Bitrate (VBR)

Variable Bitrate (VBR) is a compression technique used in audio and video encoding to optimize file size and quality. Unlike Constant Bitrate (CBR), where the bitrate remains constant throughout the entire file, VBR adjusts the bitrate dynamically based on the complexity of the content being encoded.

VBR analyzes the input signal and allocates higher bitrates to complex sections, ensuring better quality during demanding scenes, while reducing the bitrate for simpler parts. This results in smaller file sizes without compromising quality.

By adapting the bitrate to the content, VBR provides a more efficient compression method, especially for multimedia files with varying complexity. It is widely used in formats like MP3, AAC, and video codecs such as H.264.