Question / Help Considerable FPS drop in-game when I stream.

[tikigod317]

Can anyone help me figure out how I can optimize my OBS settings so that I can stream on twitch.tv more smoothly? I don't have the greatest PC.. but I know its better than some of the people that i watch and their stream is 10x smoother than mine.

Here's my latest log from OBS:
12:36:28: Open Broadcaster Software v0.542b - 32bit (´・ω・｀)
12:36:28: -------------------------------
12:36:28: CPU Name: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9300 @ 2.50GHz
12:36:28: CPU Speed: 2491MHz
12:36:28: Physical Memory: 4026MB Total, 840MB Free
12:36:28: stepping id: 7, model 7, family 6, type 0, extmodel 0, extfamily 0, HTT 1, logical cores 4, total cores 4
12:36:28: monitor 1: pos={0, 0}, size={1920, 1080}
12:36:28: Windows Version: 6.1 Build 7601 S
12:36:28: Aero is Disabled
12:36:28: -------------------------------
12:36:28: OBS Modules:
12:36:28: Base Address Module
12:36:28: 00890000 OBS.exe
12:36:28: 60C80000 OBSApi.dll
12:36:28: 66620000 DShowPlugin.dll
12:36:28: 664E0000 GraphicsCapture.dll
12:36:28: 65D30000 NoiseGate.dll
12:36:28: 65D10000 PSVPlugin.dll
12:36:28: ------------------------------------------
12:36:28: Adapter 1
12:36:28: Video Adapter: ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series
12:36:28: Video Adapter Dedicated Video Memory: 1067274240
12:36:28: Video Adapter Shared System Memory: 1842737152
12:36:28: =====Stream Start: 2013-08-27, 12:36:28===============================================
12:36:28: Multithreaded optimizations: On
12:36:28: Base resolution: 1920x1080
12:36:28: Output resolution: 1096x616
12:36:28: ------------------------------------------
12:36:28: Loading up D3D10...
12:36:28: Playback device Default
12:36:28: ------------------------------------------
12:36:28: Using desktop audio input: Speakers (High Definition Audio Device)
12:36:28: ------------------------------------------
12:36:28: Using auxilary audio input: Line In (High Definition Audio Device)
12:36:28: ------------------------------------------
12:36:28: Audio Encoding: AAC
12:36:28: bitrate: 128
12:36:28: ------------------------------------------
12:36:28: Video Encoding: x264
12:36:28: fps: 30
12:36:28: width: 1096, height: 616
12:36:28: preset: veryfast
12:36:28: CBR: no
12:36:28: CFR: no
12:36:28: max bitrate: 1000
12:36:28: buffer size: 2000
12:36:28: quality: 8
12:36:28: ------------------------------------------
12:36:28: Bad timestamp detected, syncing audio to video time
12:36:30: Using RTMP service: Twitch / Justin.tv
12:36:30: Server selection: rtmp://live-ord.justin.tv/app
12:36:31: SO_SNDBUF was at 8192
12:36:31: SO_SNDBUF is now 65536
12:36:38: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
12:36:38: New Scene
12:36:38: Using Monitor Capture
12:36:38: Using Window Capture
12:42:53: Total frames rendered: 8354, number of frames that lagged: 6450 (77.21%) (it's okay for some frames to lag)
12:42:53: RTMPPublisher::SocketLoop: Aborting due to bStopping
12:42:53: Number of times waited to send: 0, Waited for a total of 0 bytes
12:42:53: Number of b-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Number of p-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Total 0 (0%)
12:42:53: =====Stream End: 2013-08-27, 12:42:53=================================================
12:42:55:
12:42:55: Profiler results:
12:42:55:
12:42:55: ==============================================================
12:42:55: frame - [100%] [avg time: 43.296 ms (cpu time: avg 18.75 ms, total 156641 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 100%] [unaccounted: 0.0208%]
12:42:55: | frame preprocessing and rendering - [82.6%] [avg time: 35.76 ms (cpu time: avg 15.413 ms, total 128766 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 81%] [unaccounted: 1.57%]
12:42:55: | | scene->Preprocess - [81%] [avg time: 35.082 ms (cpu time: avg 15.013 ms, total 125422 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
12:42:55: | video encoding and uploading - [17.4%] [avg time: 7.527 ms (cpu time: avg 3.331 ms, total 27828.1 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 17.2%] [unaccounted: 0.233%]
12:42:55: | | flush - [7.65%] [avg time: 3.311 ms (cpu time: avg 0.209 ms, total 1750 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
12:42:55: | | CopyResource - [0.12%] [avg time: 0.052 ms (cpu time: avg 0.02 ms, total 171.875 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
12:42:55: | | conversion to 4:2:0 - [0.111%] [avg time: 0.048 ms (cpu time: avg 0.007 ms, total 62.5 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
12:42:55: | | call to encoder - [9.06%] [avg time: 3.924 ms (cpu time: avg 3.037 ms, total 25375 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
12:42:55: | | sending stuff out - [0.21%] [avg time: 0.091 ms (cpu time: avg 0.041 ms, total 343.75 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
12:42:55: | Convert444Threads - [212%] [avg time: 91.999 ms (cpu time: avg 2.607 ms, total 21781.3 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
12:42:55: ==============================================================
12:42:55:

