Best Streamlabs Obs Settings for Lower Upload Speeds

How Much Speed Do Yous Need for Live Video Game Streaming?

Jan 24, 2022 Share
FAQ, Gaming, Internet Speed Guides, Streaming Guides

Watching other people play video games is virtually every bit popular as playing them yourself. And people aren't just watching big-proper noun internet celebrities either. Twitch, the near pop game streaming platform, has over four million unique creators streaming every month.¹ If you like sharing your gaming experiences with the globe, you could exist one of them.

1 of the keys to a successful stream is an internet connexion that can handle the video (like cobweb). No one wants to spend fourth dimension and money getting your lights and camera just correct but for your internet connexion to reduce your stream to a choppy, pixelated mess.

But not to worry! We're here to walk you through everything you demand to know well-nigh internet speeds and live video game streaming so y'all can go your stream just right.

Utilize your zip code to see if fiber internet is available in your surface area.

Livestreaming is all most upload speed

Livestreaming is one of the few situations when download speed (the speed your internet program typically advertises) doesn't actually matter. All you lot have to worry about is your upload speed. You tin can learn more about the difference between download and upload speed here.

Need a connexion with more upload speed? See what'due south bachelor in your surface area.

When you're livestreaming, video captured from your device is sent, or uploaded, from your home to video servers somewhere on the internet. This is the opposite direction that video data usually flows since most people eat more online video content than they create.

One more time: download speed doesn't matter for livestreaming.

Upload speed is oft a scrap more than difficult to estimate because almost net service providers (ISPs) don't advertise it as prominently as they do download speeds (your "advertised" speed refers to your download speed). For about kinds of internet connection, your upload speed will be much lower than your download speed. Upload speed can also fluctuate, then the easiest fashion to find your actual upload speed is to take a speed examination. If y'all want an upload speed that can match your download speed, your best bet is fiber.

Get your upload speed: Want to find out what upload and download speed you're currently getting? Take our speed test.

That said, there are yet enough of online activities that require a good download speed. If y'all're playing a game online or streaming royalty-costless music while yous're on stream, you need to make sure you have enough download speed to ensure a smooth experience. However, the only number y'all demand to worry about for getting your stream online is your upload speed.

Upload speed requirements for livestreaming across video platforms

We recommend having a minimum upload speed of 10 Mbps for livestreaming. On most platforms, this will give you a slight buffer to account for fluctuations in upload speed.

Dissimilar streaming platforms have different requirements when it comes to video quality. Some are optimized and then that you tin broadcast low-resolution video from your cell phone whenever you desire, while others try to make information technology possible for viewers to tune in to Tv set-quality streams. While you tin can technically stream as long as y'all come across the minimum requirements, yous should always plan to take at least an extra 5 Mbps to account for fluctuations in speed.

Hither's the breakdown of how much upload speed you'll demand to livestream on different platforms.

Twitch

Twitch is the biggest site for video game streaming, so if you want to be a streamer, you lot should be able to stream on Twitch. Fortunately, it gives streamers a few unlike recommendations for resolution and frame charge per unit.

For context, 30 frames per second (fps) is the standard frame rate for television, while 60 fps is a mutual framerate in video games. Only like resolution, frame rate affects the amount of speed you demand to stream, so if y'all don't have the fastest connection, you might have to make a trade-off.

Facebook Live

Facebook keeps it simple, listing only the absolute minimum requirements for streaming on the platform. But that'due south not to say yous can't attain a decent video quality with Facebook.

Although y'all tin can starting time a livestream on Facebook with nothing more your phone and the Facebook app, Facebook Live is also compatible with standard streaming software similar OBS Studio, Streamlabs OBS, and vMix.

YouTube

YouTube has a staggering amount of recommendations, ranging from a 240p stream (which is the resolution of an old Nokia cell phone or a Game Boy Accelerate) to streaming in full 4K UHD.^{2, 3} We'd recommend shooting for somewhere in the heart. Plenty of professional streamers stream at 1080p, and that's a loftier plenty resolution to look practiced on everything from cell phones to Idiot box screens.

You lot need actress internet speed for a stable video stream

We propose that you try to have 10–15 Mbps more than upload speed than the minimum requirement for the quality of video you're trying to stream and even more if you know that your connectedness has regular bug with slowdown.

Another proficient rule of thumb is to have twice as much upload speed equally whatever you lot set your bitrate to be, but to exist prophylactic. Non all your viewers will discover the subtle divergence between 30 and 60 fps, just everyone volition notice if your stream starts freezing and stuttering.

If yous merely barely run into the speed requirements for the video you're trying to stream, the slightest fluctuation in your connectedness can interfere with or even crash your stream. That'south because livestreaming is a lot trickier than streaming video from Netflix. Since your stream isn't prerecorded, the server tin't buffer to smooth out the normal ups and downs in internet speed.

