Question / Help Is Twitch servers having issues?

A

acblevins

Member
I posted about dropping frames yesterday with no response so I continued on to figure out my problem. My internet speed is fine 95 Mbps download and 19 Mbps upload, I use Twitch test tool and here are my results http://i.imgur.com/usYG5Ta.png .
This is a pretty new issue. I been using OBS studio for some time now and this issue started this past Friday 11/19/2016. I will also post my log and maybe that might help.
 

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  • OBS LOG 11222016.txt
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F

fatmatrow

Member
Do you have charter/twc?

If so, there is currently an issue affecting many customers upload. It goes unnoticed by everyone but streamers because we notice the upload dips where others would not
 
B

Beardedbob

Member
Hi,

The log currently doesn't contain the streaming info therefore can you run the stream for a short time and then repost it.

Taking a look at the export pic from twitch bandwidth non of the results are great. The min quality you want to hit is 80 with a max of 100, anything below 95 begins to drop packets maybe even sooner. Can you rerun the test and set the following :-

TCP to 64k
Time to 30secs

ensure you have the correct region also ticked and repost the result.

The ISP's are always unreliable and even with a decent estimated upload of 19mb this can not always be the case or it can be intermittent. Can you therefore also post some speed test results as the ISP could have had some issues if this has worked without problems in the past.
 
A

acblevins

Member
Beardedbob said:
Hi,

The log currently doesn't contain the streaming info therefore can you run the stream for a short time and then repost it.

Taking a look at the export pic from twitch bandwidth non of the results are great. The min quality you want to hit is 80 with a max of 100, anything below 95 begins to drop packets maybe even sooner. Can you rerun the test and set the following :-

TCP to 64k
Time to 30secs

ensure you have the correct region also ticked and repost the result.

The ISP's are always unreliable and even with a decent estimated upload of 19mb this can not always be the case or it can be intermittent. Can you therefore also post some speed test results as the ISP could have had some issues if this has worked without problems in the past.
Click to expand...
I will have to do this when i get home because im about to go to work but i will post this as soon as i can :)
 
B

blacksvkpuma

New Member
Hi, it seems that i have a similar issue. I am streaming from Europe and i havent had issue till yesterday. The frame dropps are massive- sometimes as high as 90%.

what i did (with no improvement):
- restarted router
- test stream via twitch and youtube
- disabled antivirus
- lowered bitrate (although it worked before)
- installed latest version of OBS studio
- disabled scenes
- changed streaming server
- obs studio opened as administrator

-

twitch bandwith test:http://imgur.com/a3Qd1O9
speedtest: http://imgur.com/1fFl8E7
log file: https://gist.github.com/991c655e623c4968df3e34b47d17595e


Thank you for your help
 
Last edited:
belboz

belboz

Member
acblevins,

I am on Cincinnati Bell Fioptics. Not sure who your ISP is.

I saw a similar issue start last Thursday night (so pretty close to your report). I have gigabit Internet (1Gb down 200Mb up). Have streamed for over a year with it, and generally never get network packet loss.

Now all the Twitch US servers are garbage for me. This is what I get on them right now.

http://i.imgur.com/usYG5Ta.png

European servers are better for me.

http://i.imgur.com/MVcS3id.png

However my work around is to use a VPN. Here is what I see when using a VPN in Chicago.

http://i.imgur.com/08lgAnJ.png

Streamed with my VPN for 10 hours a couple nights ago and had zero dropped!

When I try trace routes to any of the twitch US servers they always time out while still in my ISP's network (or that first step out of the network). All the European Twitch servers work fine when I do a trace route. I know trace routes aren't always reliable as some servers ignore the ICMP requests. But it does seem odd that the European trace routes work, but all the US Twitch servers fail.

Good luck to all with issues!

 
A

acblevins

Member
belboz said:
acblevins,

I am on Cincinnati Bell Fioptics. Not sure who your ISP is.

I saw a similar issue start last Thursday night (so pretty close to your report). I have gigabit Internet (1Gb down 200Mb up). Have streamed for over a year with it, and generally never get network packet loss.

Now all the Twitch US servers are garbage for me. This is what I get on them right now.

http://i.imgur.com/usYG5Ta.png

European servers are better for me.

http://i.imgur.com/MVcS3id.png

However my work around is to use a VPN. Here is what I see when using a VPN in Chicago.

http://i.imgur.com/08lgAnJ.png

Streamed with my VPN for 10 hours a couple nights ago and had zero dropped!

When I try trace routes to any of the twitch US servers they always time out while still in my ISP's network (or that first step out of the network). All the European Twitch servers work fine when I do a trace route. I know trace routes aren't always reliable as some servers ignore the ICMP requests. But it does seem odd that the European trace routes work, but all the US Twitch servers fail.

