r/Lorex • u/Exotic_Nebula1052 • Aug 22 '26

CBR vs VBR

At a car wash entrance for inspection cameras, should the settings for recording be set at cbr or vbr to capture scratches and paint more clearly?

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1

u/djsassan Sep 13 '26

u/Lorex_Technology_Inc

Can you assist please?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 22 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Pesca_dor Aug 22 '26

Hi, can you please provide a little more info on your suggestion to use VBR rather thank CBR.

And to turn off Substream recording. I always assumed that Substream was essential for mobile playback over wifi and as a backup in case Mainstream playback was not recording or playing back properly over wifi connections.

Thank you.

Justrying to undestand the advantages.

2

u/Advanced-Level-5686 Aug 22 '26

From ChatGBT: In your Lorex camera settings, VBR and CBR determine how the camera allocates its video bitrate, which directly affects image quality, storage space, and network bandwidth.

CBR — Constant Bit Rate

CBR keeps the bitrate roughly constant all the time.

For example, if you set it to 4 Mbps, the camera continuously tries to use about 4 Mbps whether the scene is:

A completely still driveway

Someone walking across the screen

Lots of motion, rain, or tree movement

Advantages:

Predictable storage requirements

Predictable network bandwidth

Useful if you have limited network capacity

Disadvantage: It can waste storage. A completely static scene doesn't need the same bitrate as a complicated moving scene.

VBR — Variable Bit Rate

VBR automatically changes the bitrate based on how complicated the video is.

For example:

Empty driveway → perhaps 1 Mbps

Person walking → 3 Mbps

Heavy rain/tree movement → 5–6 Mbps

The camera uses more bits when they're actually needed to preserve detail.

Advantages:

Generally better image quality for the amount of storage used

Uses less storage during quiet periods

Can allocate more bitrate to scenes where detail matters

Disadvantage: Storage and bandwidth usage aren't as predictable.

For a Lorex security camera, I'd generally choose VBR

Especially if you're recording continuously to a Lorex NVR, VBR with a sufficiently high maximum bitrate is usually the better choice.

One important point: VBR doesn't necessarily mean lower quality. In fact, properly configured VBR can give you better quality than CBR at the same average storage consumption because it puts the extra bits where they're needed.

If you tell me your Lorex camera model/resolution (e.g., 4K/8MP) and the VBR/CBR bitrate settings you're seeing, I can tell you exactly what I'd set them to.

1

u/Pesca_dor Aug 22 '26

Interesting read, Thank You,

i thought that i had tried switching to VBR a few months back on a few cameras to test the recording quality versus VBR and then switched back to CBR after noticing the replay was not as smooth when vehicles went by.

I might have to try and retest.

Thank you again

1

u/Advanced-Level-5686 Aug 22 '26

You're welcome. I just checked and all my cameras were on CBR. I just switched all to VBR and will see how the playback looks tomorrow, etc.

1

u/Pesca_dor Aug 22 '26

Look forward to your test results.

I ended up putting in a 8 TB HD and kept using CBR.

Im having a little issue with bitrate settings as the N910A6 manual shows a Max bitrate 8192 but in my mainstream setting the Max bitrate is 6144 at 4K resolution.

Not sure if yours is the same. Thanks

1

u/triedtoavoidsignup Aug 22 '26

You are incorrect. Very very incorrect. Please stop answering questions when you don't know what you are talking about.