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Sample Rate

Audio/Video hardware software

What is it?

Sample rate is how many times per second an analog audio signal is measured (sampled) to store it digitally. It is expressed in Hertz (Hz). CD quality is 44,100 Hz (44.1 kHz), meaning the sound is sampled 44,100 times per second. Higher sample rates can capture more detail.

Practical example

Music is often recorded at 96 kHz for maximum quality, then downsampled to 44.1 kHz for CD or 48 kHz for video. Podcasts often use 44.1 kHz, which is more than sufficient for speech.

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Related terms

Bitrate

Audio/Video