Word Clock?

[undotorture]

I understand the way that recording with a computer and other various digital systems works, but I've never understood the word clock? Is it a phase issue (phasephasephase...) or something with the abilities of the different components?

 

[bennychico11]

A word clock provides regularly timed pulses that are used to keep a constant bitrate and to help avoid data errors.
Using an external word clock with multiple digital devices will help keep a constant in your digital chain. It tells all your digital gear, "Hey, look at me...I'm the master...follow my bitrate!" This, in turn, helps keep one sample of time equal the same in each digital unit.

 

[tmix]

What Benny said.

I provides a central sychronization to where all audio recorded and payed back thru different digital units all stay perfectly (supposedly) in sync with no drift or pops orugly nasties.
There are other sync schemes such as spdif and others but wordclock seems to be the preference on widescale (numerous units) sync. Spdif seems to work fine for 1 or 2 devices.