1080p30 general content in H.264
- Resolution
- 1080p, 1920 x 1080
- Frame rate
- 30
- Codec
- H.264
- Content type
- General content
- Duration
- 60 min
- Audio bitrate
- 128 kbps
Video bitrate5.6
1920 x 1080 x 30 x 0.09
Open this exampleTechnologymedia
Video Bitrate Calculator
Target bitrate for a video encode, from resolution, frame rate, codec and how much motion the content carries. Motion matters as much as resolution: a static talking head at 1080p needs less than half what sport at the same resolution does.
Also called: bitrate calculator, video file size calculator.
Video bitrate
5.6
5.6 Mbps at 30 fps, which is 2.58 GB an hour with audio. H.265 would reach roughly this quality at about half the bitrate, and AV1 a little less again, both far more slowly. That is 2.58 GB for 60 minutes, or 2.58 GB an hour. Motion is doing as much work here as resolution: the same encode of a static talking head would need roughly half of an action scene.
With audio
5.73
File size
2.58
Gigabytes an hour
2.58
Bits per pixel per frame
0.09
The same quality in H.264
5.6
Resolution
1080p
Codec
H.264
On the codec
H.265 would reach roughly this quality at about half the bitrate, and AV1 a little less again, both far more slowly.
On the file size
That is 2.58 GB for 60 minutes, or 2.58 GB an hour. Motion is doing as much work here as resolution: the same encode of a static talking head would need roughly half of an action scene.
Bitrate by resolution
Hover or drag for valuesMbps
The encoding ladder
| Resolution | Mbps | GB an hour |
|---|---|---|
| 720p | 2.49 | 1.12 |
| 1080p | 5.6 | 2.52 |
| 1440p | 9.95 | 4.48 |
| 4K | 22.39 | 10.08 |
Method and background
How this is calculated
Bitrate is fundamentally pixels a second multiplied by the bits each pixel costs. Resolution and frame rate set the pixel count, and the bits per pixel depend on the codec and the content. Motion is the input people leave out and it moves the answer more than most: a codec encodes the difference between frames, so a static scene compresses to almost nothing while sport forces a new picture every frame. Codec efficiency is a straight multiplier on top, with H.265 needing roughly half of H.264 and AV1 a little less again, both at a substantial cost in encoding time.
pixels a second times bits per pixel, scaled by codec efficiency and by how much motion the content carries- bpp
- Bits per pixel per frame
- k
- Codec efficiency factor
Worked examples
Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.
H.265 halves it
- Resolution
- 1080p, 1920 x 1080
- Frame rate
- 30
- Codec
- H.265 or HEVC
- Content type
- General content
- Duration
- 60 min
- Audio bitrate
- 128 kbps
Video bitrate3.08
boundary: the codec factor is the whole difference
Open this exampleMethod and limits
What it assumes
- A constant target bitrate, where a variable-rate encode would vary around it.
What it deliberately does not model
- Encoder settings, preset and tuning move the required bitrate by twenty percent or more.
- Streaming platforms re-encode uploads to their own ladder, so a high upload bitrate protects quality without controlling delivery.
Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator
Frequently asked questions
- Why does my sport footage look worse at the same bitrate?
- Because compression works by encoding what changed between frames. Heavy motion changes everything each frame, so the same bitrate is spread thinner.
- Is H.265 worth it?
- It gives roughly the same quality at about half the bitrate, at a real cost in encoding time and in device compatibility. For archives and bandwidth-limited delivery it usually is.