Internet
Fact-checked

At EasyTechJunkie, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

What Are the Different Methods of Data Transmission?

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

Data transmission is any process that makes it possible to transport information of any type using a variety of methods. The different methods employed in this process make it possible to share voice, video and text with equal ease, using the strategies relevant to the particular kind of data involved. The digital transmission of data occurs in a number of settings, including such common vehicles as email clients, audio and web conferencing solutions and even file sharing. While there are a number of different approaches to this type of information processing, they can generally be grouped into three basic categories.

Audio data transmission involves the conversion of audio to data streams that can easily be processed and successfully delivered to a point of termination. Signals of this type were once carried in analog signaling until advances in technology and fiber optics made it possible to convert audio into digital formats. Transmission of this type occurs each time a telephone call is enabled using some type of Internet streaming to carry the signal. Since the latter part of the 20th century, the application of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has made it possible to use this to communicate with locations all over the world without incurring a great deal of cost.

Data transmission can be the processing of text documents as part of a data stream, such as using some type of word processing software.
Data transmission can be the processing of text documents as part of a data stream, such as using some type of word processing software.

Another example of data transmission has to do with the processing of video data. With this application, a video bit stream is established and used to direct the data from a point of origin to multiple points of destination. This approach makes it possible to enjoy online video chats with locations that are far away, as well as allow for the use of video conferencing to conduct meetings involving multiple locations. Just as advances in technology have greatly reduced the cost of long-distance audio solutions, the pricing associated with video conferencing is a fraction of what it cost during the latter years of the 20th century.

Technology can help people be more collaborative in the work place.
Technology can help people be more collaborative in the work place.

A third classification of data transmission is the processing of text documents as part of a data stream. This application makes it possible to create text using some type of word processing software, save the information, then transmit it to one or more recipients. One of the most common examples of this type of data transmission is email. Users can type in text and then send that text to any number of recipients. Thanks to the protocols that help to protect the text from corruption, the recipients receive the document with the same basic formatting used by the originator.

The refinement and creation of various options for data transmission continue to expand as newer forms of technology emerge and come into common use. Data transfer applications that were unheard of even a few years ago are now utilized by business and private users on a daily basis. As the public use of the Internet and personal computing devices continues to expand, the type, speed, and efficiency of various data transmission strategies will also grow.

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including EasyTechJunkie, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.

Learn more...
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum

After many years in the teleconferencing industry, Michael decided to embrace his passion for trivia, research, and writing by becoming a full-time freelance writer. Since then, he has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including EasyTechJunkie, and his work has also appeared in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and several newspapers. Malcolm’s other interests include collecting vinyl records, minor league baseball, and cycling.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

lluviaporos

@croydon - Data transmission speeds are also slower than people hope because every time the technology to transfer data speeds up there are more people who want to use that technology. When the whole world is downloading music and videos and even getting email, it's got to put a little bit of pressure on the network.

Which is one reason I still like to stick to the "old-fashioned" was of physically transferring data. There's much less chance of a hold up that way.

croydon

@Mor - Well, there are easy ways to transmit packages of data over the internet, but I suspect a lot of the time the technology has been deliberately kept slow and expensive because any kind of data transmission network seems to end up as a source of illegal downloads fairly quickly.

I can think of several that have been shut down already because it's such a legal grey area. And often people who are using the system for legal purposes (i.e. sharing files among different branches of a company) are left in the lurch when the site goes belly up.

I think the technology is going to be so ubiquitous eventually that they will have to come up with some other way to protect copyright though, or at least some other way to make money from copyrighted material, because right now it seems like they are trying to contain a full-blown stream in a sieve.

Mor

It's kind of interesting that even with all the many different kinds of data transport that are available online, it still seems to be easiest and cheapest to literally download the data to a storage device and manually transport it to another person.

I've even sent a thumb drive by mail once because it was cheaper and easier than trying to send a large packet of data by the internet.

Now that people use the cloud more often I guess our data communication is going to start to become easier but I'm actually fairly surprised that it has taken this long.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • Data transmission can be the processing of text documents as part of a data stream, such as using some type of word processing software.
      By: Gandolfo Cannatella
      Data transmission can be the processing of text documents as part of a data stream, such as using some type of word processing software.
    • Technology can help people be more collaborative in the work place.
      By: nyul
      Technology can help people be more collaborative in the work place.