Question / Help Question About Live Streaming

[DolphinSquared]

Hi, I am new here. I come by because I want to seek advice about live streaming on YouTube.

Currently, I am under an Internet Service Provider that offers me an upload speed of 1Mbps, but the speed is unstable and can vary between 0.6-0.8 Mbps. This is because I am on a shared connection in the household. I have also sought a friend that is experienced in live streaming, and he recommends I go about 85% of my max upload speed, which is about 680kbps, on Open Broadcasting Software.

I hope to achieve a decent quality of live streaming, but based on my upload speed and OBS' estimator tool, I can only achieve 480p resolution. I am considering an alternative live streaming location, or dropping to just regular upload schedules. But I want to inquire here first if live streaming is even possible.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any help in advance.

 

[Jack0r]

The big problem nowadays is that we have so many people that produce higher streams. So while you can of course setup a stream with just 1mb upload, you have a hard competition.
I would also recommend to calculate 85% of the minimum you mentioned 0.6mbps and you have to calculate video bitrate + audio bitrate. In the end I would probably recommend to not go above 300-400kbps (audio+video). If you like the quality you can achieve with this bitrate on 360p or 480p resolution, go for it.
An alternative would be to do local recordings at higher qualities and upload them over night to youtube.

 

[DolphinSquared]

The big problem nowadays is that we have so many people that produce higher streams. So while you can of course setup a stream with just 1mb upload, you have a hard competition.
I would also recommend to calculate 85% of the minimum you mentioned 0.6mbps and you have to calculate video bitrate + audio bitrate. In the end I would probably recommend to not go above 300-400kbps (audio+video). If you like the quality you can achieve with this bitrate on 360p or 480p resolution, go for it.
An alternative would be to do local recordings at higher qualities and upload them over night to youtube.

Thank you, Jack0r. I'm getting back to this because I've noted you can live stream and record at the same time with OBS, but I don't think it's very likely because of my current hardware limitations; it's already a great strain to the laptop to record at high bit rates at 720p or higher.