What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? at DVinfo.net

Mike Wade · July 4th, 2012, 01:22 PM

I am making the simplest kind of Blu-ray disc in Encore for the first time. The only variable is the Max Audio/Video Bitrate from 15 Mbps to 40 Mbps. What setting do you advise ? My project in CS5 was filmed in 1920x1080 25p. It's 30 mins long.I have tried both 15 Mbps and 25 Mbps which seem OK but could I go higher ? Cheers.

Peter Manojlovic · July 4th, 2012, 02:34 PM

Bitrate allocation is always subjective, but since you're working with only 30 minutes of project, i personally believe that ramping up the bitrate to max is not any more beneficial..

H.264 is such an effecient codec, that the only factor at this point would be the quality of your original material.

Markus Klatt · July 4th, 2012, 03:35 PM

I always render in H.264 with a variable bitrate of 30 MBit/sec, if I have enough space free on the disk. Less is fine for most footage. If you have handheld footage or much moving elements in the image then keep it close to 30 or 32 MBit...

Mike Wade · July 5th, 2012, 01:36 AM

Thanks.Yes I do use H.264. I have noticed that although I set the Maximum Bitrate to 25 Mbps when I play the disc on the PC the information shows the Bitrate to be well under 25 - more like 9 or 10..

John Peterson · July 5th, 2012, 09:09 AM

Try this online bitrate calculator for Blu-ray discs. Works for me.

DVD-HQ : Bitrate & GOP calculator

John

Jack Zhang · July 5th, 2012, 10:39 AM

Like Peter said, it's mostly subjective. If you're shooting a lot of interview content, 15Mbps 2-pass VBR would do since most of the content is a static frame with low motion. If you're shooting sports, that's when the extra bitrate comes in handy and you might want to consider 30-35Mbps VBR 2 pass at Maximum Render Quality.

If your source is NanoFlash files however, there will be a noticeable difference in higher bitrate encodings as compared to using EX source material.

Mike Wade · July 5th, 2012, 01:06 PM

Thanks Jack. That's really clear and helpful.

July 4th, 2012, 01:22 PM	#1
Mike Wade Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 161	What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? I am making the simplest kind of Blu-ray disc in Encore for the first time. The only variable is the Max Audio/Video Bitrate from 15 Mbps to 40 Mbps. What setting do you advise ? My project in CS5 was filmed in 1920x1080 25p. It's 30 mins long.I have tried both 15 Mbps and 25 Mbps which seem OK but could I go higher ? Cheers. __________________ Premiere CS5, EX1, 2xFX1,SonyA1,GlideTrack.

July 4th, 2012, 02:34 PM	#2
Peter Manojlovic Major Player Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Hamilton Ontario Posts: 769	Re: What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? Bitrate allocation is always subjective, but since you're working with only 30 minutes of project, i personally believe that ramping up the bitrate to max is not any more beneficial.. H.264 is such an effecient codec, that the only factor at this point would be the quality of your original material.

July 4th, 2012, 03:35 PM	#3
Markus Klatt Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Berlin, Germany Posts: 169	Re: What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? I always render in H.264 with a variable bitrate of 30 MBit/sec, if I have enough space free on the disk. Less is fine for most footage. If you have handheld footage or much moving elements in the image then keep it close to 30 or 32 MBit...

July 5th, 2012, 01:36 AM	#4
Mike Wade Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 161	Re: What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? Thanks.Yes I do use H.264. I have noticed that although I set the Maximum Bitrate to 25 Mbps when I play the disc on the PC the information shows the Bitrate to be well under 25 - more like 9 or 10.. __________________ Premiere CS5, EX1, 2xFX1,SonyA1,GlideTrack.

July 5th, 2012, 09:09 AM	#5
John Peterson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Monroe, NY Posts: 703	Re: What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? Try this online bitrate calculator for Blu-ray discs. Works for me. DVD-HQ : Bitrate & GOP calculator John

July 5th, 2012, 10:39 AM	#6
Jack Zhang Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burnaby, BC, Canada Posts: 3,053	Re: What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? Like Peter said, it's mostly subjective. If you're shooting a lot of interview content, 15Mbps 2-pass VBR would do since most of the content is a static frame with low motion. If you're shooting sports, that's when the extra bitrate comes in handy and you might want to consider 30-35Mbps VBR 2 pass at Maximum Render Quality. If your source is NanoFlash files however, there will be a noticeable difference in higher bitrate encodings as compared to using EX source material.

July 5th, 2012, 01:06 PM	#7
Mike Wade Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 161	Re: What Bitrate for Blu-ray project ? Thanks Jack. That's really clear and helpful. __________________ Premiere CS5, EX1, 2xFX1,SonyA1,GlideTrack.