
1, 𝑛≥0
𝑢 𝑛 =
0, 𝑜𝑡𝑕𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒
Continued………
• Relation between u(n) and δ(n) is
∞ 𝑛

𝑢 𝑛 = 𝛿 𝑛−𝑚 = 𝛿(𝑘)
𝑚=0 𝑚=−∞

∞ 𝑡

𝑢 𝑡 = 𝛿 𝑡 − 𝜏 𝑑𝜏 = 𝛿 𝑡 𝑑𝜏
𝜏=0 𝜏=−∞

𝛿 𝑛 = 𝑢 𝑛 − 𝑢(𝑛 − 1)

𝑑
𝛿 𝑡 = 𝑢(𝑡)
𝑑𝑡 11
 Discrete Time Signals
Exponential Sequence

 Exponential sequence -
x[n] = A α n , − ∞ < n < ∞
ªwhere A and α are real or complex numbers. If |α|<1, this is decaying exponential
ªWhat about for 0 < α <1, or what about -1 < α < 0, and |α|>1???

(σo + jωo ) A = A e jφ ,
 If we write α=e ,
Angular (discrete) frequency
ªthen we can express of the sequence

x[n] = A e jφe(σo + jωo ) n = xre [n] + j xim [n],

ªwhere
xre [n] = A eσo n cos( ωo n + φ),
xim [n] = A e σo n sin( ωo n + φ)
 Discrete Time Signals
Exponential Sequence
 xre[n] and xim[n] of a complex exponential sequence are real
sinusoidal sequences with constant (σ0=0), growing (σ0>0),
or
attenuating (σ0<0) amplitudes for n > 0
Real part Imaginary part
1 1

0.5 0.5

Amplitude
Amplitude

0 0

-0.5 -0.5

-1 -1
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
Time index n Time index n

1 π
x[n] = exp(− + j )n ⋅ u[n]
12 6
 Discrete Time Signals
Exponential Sequence

 A special case of the exponential signal is very commonly used in

DSP: A=real constant, and α=jωo is purely imaginary, i.e.,
x[n] = Ae jωo n = A(cos [ω 0 n ] + j sin [ω 0 n ])

 If both A and α are purely real, then we have a real exponential

sequence x[n] = Aα n , −∞ < n < ∞, A, α ∈ ℜ
α = 1.2 α = 0.9
50 20
40
15
Amplitude

30 Amplitude
10
20

10 5

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time index n Time index n
 Periodicity
 Sinusoidal sequence A cos(ωo n +φ) and complex exponential
sequence Be jωo n are periodic sequences of period N if
ω0N = 2πr, where N and r are positive integers
 Smallest value of N satisfying ωo N = 2πr is the fundamental
period of the sequence
 Any sequence that does not satisfy this condition is aperiodic
 To verify the above fact, consider
x1[n] = cos(ωo n + φ) x2[n] = cos(ωo (n + N ) + φ)
x2 [n] = cos(ω o n + φ ) cos ωo N − sin(ω n + φ ) sin ω N
o o
= cos(ωo n + φ ) = x1[n] iff sin ωo N 0 and cos ωo N = 1
=
ªThese two conditions are met if and only if
2π = N
ωo r
 Periodicity
 Note that any continuous sinusoidal /exponential signal is
periodic,
however, not all discrete sinusoidal sequences are:
ªA discrete time sequence sin(ω0n+φ) or ejω n is periodic with period N, if and
0

only if, there exists an integer m, such that mT0 is an integer, where T0=2π/ ω0.
ªIn other words, ω0N = 2πr must be satisfied with two integers N and r, or N/r
must be rational number.

ªAre these sequences periodic?

x[n] = 3 cos(5n + π / 2)
j 7n
y[n] = e
x[n] = 5 sin(3πn + π / 2)
y[n] = e j3.7πn
x[n] = 5 sin( 3πn + π / 2)
 Periodicity

 Try this:
ªn=0:1:1000;
ªx=sin(2*0.01*n);
ªplot(n,x)
 Properties
of Discrete Signals

Property 1 - Consider x[n]=ejω n and y[n]= ejω n with 0<ω1<π and

1 2

2πk≤ ω2≤ 2π(k+1), where k is any positive integer.

If ω2= ω1+ 2πk, then x[n] = y[n]

Thus, x[n] and y[n] are indistinguishable

What does this mean?

