Question / Help I need an advice if I should upgrade my webcam:)

[lynaris0]

Hello there:)

Since I wanted to get back into streaming, I am right now considering upgrading my webcam.
Right now I have a Logitech c525 which records with 720p, and I was thinking about the c920 with 1080p.

Now my problem is, since my stream is kinda pixelated due to the max bitrate I can use (1700, 720p 30fps) I was wondering, if it is even worth upgrading the cam.

1. Would it make the pixelating worse? Or would the upgrade in quality insignificant?

2.Would it be better to stream in 480p, so the pixelation is gone?

I hope you can help me out guys, since I have to return the cam by tomorrow :D

Here is a preview: https://www.twitch.tv/snowlight4/v/53195079


Cheers and thank you :)!

 

[sam686]

Dropping resolution and keeping same bitrate will reduce compression artifacts, but will make small text harder to read.

Dropping stream's frames per second to 25 or 15 for might help quality. With a preset slower then "VeryFast", maybe use x264 option rc-lookahead=10 or less to prevent too much stream delay at low frame rate.

720p and 1080p webcams have only a minimal difference when the size of webcam is small in the stream, and when streaming at 720p.

 

[FerretBomb]

Well, the higher resolution isn't really going to help anything, even if you go fullscreen. The quality of the optics in the cam might, but I've heard that the c525 is pretty solid on that front. So in this case, no, I'd recommend sticking with the c525 and save the money as it isn't going to do much for you.

If I was in your shoes, I'd go for the 480p downscale. It'll result in a higher-quality stream for any high motion games, and look better... many people on Twitch never go fullscreen anyway. If you're playing a low-motion game like Hearthstone, popping back up to 720p for that could be fine.