Question / Help Bitrate 3000 over 2000? Please help...

Hi guys please help me decide what to do... When I play CSGO a FPS game.. On 2000 bitrate 720p@30 fps the stream looks like not so great quality I mean it dosnt lag but the quality is not very good and looks like 480p quality on youtube... But when you put my obs settings on bitrate 3000 and 720p @ 60 fps my stream looks much better and good quality.. I was told that if i use 3000 bitrate some people will not be able to watch my stream or it will be laggy for them... I know twitch says the max bitrate for non partner is 3500... but if i use 3000 do you guys think it will be ok? My stream just looks soo much better when it is 3000 bitrate 720p@60 fps... I have upload speed of 5-6MB and download speed of 85MB... CPU i74790k @ 4.0 ghz.. GPU GTX 970, 16gb ram... PLEASE HELP ME GUYS... as much advice I can get I will be very appreciative... Please let me know what you guys think is best option and why... Thanks!
 

Harold

Active Member
You're better off with the lower picture quality that can reach the wider audience.

720p30 at 2000
 
Soo does 2000 bitrate mean the audience has to be able to download at 2MB or more or does there upload hasve to be 2MB or more for 2000 bitrate....
 

Harold

Active Member
2000kbit video, and another 128kbit or so for audio.

And their connection needs to be able to sustain downloading that from the twitch viewer servers in san fransisco (This is why we recommend 2000kbit, a LOT of viewers can't sustain above 2128kbit from the twitch viewer servers, which is what causes the buffering)
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
And the viewer's route to the server is the important bit. It has to provide a minimum throughput all along the route; any drop below the rate at which you are streaming will cause that viewer to buffer.

Making a new thread won't change the advice you'll get, Christopher. 720p@30fps, 2000kbps is the 'golden point'. Exceed it to your own detriment.
 
Oh ok thank you for advice I guess I will just use 2000 bitrate then only thing i dont like is it dosnt look very good and its a little choppy... @FerretBomb I believe in your advice and trust your expert opinion I just always like to get advice from multiple different sources before I make a decision it helps me with making a better decision with more information I am given.... One thing I am still a little confused about is so does the viewer need to have a download speed of 2000mb or upload speed of 2000mb for them to be able to watch a stream with a 2000 bitrate. Thanks guys!
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
You need an upload rate of 2mbps (2000kbps) guaranteed, to your chosen ingest server. Your viewers need a 2mbps download rate guaranteed to the Twitch video server. They may have a 100mbps connection, but a poor route to the Twitch servers resulting in less than a 2mbps download throughput will still make them buffer. And there seem to be a LOT of bad routes.

You are uploading, they are downloading.

Second opinions are fine, but most new streamers aren't looking for a second opinion; rather an excuse to ignore technically grounded reasoning and chase after the number they want. And usually will find someone saying 'nah, ignore that, run at 3500kbps!' and lean on that because it's what they want to hear.
Funny bit is, the people who recommend that sort of thing generally have small viewership, because they've crippled their own growth by running over-rate and shut out many potential viewers as a result.
The advice isn't meant to crush dreams. It's meant to help avoid hamstringing yourself from the start, and give you the best chance possible to succeed.

Really though, if you badly want 60fps, give a 480p downscale a shot. It will have better image fidelity than 720p@30 even under fast motion, and most people won't even notice as many tend not to fullscreen or even maximize the Twitch window.
 
Thank you @FerretBomb for all your helpful advice you're right I dont want to lose viewers due to them buffering too much... do you think 480p @60fps is good for CSGO or FPS games? Or do you just recommend I keep my 720p @30 fps and deal with the lower quality of the stream. Thank you! <3
 
I rarely get any viewers so losing 1 or 2 viewers would be a big loss for me but I was worried I would lose viewers based on low stream quality or it being choppy and people not wanting to watch that... I don't know......
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
That's personal preference. For an FPS I'd probably go with 480@60. Not for the smooth motion of 60fps, but because it provides a much higher bit-per-pixel density at 2000kbps with the smaller resolution, and 30 vs 60 isn't a linear doubling in bitrate needed due to how frame interpolation works. The higher bpp density will mean less pixelation and artifacting on fast movement.

All I can recommend is trying both. Set up a profile for each (what profiles are for) and try streaming at each one. Then review the VOD to see which one looks better (turn on 'automatically archive my broadcasts' in your Twitch account settings, then if you go to your Profile page there will be a Past Broadcasts section). Make sure to watch the VODs both popped-in (normal window) and fullscreened to see the effects of each.
 

Boildown

Active Member
If you want a "feel good" compromise, try 540p, that's one half of 1080p. In the end, you'll have to experiment to find what you think looks best at the bitrate you're allowed. Which most people agree is 2000kbps.
 
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