Sample Rate

Sample rate is the number of times per second an analog audio signal is measured and stored, expressed in kilohertz, with 48 kHz the standard for video and 44.1 kHz common for music. By the Nyquist principle, the sample rate must be at least twice the highest frequency you want to capture, so 48 kHz comfortably covers the full range of human hearing. In practice, an editor keeps every element in a project at the same sample rate to avoid pitch and sync errors, and 48 kHz is the safe deliverable for film and broadcast. Higher rates like 96 kHz offer headroom for heavy processing or slowing audio down, at the cost of larger files. The main rule is consistency: mismatched sample rates between clips and timeline cause subtle drift and artifacts.