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Home / Documentation / Media profiles for ONVIF cameras
Video configuration ONVIF 5 min read

Media profiles for
ONVIF cameras

A media profile defines how your ONVIF camera processes and streams video: resolution, encoding format, bit rate mode, frame rate, and bandwidth budget. Getting this right for your specific scenario is the difference between clear usable footage and a bloated, laggy stream.

Audio profiles ONVIF explained Choosing a setup Troubleshooting
// Overview

What a media profile controls

Every ONVIF camera exposes one or more media profiles in its configuration interface. Each profile is a named bundle of five settings that together determine the quality, smoothness, and bandwidth cost of the video stream. Banalytics reads these profiles at connection time, so choosing the right one helps performance immediately.

// Parameter 1

Video encoding: five codecs

The encoding format determines how raw video frames are compressed for transmission. More efficient codecs produce smaller files and lower bandwidth usage at equivalent quality, but require more processing power to encode and decode.

H.265
Most efficient. Best quality/size ratio. Requires modern decoder.
H.264H
High profile. Good quality. Widely compatible.
H.264M
Main profile. Balanced. Broad device support.
H.264B
Baseline profile. Lower CPU. Constrained networks.
MotionJPEG
Frame-by-frame JPEGs. High bandwidth. Legacy / PTZ use.
Efficiency ladder: H.265 > H.264H > H.264M > H.264B > MotionJPEG. Use H.265 when your hardware and VMS support it. Fall back to H.264H or H.264M for broad compatibility.
// Parameter 2

Encoding mode: CBR vs VBR

The encoding mode controls how the camera allocates its bit budget. CBR locks to a fixed rate regardless of scene complexity; VBR adapts by using more bits for complex scenes and fewer for static ones.

ModeQuality levelBest use
CBR
Fixed
Consistent streams, remote monitoring, predictable bandwidth
VBRBest
Highest
Recording where quality is paramount
VBRBetter
High
PTZ cameras, motion-heavy scenes, good networks
VBRGood
Good
Low-light and general surveillance
VBRNormal
Normal
Motion detection, background monitoring
VBRPoor
Minimum
Severely bandwidth-constrained feeds
// Parameters 3-5

Resolution, frame rate & bit rate

These three parameters work together. Raising any one increases bandwidth consumption, so set them as a group based on your network budget and use case requirements.

Resolution
1920x1080
1280x720
640x480
Frame rate
25 FPS
20 FPS
15 FPS
10 FPS
Bit rate
4096 kbps
2048 kbps
1024 kbps
512 kbps
Trade-off rule: Total bandwidth roughly follows resolution x frame rate x per-frame cost. Use frame rate reduction first when possible, because it often has less visual impact than lowering resolution.
// Six ready-to-use configurations

Media profile reference

Six pre-defined profiles cover the most common ONVIF surveillance scenarios. Each includes the five parameters, trade-off indicators, and when to use it.

01
MD
Motion detection
Event-based capture, battery-friendly, bandwidth-efficient triggers
Resolution1280x720
EncodingH.264B
ModeVBRNormal
Frame rate10 FPS
Bit rate1024 kbps
Optimized for motion detection pipelines where the stream is analysed for events rather than watched continuously. Lower FPS and moderate resolution keep bandwidth predictable while preserving enough detail.
Quality
Bandwidth
Smoothness
02
RM
Real-time remote monitoring
Live viewing over the internet, browser dashboards, Banalytics remote access
Resolution1920x1080
EncodingH.264H
ModeCBR
Frame rate15-20 FPS
Bit rate2048 kbps
CBR is preferred for streaming over the internet because its fixed bit rate prevents sudden spikes that cause buffering. This is the recommended default for remote access use cases.
Quality
Bandwidth
Smoothness
03
HQ
High-quality recording
Evidence-grade footage, detailed scene review, compliance archiving
Resolution1920x1080
EncodingH.265
ModeVBRBest
Frame rate25 FPS
Bit rate4096 kbps
Maximum fidelity for footage that may serve as evidence or require detailed review. H.265 at VBRBest extracts the most quality from every bit, but requires compatible hardware.
Quality
Bandwidth
Smoothness
04
LB
Low-bandwidth environments
Remote sites, cellular connections, minimal infrastructure
Resolution640x480
EncodingMotionJPEG
ModeVBRPoor
Frame rate5 FPS
Bit rate512 kbps
Designed for the absolute minimum viable stream when bandwidth is the binding constraint. It is choppy and low detail, but useful where nothing else will get through.
Quality
Bandwidth
Smoothness
05
NT
Nighttime & low-light surveillance
After-hours monitoring, IR-assisted cameras, low-noise capture
Resolution1280x720
EncodingH.264M
ModeVBRGood
Frame rate10 FPS
Bit rate1024 kbps
Low-light scenes produce more image noise, which VBR codecs try to encode faithfully. VBRGood caps the quality ceiling to prevent runaway bitrate while preserving useful detail.
Quality
Bandwidth
Smoothness
06
PTZ
PTZ control
Moving cameras, remote pan/tilt operations, dynamic scenes
Resolution1280x720
EncodingMotionJPEG
ModeVBRBetter
Frame rate20 FPS
Bit rate2048 kbps
PTZ cameras introduce constant scene change. MotionJPEG encodes each frame independently, making it stable during pan and zoom operations. Higher FPS gives smoother operator feedback.
Quality
Bandwidth
Smoothness
// Quick reference

Profile summary at a glance

ScenarioResolutionCodecFPSBit rate
Motion detectionHD 720pH.264B - VBRNormal101024 kbps
Real-time remote monitoringFHD 1080pH.264H - CBR15-202048 kbps
High-quality recordingFHD 1080pH.265 - VBRBest254096 kbps
Low-bandwidthSD 480pMJPEG - VBRPoor5512 kbps
Nighttime / low-lightHD 720pH.264M - VBRGood101024 kbps
PTZ controlHD 720pMJPEG - VBRBetter202048 kbps
Starting point: Profile 02 is the recommended default for most Banalytics remote monitoring deployments. It balances image quality, stream stability, and network predictability.

Configuring ONVIF media profiles in Banalytics?

Media profiles are selected per camera in the Banalytics camera setup interface. See the audio profiles article for the companion audio configuration guide.

Audio profiles guide ONVIF explained