FIR Filters and moving average filter

1. Is a moving average filter an FIR filter?
2. What are moving average filters used for?
3. Why is FIR filter used?
4. What is the difference between FIR filter and IR filter?

Is a moving average filter an FIR filter?

The moving average filter is a special case of the regular FIR filter. Both filters have finite impulse responses. The moving average filter uses a sequence of scaled 1s as coefficients, while the FIR filter coefficients are designed based on the filter specifications. They are not usually a sequence of 1s.

What are moving average filters used for?

Moving Average Filter is a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) Filter smoothing filter used for smoothing the signal from short term overshoots or noisy fluctuations and helps in retaining the true signal representation or retaining sharp step response.

Why is FIR filter used?

An FIR filter is a filter with no feedback in its equation. This can be an advantage because it makes an FIR filter inherently stable. Another advantage of FIR filters is the fact that they can produce linear phases. So, if an application requires linear phases, the decision is simple, an FIR filter must be used.

What is the difference between FIR filter and IR filter?

If the impulse response of the filter falls to zero after a finite period of time, it is an FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filter. However, if the impulse response exists indefinitely, it is an IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) filter.