BDs in AVC versus MPEG and optimum bitrates

[jmkoch]

Some BD burning products offer the optiion to burn in AVC or MPEG and let one pick a bitrate as low as 5 MBPS or as high as 25 MBPS.

In principal, a higher bitrate allows for higher maximum image information transmission, which could mean higher image quality. However, what advantage is there, if any, in picking an output bitrate any higher than the ceiing of the source video? Only a few recent consumer HD videocams capture in AVCHD any higher than 17 mbps, and a lot capture at 13 mbps.

What are the average or ceiling bitrates for most commercial BD discs? How about that of the HD broadcasts on cable or satellite?

What are the virtues, flaws, or quirks of BD in AVC versus MPEG?

Do all (or perhaps only high end) BD players offer readings of a disc's video bitrate, pixel dimensions, constrast ratio, or sound to noise audio ratio?