Is Catalina totally to blame?

[macdarayeates]

Having a nightmare of a week trying to prepare for a live stream concert this Sunday. I have read a ton, watched many tutorials, followed much guidance but my streams still look and sound terrible.

My needs are simple: In-built webcam video, sync'd with GarageBand audio using an external interface, and streamed live on Facebook. I don't need 4K or anything remotely close to it; just a simple, average quality stream that sounds half-decent and doesn't lag and break up every few seconds.

I have tried lowering resolution, adjusting bit rates, using the recommended settings following a bandwidth test. Nothing seems to work.

I am using a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015)
Processor: 2.9 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5
RAM: 8 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
Graphics: Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB.

My internet speed is great, apparently. No one else is using the WiFi but me. Ping 27, Download 162.09 mgps, Upload 25.14 mgps.

WHAT GIVES? Internet speed seems more than enough. All the settings in OBS have been adjusted several times. There are no large apps open or background processes going on to eat up the CPU. There is well over 100GB of free space on the hard drive. I know it's not the newest Macbook on the market, but I would think it more than capable of running a basic stream.

Also, I have spent almost €30 in different apps to use my iPhone as an external webcam. Whenever they connect the lag and choppiness intensifies tenfold.

I am ready to invest a few hundred Euro in a decent hard drive, back up my Mac, and downgrade to Mojave or High Sierra, to see if it really is the OS that's causing so much heartache. But before I do: can this really be all Catalina's fault?

 

[dodgepong]

The biggest issue I see here is that your computer has a dual-core processor. That's going to run into performance issues when live video encoding.

 

[macdarayeates]

Thank you, dodgepong. Somehow, in all my research for "processor requirements for live streaming", I never seemed to come across any advice that a dual core wouldn't be sufficient, but looking into it now, it's quite evident. I had never planned on streaming pre-Covid, but perhaps foolishly believed that my once pricy MacBook should be able to do anything I ask of it. I have thought about an upgrade, but methinks I won't be needing any streaming capabilities once we're all out in the world again. In any case, despite my misgivings with my system, I have really loved the OBS interface and would love to explore it more somewhere down the line.

 

[ChairmanRob]

The biggest issue I see here is that your computer has a dual-core processor. That's going to run into performance issues when live video encoding.

I'm glad to find this, as it seems to be where I'm at as well. I don't know the first thing about what I need to do, ask, or figure out. I'll keep searching and see what I can find. But Dodgepong if you have any further suggestions in this area I would be grateful.

Here is the topic I started:

OBS disconnecting reconnecting

Hello and thanks for reading When going to Facebook Live, my OBS is disconnecting and reconnecting more or less continuously, like every 10-15 seconds or so. Hopefully there is something obvious and easy I can fix, but hey whatever it takes, any help very much appreciated. :) My iMac is High...

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