Questions on base 64 encoding and its browser-support

[JustSad]

I have a few questions on using base 64 encoding in the src of an \[code\]<img />\[/code\] or as the value for a background in CSS?What does the browser support look like for it?Or does browser support depend on the type of file that it actually is?Secondly, what are the benefits of base 64 encoding of small ( in file-size / not complex ) files?Lastly, are there any drawbacks? I heard not to use it for complex or larger files.