Good luck to all with issues!
Click to expand...

Omg that's crazy because I have Cincinnati Bell also (small world). I have the next package down from you 100 Mbps package.

How did you set up you VPN and can anyone do something like that?
 
J

James Brooks

New Member
You wanna get even more crazy? I ALSO use FiOptics, and I stream DAILY. I've been getting massive kbs drops and frame drops since Sunday.

I've called FiOptics, they're useless. My upload is fine, it appears to work on everything except for any Twitch servers. I've done so much reinstalling and troubleshooting - it's somewhat reassuring to know that other people are having the same issue as me right now. I specifically asked FiOptics if they're aware of any communication issues with Twitch, of course the rep had no idea what I was talking about. 50mb/5up here.
 
belboz

belboz

Member
acblevins and James Brooks,

I have talked to Cincinnati Bell and supposedly this has been pushed to their Network guys and they are saying they are aware of a "handful" of people having the issue. I recommend you Tweet to them as you seem to get somewhere (@CincyBell). I have sent that address direct messages with all the details I saw, and all the logs and trace routes, etc.

So it "seems" they are looking at it. With gigabit plans you are suppose to get local tech support, but they aren't very helpful. They basically told me that unless the whole internet is out, everything was good and they couldn't help me! Took multiple calls and I got to a higher support level, but their only response was a couple days later and they wanted to change their modem/router. So the @CincyBell has been better.

As for the VPN I just used www.vultr.com to spin up a Virtual server running OpenVPN. I used their Chicago location and did the smallest Virtual server they offer ($5) a month. Once it is setup you basically just connect to it with your browser, it downloads the openvpn software and you install that, and you use the username and password they list on your VPS. Once the VPS is running the openvpn software you can just leave it going and then just connect to your VPN when you want. You can even destroy the VPS when you don't need it and just pay by the minute it is up. (They charge $0.007 an hour). I chose to just leave it running 24/7 and do the $5 a month for now until Cincy Bell fixes this.

Be aware if you stream and game from the same PC, ALL of your traffic on the PC will go through the VPN. Probably isn't a big deal, but I use a streaming PC and capture card (so I can do PC and console stuff). So I just use the VPN on the streaming PC. I have my OBS stream to the Twitch Chicago server since that is where my VPN server is hosted by vultr.

There are companies that specifically offer VPN services, I believe some even allow you to choose what traffic goes through them.

I would be happy to help anyone out if they want help setting up a VPN with vultr (as I know how do do it, not affiliated with them in any way).

If the VPN is an issue. Try streaming to Amsterdam NL Twitch server. I did an 8 hour or so stream to them last Saturday and didn't have much an issue at 3500. Just about 50-100 dropped packets over the 8 hours.

The VPN worked much better though. 10 hour stream with no packet loss at all.

Hang in there Fioptics people!
 
A

acblevins

Member
I may be in touch with you about the vpn. It's been almost a week for me and my viewers have been asking where I've been. I'm just relieved to know I'm not the only one.
 
J

James Brooks

New Member
I'll try the VPN tonight or tomorrow, I greatly appreciate the feedback. I have somewhat of a Twitter impression (@JBrookzFilms) so I'll try to poke at them a bit on there.
 
belboz

belboz

Member
If any of you are unsure about the VPN or just want to test my temp fix. PM me and I can setup a temp account on my VPN you can test a stream with.
 
J

James Brooks

New Member
acblevins said:
Omg that's crazy because I have Cincinnati Bell also (small world). I have the next package down from you 100 Mbps package.

How did you set up you VPN and can anyone do something like that?
Click to expand...

belboz said:
If any of you are unsure about the VPN or just want to test my temp fix. PM me and I can setup a temp account on my VPN you can test a stream with.
Click to expand...

I'm not unsure about the VPN, I am just somewhat confused as I've never used one before! Is Vultr an actual VPN also? If not what VPN service would you recommend?

I will be messing with this tonight in a few more hours.
 
belboz

belboz

Member
The unsure was more for acblevins and any other people who might be confused slightly.

Vultr is a cloud service provider. They offer the ability to "start up" a cloud vps/server instantly. They offer Linux and Windows servers. And also premade VPS appliances.

I use them for Linux servers for when I stream tournaments since I can spin it up, run the tournament, and then destroy it and only pay for the time it was up.

For the VPN I used one of their premade OpenVPN appliances. Took about a minute to setup and I had a working VPN.

There are VPN providers out there that specialize in just VPN's. In many cases they use OpenVPN just like the Vultr Applicance does. In a lot of cases they charge more than $5 a month (unless you commit to longer term commitments).

