Abstract: A method and apparatus for storing and retrieving visual representations of audio in real-time. The system generates a plurality of sets of waveform display data from a digital audio signal and stores the display data in addition to the audio signal. In the preferred embodiment, each set of waveform display data describes a different time scale representation of the audio signal. The system can edit and playback the audio signal from the visual presentations described by the waveform display data sets. The system implements a file management system to relate each set of data describing the visual representations and the audio signal.

Abstract: A time division multiplexing (TDM) digital audio signal processing and communication system is disclosed. The preferred embodiment applies time division multiplexing to a digital audio data transfer environment by providing a TDM patch bay bus structure to which digital audio devices can be plugged into and digital audio data transfer connections made. In the preferred embodiment, the patch bay bus structure includes the bus connection structure, a bus controller and a plurality of digital audio processing devices which each communicate with the bus structure which uses three (3) separate buses: A data bus, control bus and an address bus. Each processing device not only has its own unique address, but also one or more group addresses. Thus, the system allows communication to single recipient devices or multiple recipient devices in one time slice of the TDM signal.