Controlling video encoding using audio information

A video encoder may reduce bandwidth consumption by skipping encoding of or reducing an encoding rate of video frames corresponding to silent audio frames, that is, audio frames that do not include speech data. In one example, an apparatus includes a video encoder comprising a coding unit configured to encode video data in a first or second mode and a mode select unit configured to receive an indication of whether encoded audio data corresponding to the video data to be encoded includes speech data. When the audio data includes speech data, the mode select unit selects the first mode, and when the audio data does not include speech data, the mode select unit selects the second mode. The second mode consumes relatively less bandwidth, e.g., by reducing a bitrate, modifying a quantization parameter to increase quantization, and/or reducing a frame rate relative to the first mode.