So for me Vultr was easy since I am familar with them, and I could either destroy the VPN server after each stream if I wanted to save money, or destroy it when Cincy Bell fixes this issue. So no commitment.

To setup the vultr thing. You basically just sign up on their site. Create a vps. Select the Chicago data center for your VPS (works for me, but you could use other locations if you want.) Select the application tab. Pick OpenVPN. Scroll down and select the smallest server (the 768MB one which is $5 a month or $0.007 an hour. (which is $5 a month too). You can ignore most of the other stuff. Give it some name and deploy it.

It will setup and launch it. Takes a couple minutes but when it says it is "running" you are good to go and can proceed with the PC setup.

Go to your browser and do https://VPS IP:943/

Replacing VPS IP with your actual IP for your OpenVPN appliance on Vultr

There is full details here.

https://www.vultr.com/docs/one-click-openvpn
 
belboz

belboz

Member
Just an FYI.

There might be great VPN providers out there, and they might be better options or have more capabilities than my vultr OpenVPN appliance I spun up.

There might be others who can give you guys recommendations there. I haven't had any need for a VPN in the past until this issue. So there may be better or cheaper choices.
 
belboz

belboz

Member
Yeah. If you choose a commercial VPN service it would really be no different than what I am doing.

In the grand scheme most of them use OpenVPN and just sell access to their clients. They also have VPN servers spread around the globe. Some offer other features like choosing what traffic should go over the VPN. Which could come in handy if you stream and play on one PC. So you could have your OBS go through the VPN but things like the Game you are playing, discord, teamspeak, go direct from Cincy Bell to them.

For me it just came down to wanting to test something and test it quick. It worked perfectly for me, and the price is right. If Cincy Bell fixes it quick, none of us will need these options.

Here is a VPN provider I have heard good things about. https://www.purevpn.com . Not as cheap as my solution unless you commit to a year (with their black friday special). Never used them though, so do your own research before choosing.

The only negative thing I have heard about VPN services when it comes to twitch, is that some of them get blocked from Twitch because people use the VPN's as a way to avoid bans, and such. So some VPN's get their IP's black listed. No idea how big a deal that is.
 
J

James Brooks

New Member
Belboz,

For some reason I'm unable to reply to our PM.

I just want to say thank you. I would have NEVER thought to have gone through this method.
 
M

mechaniczgrip

New Member
Having exact problem from Cincy. Can I ask: If it's a CintiBell probkem why can I run a preview in OBS with no problems? And if it were the isp's problem why do uk/European servers sort of work?

belboz said:
acblevins and James Brooks,

I have talked to Cincinnati Bell and supposedly this has been pushed to their Network guys and they are saying they are aware of a "handful" of people having the issue. I recommend you Tweet to them as you seem to get somewhere (@CincyBell). I have sent that address direct messages with all the details I saw, and all the logs and trace routes, etc.

So it "seems" they are looking at it. With gigabit plans you are suppose to get local tech support, but they aren't very helpful. They basically told me that unless the whole internet is out, everything was good and they couldn't help me! Took multiple calls and I got to a higher support level, but their only response was a couple days later and they wanted to change their modem/router. So the @CincyBell has been better.

As for the VPN I just used www.vultr.com to spin up a Virtual server running OpenVPN. I used their Chicago location and did the smallest Virtual server they offer ($5) a month. Once it is setup you basically just connect to it with your browser, it downloads the openvpn software and you install that, and you use the username and password they list on your VPS. Once the VPS is running the openvpn software you can just leave it going and then just connect to your VPN when you want. You can even destroy the VPS when you don't need it and just pay by the minute it is up. (They charge $0.007 an hour). I chose to just leave it running 24/7 and do the $5 a month for now until Cincy Bell fixes this.

Be aware if you stream and game from the same PC, ALL of your traffic on the PC will go through the VPN. Probably isn't a big deal, but I use a streaming PC and capture card (so I can do PC and console stuff). So I just use the VPN on the streaming PC. I have my OBS stream to the Twitch Chicago server since that is where my VPN server is hosted by vultr.

There are companies that specifically offer VPN services, I believe some even allow you to choose what traffic goes through them.

I would be happy to help anyone out if they want help setting up a VPN with vultr (as I know how do do it, not affiliated with them in any way).

If the VPN is an issue. Try streaming to Amsterdam NL Twitch server. I did an 8 hour or so stream to them last Saturday and didn't have much an issue at 3500. Just about 50-100 dropped packets over the 8 hours.

The VPN worked much better though. 10 hour stream with no packet loss at all.

Hang in there Fioptics people!
Click to expand...
 
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