What is KBPS?

[hybridauth_Facebook_715980457]

Hey all,

I know this sounds very basic, but I can't get my head around it.

I've got the basics of what BITS and kHz are, but what are KBPS?

Is it related to the BITS or kHz? How does it effect the music?

Thanks heaps guys.

 

[chebby]

Hey all,

I know this sounds very basic, but I can't get my head around it.

I've got the basics of what BITS and kHz are, but what are KBPS?

Is it related to the BITS or kHz? How does it effect the music?

Thanks heaps guys.

Strictly speaking bits are expressed with lower-case 'b' and bytes with an upper-case' B'.

So one kBps is 1024 bytes per second and one kbps is 1024 bits per second.

 

[CnoEvil]

In case it's of interest, here is a good site for explaining computer audio:

http://www.thewelltemperedcomputer.com/

 

[The_Lhc]

I've got the basics of what BITS and kHz are, but what are KBPS?

Strictly speaking Kbps as Chebby pointed out, but also bits, not BITS.

Is it related to the BITS or kHz?

Yes and no, it depends on what sort of file you're listening to. If it's a lossless file then it will depend on the bit-depth (16bit, 24-bit) and the sample rate (44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2, 96, 192 etc etc), multiply the two numbers together will give you your MAXIMUM Kbps (for ONE channel, double it for stereo), which will be correct for an uncompressed file, however for a losslessly compressed file it will also depend on the complexity of the music, the simpler the music the more it will compress (and thus the lower the bitrate), so the absolute bitrate will vary from track to track, however it's important to remember that once decoded to PCM (what you get off a CD and feed a DAC with) the track will be the same as an uncompressed track, so it's functionally irrelevant for lossless files.

Lossy compression, such as mp3, is a different kettle of fish, there the Kbps is a function of how much data is being lost, so the higher the number the better, many people think that in most circumstances a good 320Kbps mp3 is pretty much indistinguishable from a lossless file (I'm one of them, although my testing has been confined to my car, so it's hardly scientific), others will go so far as to say a 256kbps AAC file is good enough, provided it comes from a good master (AAC is generally regarded as a better compression CODEC than mp3). It's one of those things you'll have to try for yourself really but you'd be advised to avoid going much lower than that, for music the loss in quality for 128Kbps is distinctly noticable to most people for instance. That may not be the case for spoken word or podcasts however because again they are significantly simpler and thus far easier to compress without losing quality.

How does it effect the music?

For lossless and uncompressed files, it doesn't. For lossy compression the higher the bitrate the better.

 

[Dave_]

Strictly speaking bits are expressed with lower-case 'b' and bytes with an upper-case' B'.

So one kBps is 1024 bytes per second and one kbps is 1024 bits per second.

Strictly speaking that would be a Kibibit. For data transfer rates they use a decimal prefix rather than binary.