Encoded Output Delivered as a Bit Stream - A Practical Guide to Video and Audio Compression - page 254

Take 2 source images.
Transition with a disolve.
Every pixel changes at once.
A wipe, even one with a soft
edge is kinder to your bit rate.
Figure 14-2 Dissolves versus wipes.
Maximum bit rate available
Variable bit rate
Figure 14-3 VBR bit stream.
becomes difficult to compress. Large areas of changing pixels cause compression systems
a lot of trouble. Pop videos are notoriously difficult to compress because of the lighting
effects. A simple change from red to green lighting forces every pixel to be changed. The
differences from one frame to the next are therefore huge and this will severely spike the
bit rate. Executing a lap-dissolve effect when editing video will do this as well.
Straightforward cuts are much better for the bit rate than a dissolve.