Q-SYS Shift Bitrate Calculator
Q-SYS · Raw and stream bitrate for one Q-SYS Shift signal.
- Raw bitrate
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- Stream bitrate (Q-SYS Shift)
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- Compression ratio
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- Streams on 1 GbE
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- Streams on 10 GbE
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- Recommended link
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- Endpoint power
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Supports up to 444 · 10-bit. Low-latency proprietary (NV Series).
About Q-SYS Shift
Q-SYS Shift is Q-SYS’s proprietary, low-latency AV-over-IP codec, carried by the Q-SYS NV Series (NV-32-H, NV-21-HU and NV-21-VU) endpoints.
Shift brings video into the Q-SYS audio/control ecosystem so one processor handles audio, video and control together. It is a visually lossless codec tuned for low latency and native Q-SYS routing over standard networks.
The bitrate follows the raw signal divided by the codec ratio (≈10:1 here). A 1080p30 4:2:0 source is about 746 Mbps raw and roughly 75 Mbps on the wire, so many Shift streams share a 1 GbE backbone.
Worked example
A 1080p30 4:2:0 signal is 746.5 Mbps raw; Q-SYS Shift compresses it about 10:1, so the stream is about 74.6 Mbps. That leaves plenty of headroom on 1 GbE.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shift proprietary?
Yes, it is Q-SYS’s own codec, so it interoperates within the Q-SYS NV Series rather than with third-party codecs.
What hardware runs Shift?
The NV Series — NV-32-H (HDMI), NV-21-HU (HDMI+USB) and NV-21-VU (video only) encoders/decoders.
Does Shift support 4K?
Yes, 4K60 is supported, with the compression keeping it within the network’s capacity.
What is the difference between raw and stream bitrate?
Raw is the uncompressed signal (width × height × frame rate × bits per pixel); stream is what the codec actually puts on the wire after compression. The compression ratio is raw ÷ stream.
What do 4:4:4, 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 mean?
They describe chroma subsampling — how much colour detail is kept relative to brightness. 4:4:4 keeps full colour (3× bit depth per pixel), 4:2:2 keeps two-thirds, and 4:2:0 keeps half (1.5×).
Related calculators
- JPEG 2000 Bitrate Calculator
- VC-2 / Dirac Pro (ST 2042) Bitrate Calculator
- Crestron NVX Bitrate Calculator
- IP Video Bitrate Calculator — compare every codec side by side.
- Switch Configurator — size the switch for these streams.
Disclaimer: bitrates are planning estimates. Confirm final figures with your codec and switch vendor.