Bitrate Calculator
Which bitrate holds up for the platform without a file nobody can upload. The calculator above takes resolution, frame rate, codec and quality target and returns recommended bitrate, file size and upload time — computed in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing leaving your device.
Bitrate Calculator
- File size
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- Upload time
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Runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, nothing transmitted.
What the number actually depends on
File size in MB is bitrate in Mbit/s × runtime in seconds ÷ 8 — the one formula worth memorising.
Doubling the frame rate needs roughly 1.5× the bitrate for the same perceived quality, not 2×.
The gap between a number that goes into a quote and one that holds on the day is rarely the formula — it is whether the constraints were entered honestly. That is why the inputs are spelled out below.
Common mistakes
These come up most often in practice. They rarely break the maths; they routinely break the day:
- Delivering a 400 Mbit/s master to a platform that caps at 68
- Sizing the upload window from the office connection, not the location's
In day-to-day production
Platform re-encoding means anything above the platform ceiling is bandwidth you paid for and nobody sees.
The number belongs in post and review — the point where a decision is still free to change. Working it out on the shoot day is no longer calculating; it is finding out.
In TillyGen this is not a separate step: the result sits inside the plan itself, alongside the shot list, schedule and call sheet. Change a constraint and the dependent values move with it — the affected parts of the plan are flagged rather than quietly left behind.
Frequently asked
How accurate is the Bitrate Calculator?
The maths is exact; the inputs rarely are. Treat the result as a solid floor and add your buffer deliberately rather than smuggling it into the inputs — a flattered input hides the buffer from everyone who plans with it later.
Is the calculator free?
No. It runs entirely in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing transmitted. There is no usage limit and no account.
Where does this fit in production planning?
In post and review. There it is a basis for deciding; later it is only a finding.
Can I export the result?
The calculator itself only displays the value. In TillyGen it lands directly in the shot list, schedule and call sheet, and goes out as PDF, CSV or through the API to everyone working from it.
What does the calculator return?
Recommended bitrate, file size and upload time. The first value is the one you carry into the plan; the rest show how sensitively it reacts to the inputs.
What should I watch for in the result?
Mainly this: delivering a 400 Mbit/s master to a platform that caps at 68. That is the mistake that most often turns a correctly calculated number into one that does not hold.