Anchor Settings for 4K Delivery

At 2160p the codec choice matters more, because the same percent of bitrate covers four times the samples. Three anchor sets cover the desk's 4K work: a streaming set, an archive set and a high-dynamic-range set that carries a wider colour profile.

Streaming 2160p Archive 2160p HDR 2160p

Streaming 2160p

Tuned for a large panel over a strong link. The top codec carries the rung and the floor stays in a widely read codec so weaker devices can drop down.

Table U1. Streaming anchors at 2160p.
Codec	Rate factor	Effort	Key frame	Depth
HEVC	26	medium	2 s	10-bit
AV1	32	medium	2 s	10-bit

Archive 2160p

Tuned for a master kept for years. Detail is kept high and the interval is long, because seek speed gives way to fidelity per bit.

Table U2. Archive anchors at 2160p.
Codec	Rate factor	Effort	Key frame	Depth
HEVC	22	slow	6 s	10-bit
AV1	28	slow	6 s	10-bit

HDR 2160p

Tuned for a high-dynamic-range master. The colour profile is fixed and checked first, then the rate factor is set from the curve as usual.

Table U3. HDR anchors at 2160p.
Codec	Rate factor	Effort	Key frame	Depth
HEVC	24	slow	4 s	10-bit
AV1	30	slow	4 s	10-bit

Notes that govern all three sets

Fix the colour profile before any quality run, because a changed tag moves the score without a single pixel moving. Keep ten-bit reconstruction for every 4K rung; the size penalty is small and the banding it removes is large. On a host without a fixed engine, expect the archive set to demand a long run, and consider a per-title pass only for titles watched enough to pay for it.

The spacing rules for these rungs are on the ladder design sheet, and the accelerated engines that make the streaming set practical are on the accelerator sheet.

Why the three 4K sets differ

The streaming set trades a little detail for a smaller rung, because a large audience shares one budget and the smallest saving compounds. The archive set keeps detail high and lets the size rise, because the master may be re-encoded later and a second loss is expensive. The high-dynamic-range set fixes a wider colour profile before any score is taken, because a changed profile moves the result without a pixel moving.