Question / Help Stream FPS issues

firesanta

New Member
Hello,

I am a new streamer on Twitch and after trying to stream, I came up with this particular issue which is quite annoying.

As I have seen on other forums, I have caped the FPS of OBS to 30 and optimized the settings according my build.
Although I did that, I came across stream lag. In more detail, the stream seems to be laggi when my in-game frames drop lower than 30 (lowest is 24-26) but the stream looks fine when the in-game fps is >=30. (Which I understand)
The thing is, that I cannot find a way, or..is there a way (?) to find my approximate FPS average and put that number to OBS, so my stream looks convenient enough?

This is my past log file: https://gist.github.com/642cb04cb2be3c623a20
My internet speed is the max for my country: 48-50Mbps Upload and 4Mbps Download. (OBS max bit rate (set to:) 2200kbps)

It should not affect the stream or anything else, as the build is good, but I have to mention this is a laptop.

(@dping )
 

dping

Active Member
Hello,

I am a new streamer on Twitch and after trying to stream, I came up with this particular issue which is quite annoying.

As I have seen on other forums, I have caped the FPS of OBS to 30 and optimized the settings according my build.
Although I did that, I came across stream lag. In more detail, the stream seems to be laggi when my in-game frames drop lower than 30 (lowest is 24-26) but the stream looks fine when the in-game fps is >=30. (Which I understand)
The thing is, that I cannot find a way, or..is there a way (?) to find my approximate FPS average and put that number to OBS, so my stream looks convenient enough?

This is my past log file: https://gist.github.com/642cb04cb2be3c623a20
My internet speed is the max for my country: 48-50Mbps Upload and 4Mbps Download. (OBS max bit rate (set to:) 2200kbps)

It should not affect the stream or anything else, as the build is good, but I have to mention this is a laptop.

(@dping )
your CPU is the equivilant of a desktop i3, 2 cores with hyper threading, but with a lower clock speed. you might need to downscale a little more maybe to 540p or even 480p.

Other thoughts.
dont watch own stream on streaming PC. this will cause horrible performance.
set fps to 30. not 31, not 29...
Set audio encoding to AAC in the encoding tab of OBS.just because MP3 sounds familiar doesn't mean its best to use it. MP3 is more for compatibility not recommended for everything.

Lastly, check your audio format of the headset and mic in windows. in windows recording and playback devices, double click on each and go to advanced tab check audio format. if it sayd 48000Hz then set OBS audio format to that. if both are using 44100Hz, leave OBS where it is. This is an important step.
 

firesanta

New Member
your CPU is the equivilant of a desktop i3, 2 cores with hyper threading, but with a lower clock speed. you might need to downscale a little more maybe to 540p or even 480p.

Other thoughts.
dont watch own stream on streaming PC. this will cause horrible performance.
set fps to 30. not 31, not 29...
Set audio encoding to AAC in the encoding tab of OBS.just because MP3 sounds familiar doesn't mean its best to use it. MP3 is more for compatibility not recommended for everything.

Lastly, check your audio format of the headset and mic in windows. in windows recording and playback devices, double click on each and go to advanced tab check audio format. if it sayd 48000Hz then set OBS audio format to that. if both are using 44100Hz, leave OBS where it is. This is an important step.

I am not watching my stream from the same lap, I use an other computer for that+chat..
Okay I will do so and let you know by the end of the week.
Yes my headset sound is 44.1KHz so I guess I leave this as it is.

About CPU downscale, I do not have performance issues, both my game and OBS run smoothly with Curse Voice and Spotify open. (the game seems to run equally while streaming and when not,although I do understand that the CPU processes more data at that time)
 

dping

Active Member
I am not watching my stream from the same lap, I use an other computer for that+chat..
Okay I will do so and let you know by the end of the week.
Yes my headset sound is 44.1KHz so I guess I leave this as it is.

