I'm using PyAudio, a PortAudio wrapper for Python.

I'm getting data from a microphone. Data which is represented by a continuous stream of bytes divided into chunks (of a size determined by me).

I've tried to plot the signal, assuming the bytes represent the current signal amplitude, but I get an interesting image that I can't easily describe. ^^ It seems to be composed of two waves, one shifted from the other.

What exactly do the particular bytes represent, and how does this change when I'm recording only one channel, instead of two?

Any explanations, suggestions, code snippets, anything, very welcome! (I'm new at this.)

Thanks!