Question / Help Need help with quality improvement.

[Jono_Krukov]

I have an example of my stream here: http://www.twitch.tv/jono_krukov/b/526568188 This was the best I could get it. My upload speed is 1MB/s and I'm getting an upgrade soon to 2MB/s. My settings are as follows:

CBR: Yes
Quality Balance: 5
Enable CBR Padding: Yes
Max Bitrate: 800
Buffer: 800
Codec: AAC
Bitrate: 96
Format: 44.1
Channel: Stereo
Downscale: 2.00 (960x540)
Filter: Bilinear
FPS: 25
Disable Aero: Yes
Use Multithreaded Optimizations: Yes
Priority Class: Normal
Scene Buffer Time: 400
Disable Encoding while previewing: No
CPU Preset: veryfast
Use CFR: Yes

My specs are:
CPU - Intel i7 2600k @ 3.40GHz

GPU - Nvidia GTX 770 2GB/GTX 680 4GB

RAM - 16GB

Is there anything I can do to improve this? As you can see I don't get lag. The artifacting and pixelation while moving are my main problems. I've messed with the bitrate, lowered the downscale, went to 20 fps, and messed around with quality. I don't know what else I can do to improve it if I can. If there isn't anything I can do, then what should I do once I get 2 MB/s upload? I just wanted a stream that's viewable without being a pixelated mess.

 

[Jack0r]

Wait for the upgrade to 2mbit, then you can maybe slightly lower the downscale to 1.75 or 1.50 and increase the bitrate, probably to max 1600-1700kbit+audio.

Apart of that, see if you can use a slower preset, maybe faster/fast. Disabling aero is not necessary unless you want to use a Monitor capture. And we changed the scene buffering time default from 400 to 700 some time ago, so you might wanna change it to 700 as well.

 

[Jono_Krukov]

Alright I did everything you said and it helped a lot. Now my only issue is multiplayer lag. I set it to 1500 kb/s buffer and max, the stream looks pretty good. However, I get multiplayer lag in Dark Souls 2. This didn't happen when I had 1 Mb/s and I set the max and buffer to 500. The problem is it averages at 1800 kb/s most of the time.

 

[Jollyriffic]

i feel your pain, i used to have 1mb upload. here are the settings i used

960x540 30fps 800kbps preset on slower
the slower the preset the higher the clarity/quality of the video, many people downplay how much better it can make a stream look.
the trick with this setting is keeping your gpu load under 85% to avoid choppy stream and dropped frames.

 

[Jack0r]

I think you mean CPU load in the last sentence :) (just making sure the thread starter checks the correct usage)