About CPU downscale, I do not have performance issues, both my game and OBS run smoothly with Curse Voice and Spotify open. (the game seems to run equally while streaming and when not,although I do understand that the CPU processes more data at that time)
your performance issues showed up prior to 1AM on that log:
Code:
13:00:17: Total frames encoded: 255193, total frames duplicated: 115162 (45.13%)
13:00:17: Number of frames skipped due to encoder lag: 13376 (5.24%)
13:00:17: Total frames rendered: 147269, number of late frames: 81474 (55.32%)

duplicate should be under 1%
encoder lag should be 0% or very close to
late frames should be less than 1% as well.
 

firesanta

New Member
your performance issues showed up prior to 1AM on that log:
Code:
13:00:17: Total frames encoded: 255193, total frames duplicated: 115162 (45.13%)
13:00:17: Number of frames skipped due to encoder lag: 13376 (5.24%)
13:00:17: Total frames rendered: 147269, number of late frames: 81474 (55.32%)

duplicate should be under 1%
encoder lag should be 0% or very close to
late frames should be less than 1% as well.

So that means, I have to try downscale the stream quality? I am afraid less than 720p will be poor (!) to a viewer.
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
About CPU downscale, I do not have performance issues, both my game and OBS run smoothly with Curse Voice and Spotify open. (the game seems to run equally while streaming and when not,although I do understand that the CPU processes more data at that time)

13:00:17: Total frames encoded: 255193, total frames duplicated: 115162 (45.13%)
13:00:17: Number of frames skipped due to encoder lag: 13376 (5.24%)
13:00:17: Total frames rendered: 147269, number of late frames: 81474 (55.32%) (it's okay for some frames to be late)

13:44:15: Total frames encoded: 71659, total frames duplicated: 25541 (35.64%)
13:44:15: Number of frames skipped due to encoder lag: 1846 (2.58%)
13:44:15: Total frames rendered: 48413, number of late frames: 20442 (42.22%) (it's okay for some frames to be late)

Yes, yes you do. Pretty massive performance issues, even if it may not affect your in-game performance. Those should be under 1%. Most likely the encoder is just giving up at this point. I wouldn't recommend going above 360p with that weak of a CPU.
 

dping

Active Member
So in addition to my question, since I am right now building a new desktop, what would you guys recommend for both gaming and streaming on maximum? (CPU,Ram,graphics etc)
@dping @FerretBomb
an i5 minimum or an i7 would be best. desktop of course. GPU can be anything that says DX12 of current or last generation. nvidia 7XX or 9XX or amd 7800/7900 or R7/R9 series.

when you say max, not all top end systems can max ultra on the newest games so with streaming, expect lowered settings.
max settings do not always show up on stream anyway.

now for your stream, your target should be 720@30 to get the most viewers between 2000 to 2500 bitrate, the lower end will allow more viewers smooth playback.
everything else is really depends on what your log says after your build.
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
Depends on your maximum, and if you want a streaming-centered or gaming-centered machine.

Streaming, go for an LGA2011-v3 motherboard and chip. More high-end/workstation oriented. The 6-core 5820k works great, especially if you get a decent cooler and mildly overclock it. The 10-core i7-6950k is expected to come out first quarter 2016, and is what I'll be moving to from my 5820.

Gaming, the consumer-aimed Skylake series is a good pick, but will fall short for real time video encoding with its limited PCIe lanes, worse cache, and smaller core count. Makes up for it with higher core clocks, which will perform better in CPU-heavy games.

If you're sticking with the recommended 720p@30fps, 2000kbps non-partnered sweet spot, the 5820k will let you run it at a very low preset and use really good compression to make the most of that bitrate. Later, it can run 1080p@60fps on Medium with a mild overclock. So it's a bit futureproofed and has room to grow if you end up going serious.

Looking more at a budget build, the i7-4790k is last-gen tech. It uses cheaper RAM and the parts will be much more affordable. Won't keep up with a 5820, but the cost savings could be worth it if you don't have all the cash in the world to throw at the problem.
 
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