ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Rate–distortion optimization

Okay, so imagine you have a video that you want to watch on your computer. The video has to be stored as bits, which are like a bunch of tiny switches that can be turned on or off to represent information.

Now, the more bits you have, the higher quality the video will be because you can show more details and colors. But, having more bits also means the file will be bigger and take longer to load.

So, rate-distortion optimization is like trying to find the perfect balance between using enough bits to have good quality video, but not too many bits that the file becomes too big and takes too long to load.

It’s kind of like trying to bake a cake. You want to use just the right amount of ingredients to make it taste good, but not too many that it becomes too dense or costs too much money.

In conclusion, rate-distortion optimization is trying to find the perfect balance between the quality of the video and the size of the file it’s stored in.