Run the numbers
Back-of-envelope calculators for the decisions behind every encode and every stream, with every assumption stated and every price sourced.
Video bitrate Resolution, frame rate, motion and codec turned into a bitrate target, with the ladder it comes from in the open. File size Bitrate and duration to megabytes, or a target size back to the bitrate that fits it. The two-pass maths, done for you. Resolution & aspect ratio Scale to a width or height, keep the aspect, land on even dimensions, and get the scale filter that does it. Bits per pixel Is that bitrate starved or generous for the frame it feeds? One number says, and this works it out. Bandwidth & CDN cost Viewers × watch time × quality: how much egress you will serve, and what five providers charge for it. Storage & codec savings What a video library weighs in H.264, HEVC and AV1, and what it costs to keep per month.
Bitrates come from published delivery ladders and the model is written out on each page. Prices are public list rates, checked against each provider's own pricing page and dated on the calculator. Nobody pays list at scale, so treat the output as a defensible upper bound rather than a quote.