Question / Help Really blocky stream

[CherryLemonLime]

When I play small indie games, like Cave Story or Binding of Isaac, the stream is really clear. However, when I try to play CS:GO or Borderlands 2, it seems to be blocky no matter what resolution or bitrates I change them to. Any help would be appreciated.

1080p Monitor
HD 6950
Phenom x II x 4 965 BE
8GB RAM
~1.45Mbps max upload

10:01:17: Open Broadcaster Software v0.522b - 32bit (´・ω・｀)
10:01:17: -------------------------------
10:01:17: CPU Name: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor
10:01:17: CPU Speed: 3415MHz
10:01:17: Physical Memory:  4095MB Total, 4095MB Free
10:01:17: stepping id: 3, model 4, family 15, type 0, extmodel 8, extfamily 0, HTT 1, logical cores 4, total cores 4
10:01:17: monitor 1: pos={0, 0}, size={1920, 1080}
10:01:17: Windows Version: 6.1 Build 7601 S
10:01:17: Aero is Disabled
10:01:17: -------------------------------
10:01:17: OBS Modules:
10:01:17: Base Address     Module
10:01:17: 00220000         OBS.exe
10:01:17: 653F0000         OBSApi.dll
10:01:17: 68410000         DShowPlugin.dll
10:01:17: 67F50000         GraphicsCapture.dll
10:01:17: 65FB0000         NoiseGate.dll
10:01:17: ------------------------------------------
10:01:17: Adapter 1
10:01:17:   Video Adapter: AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series
10:01:17:   Video Adapter Dedicated Video Memory: 1059803136
10:01:17:   Video Adapter Shared System Memory: 3235098624
10:06:37: =====Stream Start: 2013-06-29, 10:06:37===============================================
10:06:37:   Multithreaded optimizations: On
10:06:37:   Base resolution: 1280x720
10:06:37:   Output resolution: 1024x576
10:06:37: ------------------------------------------
10:06:37: Loading up D3D10...
10:06:37: Playback device Default
10:06:37: ------------------------------------------
10:06:37: Using desktop audio input: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
10:06:37: ------------------------------------------
10:06:37: Using auxilary audio input: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
10:06:37: ------------------------------------------
10:06:37: Audio Encoding: AAC
10:06:37:     bitrate: 128
10:06:37: Using graphics capture
10:06:37: ------------------------------------------
10:06:37: Video Encoding: x264
10:06:37:     fps: 25
10:06:37:     width: 1024, height: 576
10:06:37:     preset: veryfast
10:06:37:     CBR: yes
10:06:37:     CFR: no
10:06:37:     max bitrate: 800
10:06:37: ------------------------------------------
10:06:37: SharedTexCapture hooked
10:06:39: Using RTMP service: Twitch / Justin.tv
10:06:39:   Server selection: rtmp://live.justin.tv/app
10:06:40: SO_SNDBUF was at 8192
10:06:40: SO_SNDBUF is now 65536
10:07:33: Total frames rendered: 1384, number of frames that lagged: 0 (0.00%) (it's okay for some frames to lag)
10:07:33: RTMPPublisher::SocketLoop: Aborting due to bStopping
10:07:33: Number of times waited to send: 0, Waited for a total of 0 bytes
10:07:33: Number of b-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Number of p-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Total 0 (0%)
10:07:33: =====Stream End: 2013-06-29, 10:07:33=================================================
10:14:42: 
10:14:42: Profiler results:
10:14:42: 
10:14:42: ==============================================================
10:14:42: frame - [100%] [avg time: 2.177 ms] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 71.2%] [unaccounted: 28.8%]
10:14:42: | scene->Preprocess - [0.0459%] [avg time: 0.001 ms] [avg calls per frame: 1]
10:14:42: | video encoding and uploading - [71.2%] [avg time: 1.55 ms] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 69.8%] [unaccounted: 1.38%]
10:14:42: | | CopyResource - [0.689%] [avg time: 0.015 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
10:14:42: | | conversion to 4:2:0 - [2.71%] [avg time: 0.059 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
10:14:42: | | call to encoder - [63.7%] [avg time: 1.387 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
10:14:42: | | sending stuff out - [2.71%] [avg time: 0.059 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
10:14:42: ==============================================================
10:14:42:

 

[Momentum]

1. your output resolution is kind of low
2. your bitrate is really low for any real FPS streaming
3. u use veryfast preset which tend to give really pixelated/blocky outputs
4. u use CBR
5. u use 32bit version of software while having 4 gigs of ram (not really a problem but makes no sense for me)

with above setup i guess u can get clear streams on games with static images or very little of motion.

FPS games are in a whole another category of streaming. For FPS's u need high bitrate and u cant do it on that 1.5mbit u have there. In really low resolutions yea, but who want to watch FPS in 480p, where everything is pixelated or blurry...

 

[CherryLemonLime]

1. Yeah, though I'm not too concerned right now with high res. I'm just looking for something in between 480-720 that looks somewhat clear on non-fullscreen on Twitch.
5. That slipped my mind, I had no idea it was the 32bit version.

