Different representations are associated with an instance of media content, and a representation can include multiple portions of media content. A respective quality value and bitrate can be associated with each of the portions. Information about the instance of content, including bitrate and quality information, can be accessed by and/or sent to a client. The quality information indicates the availability of measures of quality (e.g., quality values) and where those quality values reside or how they can be retrieved. The client can use quality as well as bitrate to make more intelligent decisions while streaming the content. For example, while the content is being downloaded over a network, the client can adapt to changes in available network bandwidth by selecting one portion of the instance of media content over another based not just on its bitrate but also based on its quality value.