Two periodic discrete exponential sequences are indistinguishable, if

their angular frequencies are 2πk apart from each
other
1. Check the following signal is periodic or not
𝑥 𝑛 = sin 0.02𝜋𝑛 = sin(2π𝑓𝑛)
0.02𝜋 1 𝑘
0.02𝜋 = 2𝜋𝑓 𝑜𝑟 𝑓 = = 0.01 = =
2𝜋 100 𝑁
So it is rational hence the given signal is periodic.
N= 100 is the fundamental period

2. Check the following signal is periodic or not

𝑥 𝑛 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 4𝑛 = cos(2π𝑓𝑛)
4 2 𝑘
4 = 2𝜋𝑓 𝑜𝑟 𝑓 = = ≠
2𝜋 𝜋 𝑁
So it is irrational hence the given signal is not periodic.
3. Check the following signal is periodic or not
2𝜋𝑛 2𝜋𝑛
𝑥 𝑛 = sin + cos = sin(2π𝑓𝑛)
3 5
2𝜋 1 𝑘 2𝜋 1 𝑘
= 2𝜋𝑓1 𝑜𝑟 𝑓 = 3 = 𝑁1 and = 2𝜋𝑓2 𝑜𝑟 𝑓 = 5 = 𝑁2
3 1 5 2
𝑁1 3
𝑁1 = 3, 𝑁2 =5, = So it is a ratio of two integer. hence the given signal is periodic.
𝑁2 5
The fundamental period is the LCM of 3 and 5 which is N=15
4. Check the following signal is periodic or not
2𝜋𝑛 4𝜋𝑛
𝑗 𝑗
𝑥 𝑛 = 1 +𝑒 3 −𝑒 7

1 is a dc signal with an arbitrary period 𝑁1 = 1

2𝜋 1 𝑘2
= 2𝜋𝑓2 𝑜𝑟𝑓2 = =
3 3 𝑁2
4𝜋 2 𝑘3
= 2𝜋𝑓3 𝑜𝑟𝑓3 = =
7 7 𝑁3
7
𝑁1 = 1, 𝑁2 =3, 𝑁3 = 2 ,
𝑁1 1 𝑁1 1 2
𝑇𝑕𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 𝑁2
= 3= rational number. 𝑇𝑕𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 𝑁3
= 7 =7 = rational number
2
So it is a ratio of two integer. hence the given signal is periodic. The fundamental
7
period is the LCM of 1, 3 and 2 which is N=10.5 20
 Classification of Signals
 We have already seen some:
ªContinuous vs. discrete
ªPeriodic vs. aperiodic
 Here are some others:
ªSymmetric vs. antisymmetric vs. nonsymmetric
ªEnergy vs. power sequences
ªBounded vs. unbounded sequences
ªAbsolutely summable vs. square summable sequences*
 Symmetry
 A discrete sequence is called
ª Symmetric if, x[n] = x[-n]
ª Conjugate-symmetric if x[n]=x*[-n],
• if x[n] is real, then symmetric and conjugate-symmetric are the same, and the signal is also
referred
to as an even sequence

Even sequence

ª Conjugate-antisymmetric if x[n]=-x*[-n] Anti-Symmetric if, x[n] = -x[-n]

• If x[n] is real, the signal is called simply as antisymmetric or odd
sequence

Odd sequence
 Symmetry
 Any real sequence can be expressed as a sum of its even part and its odd part:
x[n] = xev[n] + xod [n]
where

xev[n] = 12 ( x[n] + x[−n]) xod [n] = 21 ( x[n] − x[−n])

 Any complex sequence can be expressed as a sum of its conjugate-symmetric part

and its conjugate-antisymmetric part:
x[n] = xcs [n] + xca [n]
where

xcs [n] = 21 ( x[n] + x *[−n]) xca [n] = 21 ( x[n] − x *[−n])

 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑑𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑠
𝑥 𝑛 = −3, 1, 𝟐, −4, 2
Soln: 𝑥 𝑛 = −3, 1, 𝟐, −4, 2 , 𝑥 −𝑛 = 2, −4, 𝟐, 1, −3

1
𝑥𝑒 𝑛 = ,𝑥 𝑛 + 𝑥 −𝑛 -
2
1
= −3 + 2, 1 − 4, 2 + 2, −4 + 1, 2 − 3
2

= −0.5, −1.5, 𝟐, −1.5, −0.5

1
𝑥𝑜 𝑛 = ,𝑥 𝑛 − 𝑥 −𝑛 -
2
1
= −3 − 2, 1 + 4, 2 − 2, −4 − 1, 2 + 3
2

= −2.5, 2.5, 𝟎, −2.5, 2.5

24
 Energy & Power
In Signals
 It is often useful to define the “size” or “strength” of a signal. That is, we would like to be able to use a
single number that represents the average strength of the signal. How would we do that?
ª A reasonable answer would be to use the area under the curve. The larger the area, the
stronger the signal.

