Inputs
Example Data Table
Illustrative scenarios for planning. Real streams vary with content and encoder settings.
| Profile | Resolution | FPS | Chroma | Bit Depth | Mode | Video Mbps | Overhead (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web meeting | 1280×720 | 30 | 4:2:0 | 8 | Target | 2.5 | 8 |
| Sports stream | 1920×1080 | 60 | 4:2:0 | 8 | Target | 8.0 | 10 |
| Broadcast contribution | 3840×2160 | 60 | 4:2:2 | 10 | Compression | — | 15 |
Formula Used
Uncompressed bitrate: bps = width × height × fpseffective × bpp
Bits per pixel depends on sampling:
- RGB: bpp = channels × bitDepth (channels = 3, or 4 with alpha)
- YCbCr 4:4:4: bpp = 3 × bitDepth
- YCbCr 4:2:2: bpp = 2 × bitDepth
- YCbCr 4:2:0: bpp = 1.5 × bitDepth
Compression estimate: compressed_bps = uncompressed_bps ÷ compressionRatio
Overheads (VBR, container, protocol, FEC): total = (video × (1+vbr%) + audio) × (1+Σoverheads%)
Recommended link: recommended = total × (1+safety%)
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your resolution, frame rate, scan mode, and bit depth.
- Choose a color model and chroma subsampling that matches your workflow.
- Pick calculation mode: compression ratio estimate or target encoder bitrate.
- Set VBR headroom and overheads for container, transport, and redundancy.
- Add audio bitrate, stream count, and a safety factor for capacity planning.
- Click Calculate, then download CSV or PDF if needed.
FAQs
1) Why does interlaced mode increase bandwidth?
Interlaced video carries two fields per frame. Many systems treat that as doubled temporal updates, so the effective frame rate rises, increasing raw bandwidth needs.
2) What compression ratio should I use?
It depends on content, codec, and quality target. Talking heads compress more than sports. Use 20–60 for conservative planning, or test your encoder for real output bitrates.
3) How does chroma subsampling change the result?
Lower subsampling reduces chroma samples per pixel. 4:2:0 uses less data than 4:2:2 or 4:4:4, so uncompressed bandwidth drops before compression.
4) Should I use target bitrate mode?
Yes when you already know your encoder setting or platform limits. It provides a bandwidth plan that matches the configured stream rather than a theoretical compression ratio.
5) What does VBR headroom do?
Variable bitrate encoders produce peaks. Headroom inflates the average video bitrate to account for bursts, helping avoid congestion and playback drops on constrained links.
6) Why add protocol and container overhead?
Transport headers, packetization, retransmissions, and container metadata add extra bits beyond the media payload. Overhead settings help approximate what networks actually carry.
7) How do I size bandwidth for multiple viewers?
Increase Streams to match concurrent outputs, such as individual unicast viewers. For multicast or CDN delivery, streams may not scale linearly at your origin link.
8) Is HDR automatically higher bandwidth?
HDR itself is a signaling and color workflow. In practice it often uses 10-bit or 12-bit and sometimes higher chroma, which increases raw bitrate before compression.