The audio sampling rate is number of samples per second that are used to digitize a particular sound. Most digital video (DV) cameras can record at several audio sampling rates, where higher rates produce better results.
Motivation for oversampling In this discussion, "oversampling" means oversampling on output at the digital-to-analog conversion stage. There is also a technique for oversampling at the input (analog to digital) stage, but it's not nearly as interesting, and, in fact, is unrelated to oversampling as discussed here.
Transom Tools Column The number of bits signifies the number of levels of gradation within a single sample. A graphic analogy could be: many shades of gray at higher depths, vs. black and white at low bit-depth. A larger number of bits per pixel will provide a smoother gradation of appearance. A similar thing can happen to audio files, sounding "grainy" at low bit depths.
