A multi-rate statistical multiplexing system comprising: a congestion-state determination module configured to: for a subscriber-line providing a plurality of requested channels, receive congestion information of the subscriber-line, the congestion information comprising a total bandwidth of the subscriber-line; and determine a congestion-state of the subscriber-line based on the congestion information and a combined bit-rate of the plurality of requested channels; a channel bit-rate selection module configured to: for each requested channel provided by the subscriber-line, receive an indicator of perceived quality of a viewing experience for each of a plurality of different versions of that requested channel, and select among the different versions of each of the plurality of requested channels, each version of a channel having a different bit-rate, the selection being based on a balance of the perceived quality and the congestion state of the subscriber-line and comprising selecting a lower bit-rate version of a current encoded group of pictures, GOP, of each requested channel based on a first order indicator and a second order indicator, wherein the first order indicator is an indicator of a perceived quality of viewing experience of a current encoded GOP and the second order indicator is an indicator of a perceived quality of viewing experience of a future encoded GOP; a channel forwarding switch-control module configured to control a switch to forward the selected version of each channel based on timing information of each of the plurality of requested channels, the forwarding comprising forwarding the selected version of the current encoded GOP of each requested channel, wherein a perceived quality of viewing experience of the forwarded encoded GOP is maintained after forwarding. a congestion-state determination module configured to: for a subscriber-line providing a plurality of requested channels, receive congestion information of the subscriber-line, the congestion information comprising a total bandwidth of the subscriber-line; and determine a congestion-state of the subscriber-line based on the congestion information and a combined bit-rate of the plurality of requested channels; for a subscriber-line providing a plurality of requested channels, receive congestion information of the subscriber-line, the congestion information comprising a total bandwidth of the subscriber-line; and determine a congestion-state of the subscriber-line based on the congestion information and a combined bit-rate of the plurality of requested channels; a channel bit-rate selection module configured to: for each requested channel provided by the subscriber-line, receive an indicator of perceived quality of a viewing experience for each of a plurality of different versions of that requested channel, and select among the different versions of each of the plurality of requested channels, each version of a channel having a different bit-rate, the selection being based on a balance of the perceived quality and the congestion state of the subscriber-line and comprising selecting a lower bit-rate version of a current encoded group of pictures, GOP, of each requested channel based on a first order indicator and a second order indicator, wherein the first order indicator is an indicator of a perceived quality of viewing experience of a current encoded GOP and the second order indicator is an indicator of a perceived quality of viewing experience of a future encoded GOP; for each requested channel provided by the subscriber-line, receive an indicator of perceived quality of a viewing experience for each of a plurality of different versions of that requested channel, and select among the different versions of each of the plurality of requested channels, each version of a channel having a different bit-rate, the selection being based on a balance of the perceived quality and the congestion state of the subscriber-line and comprising selecting a lower bit-rate version of a current encoded group of pictures, GOP, of each requested channel based on a first order indicator and a second order indicator, wherein the first order indicator is an indicator of a perceived quality of viewing experience of a current encoded GOP and the second order indicator is an indicator of a perceived quality of viewing experience of a future encoded GOP; a channel forwarding switch-control module configured to control a switch to forward the selected version of each channel based on timing information of each of the plurality of requested channels, the forwarding comprising forwarding the selected version of the current encoded GOP of each requested channel, wherein a perceived quality of viewing experience of the forwarded encoded GOP is maintained after forwarding.