Table of Contents

Recommanded Bit Rate

Resolution & Bit Rate	H.264 (AVC)	H.265 (HEVC)	AV1	Netflix	YouTube
1080p @30fps	4–8 Mbps	2.5–5 Mbps	2–4 Mbps	~3–5 Mbps (HEVC)1	10 Mbps (H.264)2
1080p @60fps	6–12 Mbps	4–8 Mbps	3.5–6 Mbps	~4–8 Mbps (HEVC)1	12 Mbps (H.264)2
1440p @30fps	8–12 Mbps	5–8 Mbps	4–6 Mbps	—	15 Mbps (H.264)2
1440p @60fps	10–16 Mbps	6–10 Mbps	5–8 Mbps	—	24 Mbps (H.264)2
4K @30fps	12–20 Mbps	8–15 Mbps	6–12 Mbps	~15–25 Mbps (HEVC)1	30 Mbps (H.264)2
4K @60fps	20–32 Mbps	12–20 Mbps	10–18 Mbps	~15–25 Mbps (HEVC)1	35 Mbps (H.264)2

Summary

Netflix：4K HDR typically uses HEVC with a bitrate of approximately 15–25 Mbps, achieving about 40–50% savings compared to H.264. AV1 is gradually gaining adoption and offers even higher efficiency.3.
YouTube：Live streaming requires higher bitrates. For 4K@60fps H.264, a recommended bitrate is 35 Mbps, while AV1 or HEVC can maintain quality at lower bitrates.2.
AV1：Approximately 30% more efficient than HEVC, but with higher encoding complexity and limited hardware support for real-time live streaming.

Here’s an example:

bit rate: 3Mbps - 4Mbps
buffer size: 6Mb, typically set to 1–2 times the target bitrate
audio: just copy
encoder: hevc_nvenc or av1_nvenc
input file: input.mp4
output file: output.mp4
present: -preset p4; NVIDIA graphics cards offer presets ranging from p1 (fastest) to p7 (highest quality). p4 strikes a balance, while p6 delivers better visuals but slightly slower encoding (though still quite fast for the 4060).

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v hevc_nvenc -preset p4 -b:v 3000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 6000k -vtag hvc1 -c:a copy output.mp4

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v av1_nvenc -b:v 3000k -preset p4 -vtag hvc1 -c:a copy output.mkv

Here’s an example:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v hevc_videotoolbox -b:v 3000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 6000k -vtag hvc1 -c:a copy output.mp4

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -vtag hvc1 output.mp4