diff --git a/services/worker/src/ffmpeg/executor.js b/services/worker/src/ffmpeg/executor.js
index fe31b41..8b7ea03 100644
--- a/services/worker/src/ffmpeg/executor.js
+++ b/services/worker/src/ffmpeg/executor.js
@@ -94,20 +94,19 @@ export const transcodeVideo = async (inputPath, outputPath, options = {}) => {
   const {
     videoCodec   = 'libx264',
     videoPreset  = 'fast',
-    videoBitrate = '10M',
-    rateControl  = null,     // 'cbr' | 'vbr' | 'cqp' — optional
+    videoBitrate = '750k',   // average/target for VBR
+    videoMinRate = null,     // VBR minimum  e.g. '500k'
+    videoMaxRate = null,     // VBR maximum  e.g. '1000k'
+    videoBufSize = null,     // VBR buffer   e.g. '2000k' (2× maxrate recommended)
+    rateControl  = null,     // 'cbr' | 'vbr' | 'cqp' — optional override for HW codecs
     audioCodec   = 'aac',
-    audioBitrate = '192k',
+    audioBitrate = '128k',
     hasAudio     = true,
   } = options;
 
-  // libx264 / yuv420p require even dimensions. Captured frames from SDI
-  // or upstream uploads sometimes arrive odd-sized (e.g. 1243x1125).
+  // libx264 / yuv420p require even dimensions.
   const vf = "scale='trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2',format=yuv420p";
 
-  // analyzeduration/probesize must be set BEFORE -i. Some ProRes captures
-  // write unusual timebases (60k tbn) that ffmpeg cannot resolve with the
-  // default 5MB probe — bump to 100MB so we always read enough of the file.
   const args = [
     '-analyzeduration', '100M',
     '-probesize',       '100M',
@@ -118,8 +117,14 @@ export const transcodeVideo = async (inputPath, outputPath, options = {}) => {
     '-b:v', videoBitrate,
   ];
 
-  // NVENC takes rate control via -rc / -cq. VAAPI uses -rc_mode. libx264
-  // ignores both (rate is implied by -b:v + -maxrate).
+  // VBR min/max/bufsize for libx264 ABR mode.
+  // When minrate+maxrate are set, libx264 operates in ABR with hard limits
+  // rather than strict CBR — quality varies per-scene within the envelope.
+  if (videoMinRate) args.push('-minrate', videoMinRate);
+  if (videoMaxRate) args.push('-maxrate', videoMaxRate);
+  if (videoBufSize) args.push('-bufsize', videoBufSize);
+
+  // NVENC/VAAPI hardware rate control flags
   if (rateControl) {
     if (NVENC_CODECS.has(videoCodec)) {
       args.push('-rc', rateControl);
diff --git a/services/worker/src/workers/proxy.js b/services/worker/src/workers/proxy.js
index 1cd7270..d0d4d3f 100644
--- a/services/worker/src/workers/proxy.js
+++ b/services/worker/src/workers/proxy.js
@@ -21,15 +21,26 @@ async function loadProxyEncodingSettings() {
   const gpuEnabled = map.gpu_transcode_enabled === 'true';
   const codec      = map.gpu_codec || (gpuEnabled ? 'h264_nvenc' : 'libx264');
   const preset     = map.gpu_preset || (gpuEnabled ? 'p4' : 'fast');
-  const bitrateM   = parseFloat(map.gpu_bitrate_mbps || '1.5');
   const rcMode     = map.gpu_rc_mode || null;
   const audioCodec = map.gpu_audio_codec || 'aac';
   const audioKbps  = parseInt(map.gpu_audio_bitrate_kbps || '128', 10);
 
+  // VBR 500k–1M: target average 750k, hard cap 1M, buffer 2M.
+  // libx264 ABR mode — quality varies per-scene within the envelope.
+  // These are stored in the DB as the bitrate field; min/max derived from it.
+  const bitrateM = parseFloat(map.gpu_bitrate_mbps || '0.75');
+  const targetBps  = Math.round(bitrateM * 1000);  // kbps
+  const minKbps    = Math.round(targetBps * 0.5);   // 50% of target
+  const maxKbps    = Math.round(targetBps * 1.33);  // 133% of target, capped at ~1M for 750k target
+  const bufKbps    = maxKbps * 2;                   // 2× maxrate recommended
+
   return {
     videoCodec:   codec,
     videoPreset:  preset,
-    videoBitrate: `${bitrateM}M`,
+    videoBitrate: `${targetBps}k`,
+    videoMinRate: `${minKbps}k`,
+    videoMaxRate: `${maxKbps}k`,
+    videoBufSize: `${bufKbps}k`,
     rateControl:  rcMode,
     audioCodec,
     audioBitrate: `${audioKbps}k`,
@@ -161,20 +172,21 @@ export const proxyWorker = async (job) => {
     const encSettings = await loadProxyEncodingSettings();
     console.log(
       `[proxy] Transcoding asset ${assetId} via ${encSettings._gpu ? 'GPU' : 'CPU'} ` +
-      `(${encSettings.videoCodec} ${encSettings.videoPreset} ${encSettings.videoBitrate})`
+      `(${encSettings.videoCodec} ${encSettings.videoPreset} VBR ${encSettings.videoMinRate}-${encSettings.videoMaxRate} avg=${encSettings.videoBitrate})`
     );
     try {
       await transcodeVideo(inputPath, outputPath, { ...encSettings, hasAudio });
     } catch (err) {
       if (encSettings._gpu) {
-        // Hardware encoder failed — typically "no NVIDIA driver" or "VAAPI
-        // device not found". Fall back to libx264 so the job doesn't fail
-        // when the worker host has no GPU.
         console.warn(`[proxy] GPU encode failed (${err.message}); falling back to libx264`);
         await transcodeVideo(inputPath, outputPath, {
-          videoCodec: 'libx264', videoPreset: 'fast',
+          videoCodec:   'libx264', videoPreset: 'fast',
           videoBitrate: encSettings.videoBitrate,
-          audioCodec: encSettings.audioCodec, audioBitrate: encSettings.audioBitrate,
+          videoMinRate: encSettings.videoMinRate,
+          videoMaxRate: encSettings.videoMaxRate,
+          videoBufSize: encSettings.videoBufSize,
+          audioCodec:   encSettings.audioCodec,
+          audioBitrate: encSettings.audioBitrate,
           hasAudio,
         });
       } else { throw err; }