What Is CBR (Constant Bitrate)?
An encoding mode where the bitrate stays the same throughout the entire video, regardless of scene complexity.
Constant Bitrate (CBR) maintains a fixed data rate throughout your stream. This is the recommended mode for live streaming because it provides predictable bandwidth usage — your ISP and the streaming platform always know exactly how much data to expect. The downside is that simple scenes (static screens) use more data than necessary, while complex scenes (fast action) may not get enough data. Despite this, CBR is preferred for streaming because it prevents buffering caused by bitrate spikes.
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Related Terms
VBR (Variable Bitrate)
An encoding mode where bitrate fluctuates based on scene complexity — more data for complex scenes, less for simple ones.
Bitrate
The amount of data processed per second in a video or audio stream, measured in Kbps or Mbps.
Encoding
The process of compressing raw video data into a smaller format using a codec like H.264, HEVC, or AV1.