Bit rate refers to the quantity of bits processed or transmitted over a given time period, typically measured in bits per second (bps). In contrast, data transmission speed might also be expressed in bytes per second (B/s).

For higher bitrates, binary prefixes are applied:

• Kilo: 210210 or 1,024
• Mega: 220220 or 1,048,576
• Giga: 230230 or 1,073,741,824
• Tera: 240240 or 1,099,511,627,776

Bit rate isn’t always constant (Constant Bitrate or CBR). With media like video, audio, or speech, variable bitrates (VBR) are common. Average Bitrate (ABR) is a subtype of VBR where the encoder targets a specific average bitrate, often seen as the mean bitrate of a VBR-encoded stream.