What does ABR mean in COMPUTING

Average Bitrate (ABR) is an encoding technique used to define the average amount of data used for an audio or video file. It provides a way to determine how much digital data will be required to achieve a desired sound or visual quality level.

Average Bitrate works by measuring the total digital bits available in a given unit of video and audio, such as one second. It then divides that total number of bits by the length of time it takes up, resulting in the average bitrate for that unit of measure.

By setting an upper limit on the maximum bitrate permitted for a specific clip or portion of media, ABR helps control and maintain consistent quality levels across all parts of that media file. This ensures that there are no issues with low-quality clips caused by over-encoding or different source materials not maintaining the same level of quality throughout playback.

An ABR method offers advantages such as being able to maintain consistent output quality while reducing overall file size, thus enabling faster streaming speeds and less strain on bandwidths. Additionally, it allows for more efficient coding and decoding, which can lead to higher overall image and audio fidelity.

One potential disadvantage is that because it sets an upper limit on bitrates, it may not be able to provide optimal performance when dealing with multi-layered media sources with high peak bitrates in certain areas. In addition, since all clips are encoded at the same rate regardless of content complexity, this may lead to larger files than necessary in some cases.