what means data rate in connection with encoding?

[corleone]

hi folks!

i got one question: if i want to encode a quick-time movie (d1-format) with for example sorenson or cinepak i have to choose a data rate, for example 600kbit/sec.
what does the number 600 or 1100,... mean??? is a lower number better?

PLEASE, I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!

yours corleone

[Hansiman]

No.
Datarate means the amount of data you allow a videostream or audiostream to have per second. In other words, the higher the datarate the better the quality. It's like JPEG pictures. Higher compression means only a few kb of data on your harddrive and poor quality. Low compression means a lot of kilobytes on your harddrive and much better quality.

Greetz,
Hans.