ª But if the signal has negative areas, then the total area is reduced by the negative parts. Yet, a
negative signal is not necessarily a weaker signal. In fact, -110 V will jolt you as much as
+110 V will. So, we need another approach. Calculating the area under the “square of the
absolute value of the signal” solves this problem
|x(t)|2
x(t)

∞
E = ∫ x ( t ) dt
2
ª This area is defined as the energy of the (continuous time) signal.
−∞
Energy & Power
in Sequences
 Total energy of a (discrete) sequence x[n] is similarly defined as
 N 
E  lim  x[n]   x[n]
2 2

N 
n N 
 An infinite length sequence with finite sample values may or may not have finite
energy (see example 2.6, page 54, Mitra)
 A finite length sequence with finite sample values has finite energy
 We define the energy of a sequence x[n] over a finite interval -K<n<K as
ε
K 2
x, K = ∑ x[n]
n=− K

 However, if the signal is infinitely long, say, such as the 60Hz mains, the energy
becomes infinite. Hence we define the average power of an aperiodic sequence as
the “energy per unit time”
K
2
Px = lim 2 K1+1 ∑ x[n]
K →∞ n=− K
Energy & Power
in Sequences
K 2
 Then Px = lim 1
∑ x[n]
K →∞ 2 K +1 n=− K Px = lim 1
ε x.K
K →∞ 2 K +1
 The average power of a periodic sequence ~x[n] with a period N is
given by N −1
1 ~ 2
Px = N ∑ x[n]
n=0

ªThe average power of an infinite-length sequence may be finite or infinite

ªA signal with finite energy is called an energy signal. Energy signals has zero
power!
ªA signal with finite (and nonzero) power is called a power signal. A power
signal, with nonzero power, has infinite energy.
Energy & Power Sequences

Recap:

 A sequence with finite average power is called a power signal. Unless

the power is zero, a power signal has infinite energy
ªA periodic sequence has a finite average power but infinite energy

 A sequence with finite energy is called an energy signal. An energy

signal has zero average power.
ªA finite-length sequence has finite energy but zero average power
 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑎𝑙
𝑛
1
𝑥 𝑛 = 𝑢 𝑛
2
 N 
E  lim  x[n]   x[n]
2 2

N 
n N 
𝑁 𝑛 2
1
= lim
𝑁→∞ 2
𝑛=0
∞
1𝑛 1 4
= = = 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
4 1
0 1−4 3

K 2
Px = lim 1
∑ x[n]
Power of the signal K →∞ 2 K +1 n=− K

=0

29
Causal and Anti-Causal signals

•A signal is causal if,

f (t )  0 t  0

A signal is Anti-causal if

f (t )  0 t  0

30
Continued……………
• Bounded Signal
𝑥 𝑛 ≤ 𝐵𝑥 < ∞
• Absolutely Summable
|𝑥 𝑛 | < ∞

• Square Summable
|𝑥 𝑛 |2 < ∞

• N – periodic extended sequence

∞

𝑦 𝑛 = 𝑥 𝑛 + 𝑘𝑁
𝑘=−∞
31
Length(Support) of a signal:

a) Finite Length
b) Infinite Length
c) Right Sided Sequence – Causal Sequence
d) Left Sided Sequence – anticausal Sequence
e) Two Sided Sequence

32
Size (Norm) of a Signal:
1
𝛼𝑝 – Norm | 𝑥 |𝑝 = * |𝑥 𝑛 |𝑝 +𝑝

𝑥 2
a) 𝑁
is rms value of x(n)

𝑥 2
b) 𝑁
is mean absolute value of x(n)

c) | 𝑥 |∞ = 𝑥 𝑚𝑎𝑥
33
• Relative absolute Error,
1
𝑁−1 2 2
𝑛=0 𝑥 𝑛 −𝑥 𝑛
𝐸𝑟𝑒𝑙 =
|𝑥 𝑛 |2

34
 Operation on Discrete-time
signals & discrete-time system
Some Basic Operations on Sequences

 Product (modulation) operation:

ªModulator
x[n] × y[n]
y[n] = x[n] ⋅ w[n]
w[n]

 Creating a finite-length sequence from an infinite-

length
sequence by multiplying the latter with a finite-
length sequence called a window sequence
 Process called windowing
Some Basic Operations on Sequences

 Addition operation:
x[n] + y[n]
ªAdder
y[n] = x[n] + w[n]
w[n]
 Multiplication operation

ªMultiplier
A
x[n] y[n] y[n] = A ⋅ x[n]
Some Basic Operations
on Sequences

 Time-shifting operation: y[n] = x[n − N ]

where N is an integer
 If N > 0, it is delaying operation

ªUnit delay x[n] z −1 y[n] y[n] = x[n − 1]

 If N < 0, it is an advance operation

ªUnit advance
x[n] z y[n]
y[n] = x[n + 1]
Some Basic Operations
on Sequences

 Time-reversal (folding) operation:

y[n] = x[−n]
 Branching operation: Used to provide multiple copies
of a sequence

x[n] x[n]

x[n]
 x(t-1) x(t+1
)1

- - 1
2 1
Interpolation:
𝑛
𝑥 , 𝑛 = 0, ±𝐿, ±2𝐿 … … .
𝑥𝑢 𝑛 = 𝐿
0 𝑜𝑡𝑕𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒

43
Decimation:
𝑥𝑑 𝑛 = 𝑥 𝑀𝑛

44