48,000
48,000 samples per second is the professional and video audio standard.
- Even
- Composite
Where 48,000 fits
Why 48,000 is special
Film and broadcast use 48 kHz while CDs use 44.1, which is why audio converted between the two needs resampling — a routine source of subtle quality loss in production chains.
Not just a mathematical number
48,000is also used in ways where ordinary arithmetic doesn't apply — each listed below with what genuinely does and doesn't follow from it.
- Mathematical number
A genuine quantity — its mathematical properties (prime, square, factors, and so on) are real facts about it.
A genuine quantity that ordinary arithmetic applies to — it can be prime, even, a perfect square, added to another number meaningfully, and so on.
- Measurement
Also used as a measurement — Digital audio sample-rate standards.
A quantity expressed against a defined unit or standard (24 hours in a day, 60 seconds in a minute) — arithmetic is meaningful, but the specific value is a fixed convention of the measuring system, not a discovered mathematical property.
48,000 is part of
Factors & digit properties
- Divisors (64)
- 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 20, 24, 25, 30, 32, 40, 48, 50, 60, 64, 75, 80, 96, 100, 120, 125, 128, 150, 160, 192, 200, 240, 250, 300, 320, 375, 384, 400, 480, 500, 600, 640, 750, 800, 960, 1000, 1200, 1500, 1600, 1920, 2000, 2400, 3000, 3200, 4000, 4800, 6000, 8000, 9600, 12000, 16000, 24000, 48000
- Prime factorisation
- 2^7 × 3 × 5^3
- Digit sum
- 12
- Digital root
- 3
Representations
- Decimal
- 48000
- Scientific notation
- 4.800 × 10^4
Roman numerals
Roman numerals as modelled here goes up to 3,999.
Binary
1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1 × 32,768 + 0 × 16,384 + 1 × 8,192 + 1 × 4,096 + 1 × 2,048 + 0 × 1,024 + 1 × 512 + 1 × 256 + 1 × 128 + 0 × 64 + 0 × 32 + 0 × 16 + 0 × 8 + 0 × 4 + 0 × 2 + 0 × 1 = 48,000
Octal
1 3 5 6 0 0
1 × 32,768 + 3 × 4,096 + 5 × 512 + 6 × 64 + 0 × 8 + 0 × 1 = 48,000
Hexadecimal
b b 8 0
b × 4,096 + b × 256 + 8 × 16 + 0 × 1 = 48,000
Read as powers of two: 32,768 + 8,192 + 4,096 + 2,048 + 512 + 256 + 128 = 48,000.
In historical numeral systems
Egyptian
4 fingers, 8 lotuses
4 × 10,000 + 8 × 1,000 = 48,000. The signs are simply repeated and added; where they sit on the line is a matter of layout, not value.
Systems that simply cannot reach this value are left out. Where a script needs a font most readers do not have, the reading is given instead of the glyphs — see number systems for each system in full.
Other mathematical patterns
- Abundant number
- Harshad (Niven) number
Related numbers & connections
48 kHz is the sample rate standard in professional video and broadcast, chosen for clean division against frame rates.
96 kHz doubles the professional standard and captures frequencies beyond human hearing. Its benefit is in processing headroom rather than in playback, where listening tests do not distinguish it.
View 96000 →Technology & computing
48 kHz for video and 44.1 kHz for CDs coexist because they came from different industries. Material moving between them must be resampled, and doing that badly is a recognised production fault.
DocumentedTechnology & computing
Common questions
Is 48,000 a prime number?
No, 48,000 is not prime.
What are the factors of 48,000?
The factors of 48,000 are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 20, 24, 25, 30, 32, 40, 48, 50, 60, 64, 75, 80, 96, 100, 120, 125, 128, 150, 160, 192, 200, 240, 250, 300, 320, 375, 384, 400, 480, 500, 600, 640, 750, 800, 960, 1000, 1200, 1500, 1600, 1920, 2000, 2400, 3000, 3200, 4000, 4800, 6000, 8000, 9600, 12000, 16000, 24000, 48000.
About this page's data
Mathematical facts:computed directly from the number's value — nothing to source or verify externally.
Contextual records: 1 reviewer-confirmed record, sourced and reviewed before publication.
Last reviewed: 15 July 2026