Bandwidth vs Bit Rate: What's the Difference?

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Bandwidth and bit rate are related concepts in data transmission but have distinct meanings. Bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted over a channel in a fixed time, typically measured in bits per second (bps) for digital devices or Hertz (Hz) for analog devices. Bit rate, on the other hand, indicates the actual amount of data being transmitted per second in media contexts, such as audio or video. While both terms describe data transfer rates, bandwidth represents the capacity of the channel, whereas bit rate reflects the data flow within that capacity. In networking, bandwidth is commonly used, while bit rate is more often associated with media files. Understanding this distinction is crucial for grasping data transmission dynamics.
James889
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Hi,

I never really understood this. What are the differences between bandwidth and bit rate ?
I understand that they describe the same thing, yet are completely different.
How are these related?
 
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Bandwidth is the channel through which the bit rate flows. (The bit rate cannot exceed the bandwidth.)
If you find the answer is vague, it is because the question is also similarly vague.
 
If you are referring to bandwith for data transmission (internet for example), the definition below is correct.

Bandwidth - The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second(bps) or bytes per second. For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/bandwidth.html
 
They both measure the same thing, data/time. In common usage, bandwidth is used for networking, and bit rate is used for media (video/audio). This is just the tendency, you can find counter examples of both.
 

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