Bitrate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The rate at which data is transmitted or processed in a digital system, typically measured in bits per second; the amount of digital information transferred over a given period in audio or video files; a specification indicating the quality and size of digital media content
2. A measurement of the quantity of binary data transferred each second in computing and telecommunications; the level of data compression and quality in multimedia files such as sound and video; an indicator of streaming or download speed capabilities
3. The speed representing how many bits of digital data flow per second in networks or media streams; a parameter that affects the clarity and fidelity of digital audio and video; a technical term for data throughput in digital transmissions

Etymology: "Bitrate" is a plain compound: "bit" joined to "rate." The "bit" is a contraction of "binary digit," a term coined in computing to name the smallest unit of information, a single 0 or 1. "Rate" is the older English word for a measure of quantity per unit of time, as in a rate of speed or a rate of pay, and it was combined with "bit" to describe how many of those units pass through a channel every second. The word therefore names a speed rather than a size. A file that is 1,000 bits per second is a flow measured over time, which is why the same stored song can be encoded at different bitrates. Higher bitrates usually mean more data kept per second of sound or video, so the term came to stand in for quality as well as transmission speed.

Synonyms: data rate, transfer rate, bandwidth, throughput

Antonyms: latency, delay