Can someone explain "Quality VBR"

[sdsumike619]

Using Vegas 5 to encode wmv 9, looking under the different Modes in the video tab of the custom settings. Under Quality VBR, there is a slider from 0 to 100%

Where should this be set? and how does the bitrate fit in with the quality slider?

Also, which mode is best to use for the clearest video? CBR, CBR 2 pass, bit rate vbr (peak), quality vbr, or bit rate vbr

too many to choose from, not sure which to use..

[guns1inger]

It depends on a number of factors, including the length of the video, the type of content, and the quality of the encoder. The clearest is going to be CBR with a high bitrate, however this take up the most amount of space. If you have space to spare, this may be the right choice. If you have high action scenes, and can sustain a high bitrate, CBR is again a good choice. Given that CBR standa for Constant BitRate, I am not sure what is to be gained by 2-pass CBR, other than longer encoding times.

If space is a premium then VBR might be a better choice. Variable BitRate means that bitrate is increased or decreased depending on the requirements of the video. Action will get a higher bitrate than static or slow moving scenes like talking heads. Multi-pass VBR is used to refine the allocation of bitrate by analysing the video one or more times, each time refining where the bits are best used, with the final pass being the true encode.

As it varies based on many factors, you need to first consider space (it is an issue ?), content (high action vs talking heads) and then try a few encodes on a short representative sample of you clip, just to see what works in your case.

[sdsumike619]

well in my case it's a talking head, nothing moves but his mouth, and when he looks up and down at his notes. According to the webmaster I'm doing this for space isn't a problem.. so I will try CBR and just mess with the other settings till it looks good I suppose..