How to use REAL VBR with Vorbis (not ABR)...

[Slogra]

I really like Vorbis, but it seems to use ABR all the time. I obviously want to use VBR instead of ABR for better quality/size ratio. So... how do i do that?

[Acaila]

It depends on what you check the bitrate with. If I load my Vorbis files in Winamp it reports nice VBR streams, not ABR.

[DSPguru]

-q is vbr.

[Slogra]

I used -q5 so the nominal bitrate is 160. The average bitrate is very close to 160 in all different songs, so it looks like it's using ABR. I was expecting a bigger differences in the average bitrate...

[DSPguru]

--alt-preset standard is also a vbr preset (lame), but it usually gives same bitrate (about 200kbps).

[Slogra]

Ok, you convinced me :D