Question / Help Problem with cam and lag.

[Klaent]

Hey,
Im new and pretty bad at this, i usally stream with xsplit but decided to give this a try.
First of all, the stream is lagging alot. It like the picture completly freezes every 5sec or so. It freezez for 2-3sec then it gets going again. When i stream with Xsplit the stream is fine, but i have a bit of ingame lag. With OBS i have no ingame lag but the stream is lagging, so it probably is some setting i need to adjust?

I also dont understand how you get the webcam to show over the "monitor 1" scene. In Xsplit you just check the boxes of the scenes you wanna show and they show up. Maybe im stupid but i cant figure out how to do it.

The program looks great btw, well done. I hope i can get it working as it should =)

 

[Klaent]

Both issues solved. Turned out there was a help file :P Sry to bother you. The freezing turned out to be because of bitrate/buffer size. I still have no idea how that works. If I have a great internet connection should i put those numbers higher or lower?

The webcam thing was described perfectly in the help file.

 

[Lain]

Ah, good. Generally, the bitrate/buffersize depends on your internet bandwidth. Going to speedtest.net tells you how much upload bandwidth you (roughly) have available to you, and then you use that number to generally base your bitrate on. The number it will report is usually a little bit higher than you'll usually be able to use.

Let me give an example to make things a bit easier. Let's say I go to speedtest.net, and it says my upload is 4.0mbit (which is 4000kb/s) per second. Let's say I want to stream a single player game (as an example). I see that number, and I try out 3800/3800 for my video, and use 128 for my audio (which comes to 3928 total, just under the 4000 reported). I stream, and take a look at my stream, and I see it's lagging. So I keep turning down my video numbers, to 3500/3500, then try again. I see it still lagging, but a bit less, so then I try 3000/3000, turn it back on again, and the stream is pretty much smooth. Basically lowering the number by a certain amount each time until the stream stops lagging. If you're streaming a multiplayer game, you have to also turn it down a bit more to make room for your multiplayer game as well (which varies depending upon the game, so you'll have to experiment again).

Unfortunately, that's really the best way of getting your bandwidth right (for now). In the future, I would like to put up a means of testing bandwidth with the video servers, but as of right now I don't have that means.

Also, just so you know, the reason you may not get the "maximum" number reported from speedtest.net is a number of reasons. The way the data is sent, as well as their server locations. Twitch or own3d may have servers that aren't as close, so you won't be able to get that high a bitrate necessarily.

 

[Lain]

actually, going to add in some stuff next version so you can better see what's going on with your bitrate. whether it's working smoothly or whether it's pushing your connection

 

[Klaent]

Its kinda odd tho, because in Xsplit i run 3000/3000, but in OBS it lags alot if i put it over 1000/1000. My upload is 24.20mbit/s according to speedtest.net.

 

[R1CH]

If you're not getting in game lag, then OBS isn't maxing your upload so it's unlikely a network problem. What is your quality and preset set to?

 

[Klaent]

Quality is at 8, i tried lowering it but didnt seem to matter. Preset is at veryfast.

 

[funtimeplayer]

First of all, thanks very releasing this great program.
I'm very new to streaming and it may be just a problem on my end, but I seem to have the same issue that Klaent had. I'm trying to stream Starcraft 2. I have to lower the bitrate to under 500 kb/s to get rid of the freezing. My upload speed is over 3 Mbit/s according to speedtest.net. I'm using the twitch server with lowest ping, but I will try some others. I have not tried Xsplit for comparison yet, but I could try that too. Like Klaent, I also don't notice any in-game lag. My cpu (core i5-750) doesn't appear to be the problem based on viewing the CPU usage in task manager.

 

[Klaent]

I did a full 8h of streaming last night and i noticed that sometimes it would start freezing even at 1000/1000. Im using the same twitch server as i was using in Xsplit, i tried changing but it didnt seem to make any difference at all.

 

[Lain]

Just uploaded a new version today with updated network code. also, I added an experimental version of 0.341a that contains a slight network modification. I'd like you both the regular and the experimental, and let me know what kind of results you get on both. (experimental has "experimental" in the window title so there's no confusion about which you may be using)

 

[Klaent]

tried both versions, did not see any difference between the three versions at all(other then the new kb/s bar). Still lag if i put it over 1000/1000.

 

[funtimeplayer]

I compared the 3 versions at 3 bitrates (600, 550, and 500 kb/s). No drastic differences, but here's what I noticed:
0.331a: Best (ran smoothly for me today at 600 kb/s)
0.341a: 2nd best (some freezing at 600 but smooth at 550 and 500)
0.341a_experimental: Similar but maybe a little worse than 0.341a. It seems I get the red network indicator more often with the experimental version than with 0.341a.

 

[Lain]

thanks for the testing. getting different results from different people. one person got very good results from the experimental version for example, completely cleared up his lag, but, hmm. very interesting.

 

[Lain]

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE! Network issues have been completely solved.

In fact, better than solved. You can now get far better bitrates out of your settings than before, hopefully. With everyones help I figured out an amazing technique where the stream is much smoother, and can set it at bitrates much higher. I'm fairly stunned at how well it works, actually. Getting people saying it's at least as good or better than xsplit or ffsplit. Very happy with the results I'm seeing out of people here, this new one looks like a major winner.

Next version (0.35a) should hopefully be the update you guys were waiting for. Will upload either today or tomorrow hopefully

 

[Lain]

Okay, just uploaded. Could you guys try out 0.35a? Getting really good reports on it. Like amazingly good reports. Some are calling it "the one".

Let me know how it goes.

 

[Klaent]

The differende is night and day. I now stream on quality 10, with 7000/7000 and its completely lag free. The stream is the same quality as my actualy game now, its insane. Your awesome ^^ If theres is anything I can help you with just let me know.

 

[funtimeplayer]

0.35a is a huge improvement for me too. Thanks! :D

 

[Tony32]

I really like your software so far, but I got some issues with streaming. I use Dxtory combined with OBS to stream to twitch. Speedtest.net tells me I got 8mb/s upload speed so that shouldn't be a problem I assume.

Anyway, when streaming any game with almost any settings for the encoder it runs smooth for 10-15 seconds, then it freezes for like 2-3 and repeats. Sometimes it freezez all the time. But when setting bitrate to 1000 or less it works, but obviously looks like shit. I've tested the latest version and some older ones so I do not know what to do anymore :/

I am streaming 1080p @30fps.

 

[Lain]

Are you getting red/yellow on the color indicator?

 

[Tony32]

Nope, perfect green indication :) Anyway, I got some support on an IRC channel and they said the stream lagged on my end cause of the high load on the CPU. And not for others watching the stream.(I am watching my own stream using dual screen).
They said when they watched my stream it didn't freeze. So it was only on my end it seems. Will try it out more tomorrow and ask my friends to check the stream out if it still freezez.

Will post results tomorrow. Thanks for quick reply btw :)