Frank L. H. Wolfs
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester
Concerns about digital signal processing.
¥Is it a black box (signals in/physics out)?
¥Digital signal processing is very flexible and the level of control can be adjusted and matched to the skill level of the student and/or the focus of the experiment.
¥The analysis of the data carried out by the students can start with the digitized waveforms or at a higher level (pulse height, integrated charge, etc.)

¥Why does it reduce cost?  A DSP, such as the PCI-5112, costs $ 3,000, requires LabVIEW, and a Windows machine!
¥The cost reduction associated with DSP is a result of the reduced cost of signal processing and triggering hardware.  A wide variety of signals can be processed with the same DSP system (although not at the same time).