what is the difference between VBR and CBR of a mp3 file?

[sumeshkri]

what is the difference between VBR and CBR of a MP3 file?( Constant bitrate and variable bit rate)what implication does it have on playing a mp3 file on my standalone MP3 player or on my mobile phone?. what benefit will i get if i convert a mp3 vbr to cbr?

[surfmonkee]

the biggest problem with VBR is that when you want to convert it to something else, its a royal pain in the bum.

[guns1inger]

VBR stands for Variable BitRate. As with VBR video encoding, the idea is that the encoder uses only the bitrate required to encode the data, usually based around a minimum, maximum and average value. The result can be higher quality at the same average bitrate as CBR, or the same quality as CBR at a lower average bitrate.

CBR, or Constant BitRate, uses a single bitrate regardless of the needs of the track.

The issue with VBR MP3 audio is that not all software or hardware devices recognise or understand how to use it. This can lead to files refusing to play, or playing back with issues such as variable speed or mis-read running times. CBR, on the otherhand, is pretty universal, and any MP3 device will happily read and play CBR encoded files.

[sumeshkri]

thanks a lot. i understand that to keep mp3s in the cbr is better. but to convert them into cbr is tiresome . as the suggestions in this forum advises to use audocity to convert the vbr to cbr. it accepts files one by one, takes at least two minutes for each mp3 file. that means if you have 100 files it will eat your 200 minutes. anyway thanks for the suggestions and really valuable info. have a nice day.