What are bitrate and bandwidth typically measured in?

Bitrate and bandwidth are typically measured in bits per second (bps), which is a unit that quantifies data transfer rates over a network. This measurement indicates how many bits (the basic unit of information in computing and digital communications) are transmitted in one second.

In the context of video surveillance and networking, understanding bitrate is crucial because it directly impacts the quality of video streaming and the storage capacity required for recorded footage. A higher bitrate generally translates to better video quality but requires more bandwidth, which is the maximum rate of data transfer across a network. Thus, bandwidth availability is a critical consideration when determining the bitrate for video feeds, especially in environments where multiple camera streams are being managed.

While other units mentioned, such as bytes per minute or kilobytes per hour, might technically convey information about data, they are not standard units for measuring bitrate and bandwidth. Using megabytes per second can also imply bandwidth measurement, but it doesn’t convey the bitrate as specifically and universally as bits per second does, which is why bits per second is the most appropriate measurement for these two concepts.