44,100 Hz

In digital audio, 44,100 Hz (alternately represented as 44.1 kHz) is a common sampling frequency.

The 44.1 kHz audio sampling rate is widely used due to the compact disc (CD) format, dating back to its use by Sony from 1979.

The 44.1 kHz sampling rate originated in the late 1970s with PCM adaptors, which recorded digital audio on video cassettes,[note 1] notably the Sony PCM-1600 introduced in 1979 and carried forward in subsequent models in this series.

This then became the basis for Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA), defined in the Red Book standard in 1980.[1]: sec.

This sampling frequency is commonly used for MP3 and other consumer audio file formats which were originally created from material ripped from compact discs.

The selection of the sample rate was based primarily on the need to reproduce the audible frequency range of 20–20,000 Hz (20 kHz).

The technical reasoning behind the rate being chosen is associated with characteristics of human hearing and early digital audio recording systems as described below.[1]: sec.

in UK and Japan), because this is sufficient for FM stereo broadcasts, which have 15 kHz bandwidth.

The Digital Audio Tape (DAT) format was released in 1987 with 48 kHz sampling.

], sample rate conversion between 44,100 Hz and 48,000 Hz was complicated by the high ratio number between the rates of these as the lowest common denominator of 44,100 and 48,000 is 147:160, but with modern[vague] technology this conversion is accomplished quickly and efficiently.

This provides compatibility with DVD players playing CD, VCD and SVCD content.