 

[dodgepong]

Don't use Monitor capture. It is the slowest capture method on Windows 7. Use Window capture with Aero enabled instead, or game capture.

 

[alpinlol]

update your obs quite old version

 

[tikigod317]

I've updated my OBS. I seem to only get a black screen or I can only see my windows toolbar at the very top off the screen in the OBS window when I turn off monitor capture. I've tried running OBS with the game/windows capture but I still only get a black screen on the OBS preview screen.

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong.

 

[dodgepong]

What game are you streaming?

 

[tikigod317]

league, splinter cell blacklist, chivalry, dota 2.. random games really.

 

[tikigod317]

Can anyone with similar pc specs and internet speed post some example of their OBS settings?

 

[Kharay]

Well, my specs are better than yours but I can show you how I capture Dota 2. I can even mimic your Internet speed if you want, to see what it's capable of.

 

[tikigod317]

Sure.. if you can screenshot your settings or post your log or something i'm sure it will be useful.

 

[Kharay]

I would have loved to be able to show you the VOD, which included the Dota 2 settings I used but unfortunately, Twitch has major issues processing recordings at the moment. I even tried simply adding another to the stack, which has worked for me before but that just caused server errors. Go Twitch!

Anyhow... the log:

http://pastebin.com/tLQ60emM

As you may notice, I did not scale down to the same resolution as you did, I scaled down a bit further. This I did specifically to compensate for the somewhat limited bandwidth you have. Or that you have used before, at least. In an attempt to allow for a higher quality image, even if it is at a reduced resolution.

And, as I was watching the live broadcast I have to say... it didn't look brilliant, obviously. But, it was still watchable. The resolution I picked simply was the highest that still allowed me to use Lanczos (2.00).

I will continue watching for the appearance of the past broadcast in my recent broadcasts. So you can see the settings. Basically, they were as follows:

• Resolution: 1920x1080
• Borderless Window
• Advanced -- Everything as low as it could go with the exception of Texture Quality and Render Quality, which I maxed out. The result is a very crisp and attractive image without being too hard on the resources.

Edit:

The VOD: http://www.twitch.tv/kharay1977/b/452941844 -- Be aware, I had immense trouble actually watching it myself. Twitch has major caching issues at the moment. The settings I used did give me an Excellent rating, which normally should make caching/watching VODs a smooth experience but alas, not this time.

 

[tikigod317]

Thanks a lot for the info, i'll try to adjust my settings again and see if I make any progress!

 

[tikigod317]

Hmm yeah I was hoping I set it up right, but it seems now when I have windows or game capture checked (I removed monitor capture entirely) it does not capture the game i'm playing, i'm playing Splinter Cell Blacklist but when I attempt stream or stream preview it only shows either a blackscreen or my skype call window.