Also, recall that if you're streaming to multiple platforms simultaneously, y'all need enough total bandwidth that each stream has enough of upload speed. For example, if yous're streaming 1080p video to both Twitch (6 Mbps minimum) and YouTube (3 Mbps minimum), you lot'd need an upload speed of at least ix Mbps, though realistically, you'd need xv–20 Mbps to keep both streams stable.

Why is a stable video stream so important?

Livestreaming is much more technologically enervating than just playing games. Nearly online games tin can get by on a pretty pocket-size net connection, as long as there's low latency. Livestreaming turns your home into your ain personal TV station, broadcasting high-resolution video to your fans.

To grow an avid fan base on a platform like Twitch, y'all need to deliver a quality experience. A reliable photographic camera, good audio equipment, and a fancy gaming figurer are all important investments for any dedicated streamer, but none of that makes much of a departure to those watching if your stream freezes and staggers throughout the circulate.

A reliable internet connection is one of the commencement investments an aspiring streamer should make.

What type of internet is best for livestreaming?

The best cyberspace connection for livestreaming is fiber. To livestream, you demand a reliable connexion with good upload speeds and low latency. In all three of those categories, fiber-optic connections are by far the all-time option. If fiber isn't bachelor in your area, you probably want to go with a wired connection, as wireless connections tend to be more susceptible to interference and generally feel higher latency.

DSL and satellite connections by and large aren't fast or stable enough for streamers, so y'all're probably going to need either cable or fiber internet.

Cable connections can reach upload speeds between 5 Mbps and 50 Mbps, and so the all-time cablevision plans can handle HD streaming, but slower connections volition be lucky to evangelize anything above Game Boy quality. Cable is also prone to slowing down at pinnacle hours, then unless you stream in the middle of the nighttime, you might take to program around the inevitable drop in speed.

Cobweb, on the other hand, has symmetrical upload and download speeds, which means if yous accept gigabit download speeds, you go the exact same speeds for your uploads. Fiber is also a much more than stable connection and doesn't suffer from the same kind of slowing bug that cable has to deal with. All these factors make fiber the ideal connection for streamers.

For more data, check out our page on fiber providers.

How does latency affect livestreaming?

Latency is the fourth dimension information technology takes for a signal to travel from your computer to a server on the cyberspace. Information technology substantially determines the reaction time of your net connection. Having high latency will crusade lag in games or calls, delaying your reactions and causing bug.

Considering streaming is primarily i-mode communication, latency is handled a bit differently than it is in a video call. Streaming software usually performs more encoding and compression on your video (though you can adjust this in your settings) in order to improve the terminal quality at the expense of a few seconds of delay. This isn't usually noticeable to your audience unless you lot're streaming a Q&A session or a live event.

One important precaution for streamers to take is to use a wired connection to your router instead of Wi-Fi when possible. Fifty-fifty fast, reliable Wi-Fi introduces a bit of extra latency into your connection, and so a wired connection is definitely preferable. If you don't already have ane, become yourself an Ethernet cable.

Why am I nevertheless getting dropped frames?

Do yous have a solid net connexion simply your video nonetheless looks choppy? Video game streams oft suffer from dropped frames, where instead of the video playing smoothly from one frame to the adjacent, the same frame volition play twice in a row and and then skip forwards. If enough frames are dropped, information technology tin lead to jittery, uneven video.

Although a ho-hum or unstable net connectedness can crusade a stream to driblet frames, dropped frames are ofttimes a problem with your capture menu. If your capture card can't record and encode your video data fast enough to go along up with your framerate, the result is dropped frames in your stream.

Before you fork out the money to upgrade to a better capture card, in that location are a few things yous can endeavor. Starting time, bank check your internet speed to make certain you're getting the upload speed you think you lot are. Besides, make sure that you're plugged into your router and non relying on Wi-Fi.

If you try those things and are sure that it's not your connectedness, attempt adjusting the settings in your streaming software, lowering your bitrate. Yous tin can also try updating your computer's network drivers.

1. Twitch, "Printing Center," Accessed October 5, 2020.
2. Nokia Museum, "Nokia Asha 301," Accessed October 5, 2020.
3. CNET, "Nintendo Game Boy Accelerate Specs," Accessed October 5, 2020

Author - Peter Christiansen

Peter Christiansen writes about satellite internet, rural connectivity, livestreaming, and parental controls for HighSpeedInternet.com. Peter holds a PhD in communication from the University of Utah and has been working in tech for over 15 years as a computer programmer, game developer, filmmaker, and author. His writing has been praised by outlets like Wired, Digital Humanities Now, and the New Statesman.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital space for seven years, and she'due south edited all things internet for HighSpeedInternet.com for v years. She graduated with a BA in English language and a minor in editing from Brigham Young University. When she'southward non editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands like Pluralsight. She believes no ane should experience lost in internet land and that a good internet connexion significantly extends your life span.

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