Need help understanding the affect bitrate has on quality

[bolgnacake]

1) There will be quality loss in both scenarios.  Is that quality loss noticeable?  Depends on a lot of factors.  Specifically what encoder you are using, like Quick Sync or NVENC or just your CPU, and what settings you're using.  With the default settings in Jellyfin, modern iterations of both Intel Quick Sync and Nvidia NVENC will produce very close to original quality at both bit rates for 4K video.  You'd have to pause and A/B compare to notice the differences.

Thank you so much for your quick replies. One last follow-up, because in my mind there is one distinction I'm unsure about. There's quality loss in both scenarios, I understand, but is there MORE quality loss depending on the bit rate number? For example, both transcode at 50 and 40 Mb/s but technically, does the 40 Mb/s transcoding degrade visual quality MORE?

Thanks again!