Question / Help Quality lacking / blurry

[Notatanker]

Hey guys. There is a log of my past stream : http://pastebin.com/mq4mvuhQ
This is the stream VoD : http://www.twitch.tv/projectcarry/b/465499801
Please tell me, is it possible to improve the quality? It's really blurry at times.
If i have to buy any new parts - tell me which.
Thanks for your time.

 

[dodgepong]

I think that stream looks pretty good, personally.

There's only so much you can do with streaming video. The video has to be compressed, and high-movement make compression harder. Unfortunately for you, games like WoW are some of the highest-motion games there are, especially when spinning around quickly.

The only thing you can do at this point to reduce blurriness is to lower your x264 preset, if you can. Monitor your CPU usage while you try "faster" or maybe even "fast". Other than that, there's not much more you can do. But I wouldn't be too upset - your stream already looks really good. You might just need to adjust your expectations.

If you really want to buy new parts, you could get a faster processor, like a i7-4770k (and a new motherboard) so that you can run those lower presets more easily.

 

[Krazy]

An alternative course of action:

That's about as clear as you can get for 1080p stream in a game like WoW where the full scene is in motion frequently. The only thing to do is downscale so you get more bits per frame, or ramp the bitrate up. Considering 3500 bitrate is already about the max you should reasonably using on Twitch, I really recommend downscaling.

I would humbly suggest trying a 1.25 downscale with the Bicubic downscale filter. Viewers will be hard pressed to tell the difference between 864p and 1080p, and the bitrate requirement is noticeably reduced for a clear image.

You might also consider turning down some of the more fancy features like particle effects and shadows so that there is less "noise" on the screen to have to encode. High quality spell effects and stuff like fog look cool and all, but they are murder on the encoder.

PS: I'm gonna steal your GPU kk?

 

[Notatanker]

Thanks for the fast response.
I tried *faster* And my CPU usage goes to hell (90-100%)
So, pretty much i should just upgrade my CPU and stream at fast?

 

[dodgepong]

Or buy a second computer and a capture card to act as a dedicated streaming computer.

Here is a way to see the difference that presets make on a high-motion scene: http://r-1.ch/x264_preset_comparison/

Or don't buy anything and be satisfied with the great-looking stream that you already have.

 

[Notatanker]

An alternative course of action:

That's about as clear as you can get for 1080p stream in a game like WoW where the full scene is in motion frequently. The only thing to do is downscale so you get more bits per frame, or ramp the bitrate up. Considering 3500 bitrate is already about the max you should reasonably using on Twitch, I really recommend downscaling.

I would humbly suggest trying a 1.25 downscale with the Bicubic downscale filter. Viewers will be hard pressed to tell the difference between 864p and 1080p, and the bitrate requirement is noticeably reduced for a clear image.

You might also consider turning down some of the more fancy features like particle effects and shadows so that there is less "noise" on the screen to have to encode. High quality spell effects and stuff like fog look cool and all, but they are murder on the encoder.

PS: I'm gonna steal your GPU kk?

I'll try 1.25 downscale next time i stream and will post the results. Thanks again. :)

 

[FerretBomb]

For now, downscaling would be your best option. Twitch removed the displayed resolutions, so 99% of your viewers won't be able to tell the difference between 1080p and 864p; just drop to a 1.25 downscale.

Yes, to get a 'true' 1080p running well, you'll need an i7; the i5 is absolutely great for a consumer-grade solution, but with how CPU-bound livestreaming is, especially at higher resolutions, you need the extra oomph that an i7 provides.

Still looks good as-is though. Can't expect perfection in a livestream without jumping to a full dedicated dual-streaming rig (and the hassles that brings with it).

 

[Notatanker]

Thanks again for all the comments.
Also, what bitrate should i use if i go with 1.25 downscale? And should i maybe set the preset on *faster* since its not 1080 anymore?
Also, is there a donate button some where?

 

[FerretBomb]

I'd stick with the former settings; 3500kbps, and veryfast (you could try out Faster, but it'd be a trial-and-error thing to see if it eats too much CPU)... you're streaming a VERY high-motion game, after all.