Satellite uplink for live news at a regional US TV station. MPEG-2 at strict CBR 25 Mbps because the satellite transponder has a fixed bandwidth allocation — any burst above the cap causes packet loss. AC-3 for ATSC compliance.
| Video Codec | MPEG-2 |
| Bitrate | 25M |
| Resolution | 1080p |
| Audio | AC-3 |
| Container | TS |
| Bitrate Mode | CBR |
ffmpeg -i input.mxf -c:v mpeg2video -b:v 25M -minrate 25M -maxrate 25M -bufsize 25M -c:a ac3 -b:a 384k -f mpegts output.tsSatellite transponders are essentially "dumb pipes" with a fixed bandwidth. Unlike internet streaming where VBR saves money, satellite CBR wastes capacity during low-motion scenes but prevents catastrophic loss during high-motion peaks.
A new FFmpeg encoding puzzle every day. Six tries, in the browser or from your terminal.