Hey guys, I could really use some help here diagnosing a problem I have. I use OBS to stream to Twitch (OG, but tried Studio with the same results) and at some point, my connection starts getting overloaded, I start lagging in-game and getting frame drops on OBS.
For a while, I thought this was an issue with my ISP (unstable upload, throttling, etc.), but I've ruled that out today and isolated the issue to Twitch with a little help from Glasswire software.
First, I've checked my connection at speed test sites (testmynet and speedofme) and they came back with a result of 3.9-4 Mbps upload (as it should be), no major variance over loads of tests. I've also used the Glasswire software and looked at how much Chrome was using during a (larger) upload test to determine whether the upload was stable and it came back with a pretty constant ~500 KB/s throughout. If I'm not mistaken, this should basically be the cap of my upload in KB/s and should mean it's stable upload.
I then opened up OBS, did a test stream and watched OBS upload use on Glasswire. I usually stream at 2200 bitrate (720p, 30FPS) and this would use about 270-300 KB/s, normally, according to Glasswire. This leaves plenty of overhead for any reasonable bitrate spikes and any other programs like the game I'm playing, Discord etc. According to all the guides I've read, my connection should be perfectly capable of streaming even at 3500 bitrate.
Here's where it gets fun: at some point, OBS upload quickly moves up to ~500 KB/s - basically the max of my connection - and stays there (sometimes it calms down for a bit, but it happens, very often and for longer periods of time). It overloads the upload and I get the above-mentioned issues, in-game lag, frame drops etc.
Now, this is way, WAY more than it should be using in upload for said bitrate, so I'm really confused as to what's causing it. Note that this happens more and faster with higher bitrate. I've figured out I can stream at some 2000 bitrate and get the issue relatively rarely and for shorter periods of time (which is what I'm doing for now), however the higher I push it, the quicker it messes up.
Attached is the log from a ~3 minute test stream of me sitting on the Overwatch main menu screen. I start at 2000 bitrate, it holds, I move it to 2200 and it's still holding (though I know if I waited a bit I would see the issue soon) and then finally push it to 2500 where the issue appears very quickly. I have also recorded this same session, capturing Glasswire and the bitrate/frame drops, so you can see how the issue happens: https://youtu.be/PkZXe0EOxTs
edit: Not sure if attachment worked. Just in case, here it is on pastebin - http://pastebin.com/DyEGDvFg
I've tried everything I could think of so far. CPU usage doesn't seem to go over 10% on OBS when streaming, Checked the OBS settings and compared them with the usual Twitch guides and looked up online for any solutions. Tried different servers, both EU and US (I'm EU based, but have used the NY server at times in the past with no issues). The problem is new, I've been streaming for a year and a half and nothing like this was happening before.
I have also just now tested streaming to YouTube Gaming, to isolate it squarely to Twitch. I had no issues pushing the same bitrate. I've even tried going up to 3500 bitrate and it handles perfectly, upload holds and the amount of upload OBS uses makes sense, it doesn't push to 500 KB/s. I realise this is a Twitch issue of some sort and I will contact them about it immediately, however I wanted to ask here as well, in case anyone has any idea of why this is happening and what I could do to fix it.
I apologise for the long post and thank you very much for reading it :D
Vrach
For a while, I thought this was an issue with my ISP (unstable upload, throttling, etc.), but I've ruled that out today and isolated the issue to Twitch with a little help from Glasswire software.
First, I've checked my connection at speed test sites (testmynet and speedofme) and they came back with a result of 3.9-4 Mbps upload (as it should be), no major variance over loads of tests. I've also used the Glasswire software and looked at how much Chrome was using during a (larger) upload test to determine whether the upload was stable and it came back with a pretty constant ~500 KB/s throughout. If I'm not mistaken, this should basically be the cap of my upload in KB/s and should mean it's stable upload.
I then opened up OBS, did a test stream and watched OBS upload use on Glasswire. I usually stream at 2200 bitrate (720p, 30FPS) and this would use about 270-300 KB/s, normally, according to Glasswire. This leaves plenty of overhead for any reasonable bitrate spikes and any other programs like the game I'm playing, Discord etc. According to all the guides I've read, my connection should be perfectly capable of streaming even at 3500 bitrate.
Here's where it gets fun: at some point, OBS upload quickly moves up to ~500 KB/s - basically the max of my connection - and stays there (sometimes it calms down for a bit, but it happens, very often and for longer periods of time). It overloads the upload and I get the above-mentioned issues, in-game lag, frame drops etc.
Now, this is way, WAY more than it should be using in upload for said bitrate, so I'm really confused as to what's causing it. Note that this happens more and faster with higher bitrate. I've figured out I can stream at some 2000 bitrate and get the issue relatively rarely and for shorter periods of time (which is what I'm doing for now), however the higher I push it, the quicker it messes up.
Attached is the log from a ~3 minute test stream of me sitting on the Overwatch main menu screen. I start at 2000 bitrate, it holds, I move it to 2200 and it's still holding (though I know if I waited a bit I would see the issue soon) and then finally push it to 2500 where the issue appears very quickly. I have also recorded this same session, capturing Glasswire and the bitrate/frame drops, so you can see how the issue happens: https://youtu.be/PkZXe0EOxTs
edit: Not sure if attachment worked. Just in case, here it is on pastebin - http://pastebin.com/DyEGDvFg
I've tried everything I could think of so far. CPU usage doesn't seem to go over 10% on OBS when streaming, Checked the OBS settings and compared them with the usual Twitch guides and looked up online for any solutions. Tried different servers, both EU and US (I'm EU based, but have used the NY server at times in the past with no issues). The problem is new, I've been streaming for a year and a half and nothing like this was happening before.
I have also just now tested streaming to YouTube Gaming, to isolate it squarely to Twitch. I had no issues pushing the same bitrate. I've even tried going up to 3500 bitrate and it handles perfectly, upload holds and the amount of upload OBS uses makes sense, it doesn't push to 500 KB/s. I realise this is a Twitch issue of some sort and I will contact them about it immediately, however I wanted to ask here as well, in case anyone has any idea of why this is happening and what I could do to fix it.
I apologise for the long post and thank you very much for reading it :D
Vrach