720p (HD) at 24 fps with AV1: What You Need to Know
When working with 720p (HD) video at 24 fps using the AV1 codec, understanding your storage and bandwidth requirements is essential for a smooth production workflow.
While 720p is no longer the gold standard, it remains a practical choice for bandwidth-limited environments and platforms that prioritize smooth playback over pixel density. This resolution is particularly favored by casual streamers and mobile viewers.
This frame rate produces the classic cinematic motion blur that audiences associate with Hollywood films. It is the standard for theatrical releases and gives footage a warm, filmic quality.
The AV1 codec offers best-in-class compression efficiency with roughly 50% savings over H.264, and it is completely royalty-free. AV1 represents the future of video compression. YouTube, Netflix, and all major browsers now support it. While encoding is demanding, the bandwidth savings are substantial — especially valuable for creators paying for CDN delivery.
With these settings, a 10-minute clip weighs approximately 152.21 MB, while a full hour reaches 913.24 MB. You will need a minimum upload speed of 3.2 Mbps for reliable streaming. The total video bitrate for this configuration is 2.0 Mbps.