zones: bitrate multiplier

[patrick]

When setting a bitrate multiplier for a zone in a multi-pass conversion, will the bitrate of the rest of the video be lowered or does the overall bitrate increase?

So if I convert --bitrate 1000 and half of the video has b=2.0, will the final bitrate be 1000 or 1500?

[patrick]

I just tested and using zones to raise the bitrate in one zone, will lower in others so ABR won't change

Not too important, but complicates things a bit more, because I want to increase the bitrate of dark scenes, without touching others.

[sN1b3r]

If you want to increase the bitrate on some parts without touching others, there is no point in using --bitrate in the first place. Use --crf instead, that will zone like you want to.

[Mr VacBob]

Try increasing --aq-strength globally rather than messing with zone multipliers.