Are extremely high bitrates with the VT H264 Hardware Encoder expected?

[el_camer0]

Log of my latest unstable test here: https://obsproject.com/logs/lV5gcpkMQ6qWx2i4

Hoping that I can alleviate the issue I'm having streaming off my M1 Mac mini. Wishing to stream through the Hardware Encoder since CPU% usage will be 10-15%, but the bitrate jumps from what I have set (4000 Kbps) to around 80K-90Kbps. Been testing for a few days to Twitch Inspector, which will state that I'm unstable because of the rate. Unfortunately, I've had previous streams go up to Twitch where the Playback Bitrate was so high that it was impossible to create clips off it due to its size. If I choose X264 as my encoder, I can stream with about 30-35% CPU usage with Bitrate at 4000 and Preset at Fast -- but I'm not certain if this is my best option due to feeding controlled bitrates to a streaming site versus variable bitrates.

Will X264 be my best option, or is there something I can alter in Settings to ensure I'm receiving amazing picture quality through the Hardware Encoder?

 

[Nass86]

Some ideas from me.

For streaming 720p x 60 FPS you might find the x264 cpu set up works fine.

As long as it’s not hitting above 85 or 90% cpu usage to do it or as long as it’s not costing you performance you actually need right there and then for other tasks, your m1 Mac has good fans to avoid thermal issue.

My older 2015 MacBook Pro with AMD Graphics and even older 2011 iMac with AMD graphics only look good at encoding above 20,000kbps and that’s way too much for twitch.

Good at recording, though.

 

[el_camer0]

Some ideas from me.

For streaming 720p x 60 FPS you might find the x264 cpu set up works fine.

As long as it’s not hitting above 85 or 90% cpu usage to do it or as long as it’s not costing you performance you actually need right there and then for other tasks, your m1 Mac has good fans to avoid thermal issue.

My older 2015 MacBook Pro with AMD Graphics and even older 2011 iMac with AMD graphics only look good at encoding above 20,000kbps and that’s way too much for twitch.

Good at recording, though.

Thank you for the insight! Haven't even flirted with 80% CPU usage as of yet, the most I've seen at Fast preset is around 40%, but I can even try Medium out and see how it goes.

 

[Nass86]

Other tips to help the Mac unload things from the memory/cpu during your stream - copied from another post of mine:
___

Extra tweaks for Mac that take up CPU / RAM
- Ensure everything else is closed ESPECIALLY Chrome.
- Remove items from the desktop and put them somewhere else, as the mac pre-loads them to a degree
- Remove as many Apps from the Dock, as the mac pre-loads these to a degree
- Shrink the OBS screen down so that the Preview video is smaller but you can still see what you need (this uses up less CPU power)
- Remove your Recent Items (Apple logo top left corner, RECENT ITEMS, CLEAR MENU, as apple pre-loads these to a degree