Re: [MP3 ENCODER] definition of "kbps"

[Taupter]

> It seems to be quite common to use the prefix "K" to refer to multiples of
> 1024, and "k" for mutliples of 1000, but I don't know if this is formalised
> anywhere. Similarly "B" for bytes and "b" for bits... 64KB of memory vs.
> 64kbps MP3.

K is used for both multiples of 1000 and 1024. 1024 is commonly used for
binary-related calculations and units,as Kb (Kilobyte). One exceptions
is made by the hard disk manufacturers/sellers, who use 1000 instead
(the same doesn occur for another kinds of media).

Despite the right case for multipliers is uppercase (K, M), the same for
measure unit symbols wich their names are derived from real people
(Newton, Watt) with the exceptions of greek symbols (Ohm -> greek
Omega).

Lower case is used for non-real-people derived units, like byte (BinarY
TErm -> b), seconds (s).
As bit doesn't have a right way to represent it as one character, most
people use the term as is: 64 _bits_ or 64 _Kbit_ (in the case of
multipliers).

The term Kbps to represent data transfer speed in bits is absolutely
wrong, as bit is "bit", and Kbps is K (1000 or 1024) * byte * p (?) * s
(second). The right way could be Kbit/s. The term Kbps is widely used,
but it not a "canonical" representation.


Taupter
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