I'm trying this setup now:

13:22:29: Open Broadcaster Software v0.522b - 64bit (　^ω^)
13:22:29: -------------------------------
13:22:29: CPU Name: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor
13:22:29: CPU Speed: 3415MHz
13:22:29: Physical Memory:  8189MB Total, 5227MB Free
13:22:29: stepping id: 3, model 4, family 15, type 0, extmodel 8, extfamily 0, HTT 1, logical cores 4, total cores 4
13:22:29: monitor 1: pos={0, 0}, size={1920, 1080}
13:22:29: Windows Version: 6.1 Build 7601 S
13:22:29: Aero is Disabled
13:22:29: -------------------------------
13:22:29: OBS Modules:
13:22:29: Base Address     Module
13:22:29: 000000003F800000 OBS.exe
13:22:29: 00000000F4C90000 OBSApi.dll
13:22:29: 00000000F5000000 DShowPlugin.dll
13:22:29: 00000000F4FD0000 GraphicsCapture.dll
13:22:29: 00000000F72F0000 NoiseGate.dll
13:22:29: ------------------------------------------
13:22:29: Adapter 1
13:22:29:   Video Adapter: AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series
13:22:29:   Video Adapter Dedicated Video Memory: 1059803136
13:22:29:   Video Adapter Shared System Memory: 4025151488
13:23:42: =====Stream Start: 2013-06-29, 13:23:42===============================================
13:23:42:   Multithreaded optimizations: On
13:23:42:   Base resolution: 1920x1080
13:23:42:   Output resolution: 960x540
13:23:42: ------------------------------------------
13:23:42: Loading up D3D10...
13:23:42: Playback device Default
13:23:42: ------------------------------------------
13:23:42: Using desktop audio input: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
13:23:42: ------------------------------------------
13:23:42: Using auxilary audio input: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
13:23:42: ------------------------------------------
13:23:42: Audio Encoding: AAC
13:23:42:     bitrate: 96
13:23:42: Using graphics capture
13:23:42: Using custom x264 settings: "crf=1 psy-rd=0.6 ipratio=1.1 no-fast-pskip=true"
13:23:42: ------------------------------------------
13:23:42: Video Encoding: x264
13:23:42:     fps: 25
13:23:42:     width: 960, height: 540
13:23:42:     preset: faster
13:23:42:     CBR: no
13:23:42:     CFR: no
13:23:42:     max bitrate: 1000
13:23:42:     buffer size: 1000
13:23:42:     quality: 31
13:23:42: ------------------------------------------
13:23:42: SharedTexCapture hooked
13:23:44: Using RTMP service: Twitch / Justin.tv
13:23:44:   Server selection: rtmp://live.justin.tv/app
13:23:45: SO_SNDBUF was at 8192
13:23:45: SO_SNDBUF is now 65536
13:24:38: Total frames rendered: 1391, number of frames that lagged: 14 (1.01%) (it's okay for some frames to lag)
13:24:38: RTMPPublisher::SocketLoop: Aborting due to bStopping
13:24:38: Number of times waited to send: 0, Waited for a total of 0 bytes
13:24:38: Number of b-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Number of p-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Total 0 (0%)
13:24:38: =====Stream End: 2013-06-29, 13:24:38=================================================
13:24:52: 
13:24:52: Profiler results:
13:24:52: 
13:24:52: ==============================================================
13:24:52: frame - [100%] [avg time: 2.445 ms] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 70.9%] [unaccounted: 29.1%]
13:24:52: | scene->Preprocess - [0.0818%] [avg time: 0.002 ms] [avg calls per frame: 1]
13:24:52: | video encoding and uploading - [70.8%] [avg time: 1.732 ms] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 69%] [unaccounted: 1.88%]
13:24:52: | | CopyResource - [0.491%] [avg time: 0.012 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
13:24:52: | | conversion to 4:2:0 - [1.27%] [avg time: 0.031 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
13:24:52: | | call to encoder - [64.5%] [avg time: 1.578 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
13:24:52: | | sending stuff out - [2.66%] [avg time: 0.065 ms] [avg calls per frame: 0]
13:24:52: ==============================================================
13:24:52:

It's clear when I stand still in game, but if I move then it goes back to being unclear. Is there anything else I can do? Or is it just my upload speed that needs to go up?

 

[dodgepong]

Your custom x264 settings are weird...you don't want crf=1 for streaming. Do you know what all those settings do or did you just copy-paste them from somewhere?

And honestly, you should use CBR for streaming anyway, which would make CRF/Quality Balance irrelevant.

First-Person shooters have a lot of motion to them, so they require more bandwidth to look good as compared with lower-motion 2D games. at 1000kbps, you're not really going to get a decent looking FPS stream, especially above 480p.

I recommend lowering your OBS resolution to no more than 480p, enabling CBR, and then seeing if your computer can handle slower x264 presets such as "faster" or even "fast".

 

[CherryLemonLime]

Someone PM'd me and suggested those settings.

Fast seems to take me to 100% load, but I can handle faster.

I didn't realize FPSs were so much more taxing than other games. I'll take your advice and see if I can get a decent 480p stream. Otherwise I'll just give up on streaming FPS games until I up my upload speed. Thanks.

 

[dodgepong]

Really, it's a matter of how much each pixel changes from frame to frame. In those 2D games, there's a lot of constant solid colors and similar images from frame to frame, which makes them easy to compress. FPSes, on the other hand, rotate everything all the time, making high motion and therefore making it harder to compress at a good quality given the same bit rate.