<P> The signal - to - noise ratio, the bandwidth, and the channel capacity of a communication channel are connected by the Shannon--Hartley theorem . </P> <P> Signal - to - noise ratio is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the ratio of useful information to false or irrelevant data in a conversation or exchange . For example, in online discussion forums and other online communities, off - topic posts and spam are regarded as "noise" that interferes with the "signal" of appropriate discussion . </P> <P> Signal - to - noise ratio is defined as the ratio of the power of a signal (meaningful information) divided by the power of background noise (unwanted signal): </P> <Dl> <Dd> S N R = P s i g n a l P n o i s e, (\ displaystyle \ mathrm (SNR) = (\ frac (P_ (\ mathrm (signal))) (P_ (\ mathrm (noise)))),) </Dd> </Dl>

Explain if a signal-to-noise ratio of 1 is preferable to a signal-to-noise ratio of 1 and why