bitrátás

Bitrátás is a term used in digital communications to denote the rate at which bits are transmitted over a channel. In Hungarian, it refers to the same concept as the English “bit rate,” and may also be written as bitráta or bitsebesség in different texts. Bitrátás is typically expressed in bits per second (bps) and its multiples, such as kbps, Mbps, and Gbps.

Bitrátás measures the amount of information conveyed per unit of time, not the physical width of the channel. It depends on encoding, modulation, compression, and protocol overhead. A channel with a higher bitrátás can carry more information in the same time window, but achieving higher rates may require more advanced signaling, wider bandwidth, or more efficient compression.

A common relationship in digital communications is R_b = R_s × log2(M), where R_b is the bitrátás, R_s is the symbol rate (symbols per second), and M is the number of distinct symbol levels used per signaling interval. This emphasizes the distinction between bitrátás and baud rate: baud rate counts symbol changes per second, while bitrátás counts information bits per second; multiple bits can be conveyed per symbol depending on M.

Applications of bitrátás include networking, video and audio streaming, telecommunications, and data storage. It is a central parameter in capacity planning, quality of service, and performance evaluation. See also data rate, bandwidth, modulation, and Shannon–Hartley limits.