Answers.Body: <p>From <a href="http://x264.nl/x264/10bit_02-ateme-why_does_10bit_save_bandwidth.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Why does 10-bit save bandwidth (even when content is 8-bit)?</a> (<a href="https://yukisubs.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/why_does_10bit_save_bandwidth_-_ateme.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">alt. URL</a>)</p>
  <blockquote>
  <p><strong>So why does a AVC/H.264 10-bit encoder perform better than 8-bit?</strong><br />
  When encoding with the 10-bit tool, the compression process is
  performed with at least 10-bit accuracy compared to only 8-bit
  otherwise. So there is less truncation errors, especially in the
  motion compensation stage, increasing the efficiency of compression
  tools. As a consequence, there is less need to quantize to achieve a
  given bit-rate. The net result is a better quality for the same
  bit-rate or conversely less bit-rate for the same quality: between 5%
  and 20% on typical sources.</p>
  </blockquote>
  <p>See the link for more information.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2012-12-03T20:25:32.140Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2024-11-19T19:24:41.993Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2024-11-19T19:24:41.993Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: llogan
Body: <p>I'll start off by saying that I know next to nothing about video encoding and I'm looking for a nice tutorial explaining the basics (I have a technical background and some knowledge of signal processing) </p>
  
  <p>I've heard that encoding a video with 8-bit color can actually take more filesize than in 10-bit color. The explanation offered was that since the source file was in 10-bit color, it's somehow easier to stay in 10-bit color. I don't understand how that's possible, because whatever algorithm is used to convert between video formats can do what it needs to do, and when the time comes to convert to 8-bit quality, just round off the color. I don't see how rounding off a color could contribute to file size. </p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2012-12-02T11:31:13.663Z
Comments.Text: That's surely just not true in general, but it might hold for certain codecs. You'll need to be a bit more specific.
Comments.UserDisplayName: leftaroundabout
Tags: <file-formats><encoding>
Title: How could an 8-bit encoding take more memory than a 10-bit encoding?
UserDisplayName: Satoru
ThreadText: # How could an 8-bit encoding take more memory than a 10-bit encoding?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2012-12-02)
  
  I'll start off by saying that I know next to nothing about video encoding and I'm looking for a nice tutorial explaining the basics (I have a technical background and some knowledge of signal processing)
  
  I've heard that encoding a video with 8-bit color can actually take more filesize than in 10-bit color. The explanation offered was that since the source file was in 10-bit color, it's somehow easier to stay in 10-bit color. I don't understand how that's possible, because whatever algorithm is used to convert between video formats can do what it needs to do, and when the time comes to convert to 8-bit quality, just round off the color. I don't see how rounding off a color could contribute to file size.
  
  **Tags:** file-formats, encoding
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: That's surely just not true in general, but it might hold for certain codecs. You'll need to be a bit more specific.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2012-12-03. Score: 2
  
  From [Why does 10-bit save bandwidth (even when content is 8-bit)?](http://x264.nl/x264/10bit_02-ateme-why_does_10bit_save_bandwidth.pdf) ([alt. URL](https://yukisubs.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/why_does_10bit_save_bandwidth_-_ateme.pdf))
  
  > **So why does a AVC/H.264 10-bit encoder perform better than 8-bit?**  
  > When encoding with the 10-bit tool, the compression process is
  > performed with at least 10-bit accuracy compared to only 8-bit
  > otherwise. So there is less truncation errors, especially in the
  > motion compensation stage, increasing the efficiency of compression
  > tools. As a consequence, there is less need to quantize to achieve a
  > given bit-rate. The net result is a better quality for the same
  > bit-rate or conversely less bit-rate for the same quality: between 5%
  > and 20% on typical sources.
  
  See the link for more information.
  
  
  ---
  
  