Question / Help Should I be using a Custom Buffer Size?

xSonic521x

xSonic521x

Member
Can someone please, shed some light on this subject for the people shouting to "Enable Custom Buffer Size"? Please?
 
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No.

It's unnecessary, and many "guides" list custom numbers here but don't actually know what it's used to correct/compensate for. Generally unless one of the Devs tells you to use a custom buffer, don't.
 
Thread Hi-Jacking, really? .-. Well thank you Ferret. I just keep hearing so many people on Twitch telling everyone to use it. I tried to tell them otherwise but no such luck.
 
If they're using a custom size, what are they setting it to? The bigger the buffer, the more variable the stream is, and the harder it is for people to watch (download) it. But if they can download it, it looks better. The smaller it is, the more consistent the stream bitrate is, and its easier for people to watch (download) it. But it looks worse.

That's all there is to it. Matching the bitrate to the buffer has been found to be a good compromise for most people, and that's what happens if you leave custom buffer turned off.
 
As far as I know, a 2500 Bit-rate with a 3500 buffer, usually. But the point of streaming is to have people watching, doesn't having a custom buffer cause more buffering issues compared to just no custom buffer?
 
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xSonic521x said:
As far as I know, a 2500 Bit-rate with a 3500 buffer, usually. But the point of streaming is to have people watching, doesn't having a custom buffer cause more buffering issues compared to just no custom buffer?
Click to expand...

A un-custom buffer is only a buffer the same size as your bitrate. So if you manually set it to LESS than your bitrate, it'll be easier to watch. If you do like you've done and set it higher than your bitrate, it becomes harder to watch.
 
So my question is, if you used a bitrate of 2000 or 2500, and then used a custom buffer 1000 lower than either one, would that make it easier for people to watch? AND if so, how much will that degrade the quality?
 
Yes, easier to watch. I don't know of any non-subjective ways to tell you how much it degrades the quality that will have any meaning though. You'll just have to try it and find out.
 
Well I mean, what is the purpose of having a higher bitrate with a lower buffer? Is there any quality gain? If not then wouldn't quality only be as good as the buffer at that point?
 
I've already explained it earlier in this thread as well as I can explain it: https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/should-i-be-using-a-custom-buffer-size.22373/#post-114506 .

Personally I do it because I have only 5 Mb upload and if I go higher than 2000 buffer on my 3000 bitrate stream, it affects my gameplay. It also seems subjectively to be a higher quality stream than say, 2500 bitrate with 2500 buffer. I suppose I should try 3500 bitrate and 2500 buffer, or 3500/2000, or every combination under the sun, but I found something that worked well and I stuck with it.

If you know statistics, the bitrate is like the average and the buffer is like the standard deviation. If you're bandwidth restricted sometimes its better to lower the standard deviation than to lower the average.
 
Right now I'm doing a 2500 bitrate with a 1500 buffer so that people out of country can have an easier time watching, but I was thinking about doing a 3500 bitrate with the same low 1500 buffer. I don't know if there would be a quality gain or if it would be harder for people to watch, but as a general rule I assume it would right?
 
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