
However, the good news is video published platforms have their bitrate recommendations to which you can refer. We hate to break it to you, but there is no definite answer. Now that you’ve understood the technical concepts around bitrate, the question is: What is a good video bitrate? What is a Good Video Bitrate for Streaming? The higher the bitrate is and the more people visiting your site, the more bandwidth you will need to ensure smooth video streams. The cost of delivery is important, especially when you host a video on your website. If your video has a high bitrate, you need to consider whether your potential audience will be able to view it, depending on their location and internet connection. Framerate also affects how you choose your bitrate. For example, a framerate of 30 frames per second (fps) means in each second in the video, there are 30 frames running.

Framerate (or frame rate)įramerate refers to how many full-screen images appear in a frame every second. Sometimes resolutions are written using the vertical pixels only, for example, 420p or 1080p.

Resolution is the number of pixels displayed on your screen, horizontally and vertically. What to Consider When Choosing a Bitrate Resolution You need to consider the accessibility of your stream, the power of your encoder, the specifications of your computer, the number and location of your viewers, and your video configurations. On the other hand, uploading low bitrates is not an ideal choice, since it produces worse-quality and unprofessional streams to your viewers. This also leads to delayed, choppy streams on their ends. The server resources of your viewers may not be able to process a large file quickly. If your encoder and computer have limited capacity, high bitrates could cause video buffering. The larger the file is, the more encoder power you will need. So Should I Just Crank up the Bitrate to the Maximum?Ī higher bitrate results in smoother streams and larger video file sizes. The higher the bitrate is, the better the sound will turn out. The same idea applies to audio bitrates too. More bits per second means more information in your video in every second, which means more details on your screen and, ultimately, better video quality. It also helps you decide how much it is going to cost for your bandwidth to host the video on your site and deliver to your audience. Bitrates also help you determine the internet connection speed you need to be able to watch. That is, how sharp your video looks and how big the file size is when you stream or upload the video. Why is Bitrate Important?īitrates directly affect the file size and quality of your video. The only difference is that 2-pass encoding takes longer rendering time. The more passes you set up in your codec, the better the image quality is while retaining the same file size.

There are 1-pass (single-pass) and 2-pass (multi-pass) encoding.
#160 KBPS VS 320 KBPS HOW TO#
” Passes define how many times your codec analyzes the video before deciding how to compress it. PassesĪnother essential term to know about bitrate is “pass. This type of bitrate is ideal for dynamic video contents such as music concerts or sports events. The bitrate of every frame will be automatically adjusted by the encoder. Unlike CBR, VBR looks at each individual frame and decides which frame needs a lot or a little compression. It is recommended for streaming videos with constant frames and similar motion levels like news reports, for example. CBR encoding optimizes media files, saves storage space and prevents hiccup playbacks. This type of bitrate looks at each individual frame in your video, then compresses them at the same effort, regardless of the amount of information in the frame. There are two types of bitrates: CBR and VBR. MBps.īitrate is calculated using this formula:įrequency x bit depth x channels = bitrate Types of Bitrates: CBR vs. Note: Bit per second (bps) should not be confused with byte per second (Bps). In livestreaming, Mbps is the most common bitrate unit for videos and Kbps for audio. Technically, bitrate means the quantity of data required for your encoder to transmit video or audio in one single second. Bitrate (or bit rate) - in its simplest term - is how much information your video sends out per second from your device to an online platform.
