Question / Help Stream quality settings with OBS - what's safe?

R

rengel79

Member
Hey guys
I've been streaming my Youtube broadcasts from a 4G hotspot at a output streaming rate of 2500kbps configured in OBS.
Base canvas is set to 1920x1080 16:9 and output scaled resolution is 1280 x 720.
I'm also live streaming with a logi HD 1080p web cam at the moment BUT will be streaming with a Canon SL2 D200 as of this weekend so keen to understand how to make the live stream much crisper and higher definition as my current video stream is a bit fuzzy.

Any ideas on the best settings for youtube live broadcasts with this setup? I'm running a Surace Pro 6 with Windows 10 also.
I've also found that my audio is slightly out of sync with the video feed, even with the audio offset sync setting at 250ms...is there anything else I should be trying?
 
koala

koala

Active Member
Bitrate requirement depends on the content you stream. High motion high detail content needs more bitrate than low motion content. If you stream indoor a static webcam, it's probably considered low motion. If you go outside and stream vegetation and especially foliage with a moving camera, bitrate requirement skyrockets.
This is the youtube bitrate recommendation: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2853702
It's always a range - use a bitrate within that range, suited to your content.
If you're on mobile, use the maximum your connection is able to sustain. Don't stream with more than 75% of your available upload bandwidth. Make speed tests how much upload you actually have (usually it's vastly less than advertised). Consider enabling "Dynamically change bitrate to manage congestion" in Settings->Advanced->Network. This is for unreliable connections. It's better to reduce bitrate dynamically than to loose frames.
 
Last edited:
R

rengel79

Member
Thanks. It’ll be an indoor stream with 1 presenter standing up in one spot talking. What bit rare and resolution should I be going to in OBS? Is there a recommended setting for a high quality stream if I’m running a 4G hotspot of a cell network? Lots of cell coverage where I will be broadcasting which is in the city of a major city in Australia.
 
koala

koala

Active Member
As I said: consult the linked Youtube bitrate recommendation article and do the other things I mentioned. If you don't understand what I wrote and just want a value from me you can enter in an input field, I'm unable to provide one. It depends on the circumstances I described. It's not too difficult to read the linked article.
 
R

rengel79

Member
koala said:
As I said: consult the linked Youtube bitrate recommendation article and do the other things I mentioned. If you don't understand what I wrote and just want a value from me you can enter in an input field, I'm unable to provide one. It depends on the circumstances I described. It's not too difficult to read the linked article.
Click to expand...
Thanks koala, apologies for not being clear.. yes I understand your post & the google link. I asked the wrong question ;)
Where do I find the audio birate in OBS so I can add the video + audio together to understand the kpbbs needed for the upload?
Is it under Settings -> Output -> Streaming audio bitrate (currently at 160), and my video is 2500Kpbs, so that would mean according to the rule...

2500 + 160 x 1.5 = 3990Kpbs. (current setup)
Based on the stats for the Cell/4G network using my hotspot to do the stream at my house I'm getting d/l of 32.6mpbs and u/l of 3.42mbps using speed test.

The video feed is OK to watch but it's not crisp at all and now that I've connected an SLR with better lighting I'd love to ramp up the bitrate, but according to the stats above I can't do that :(
 
R

rengel79

Member
Is anyone broadcasting using a 4G hotspot in Melbourne? What settings do you have your OBS feed set to for bitrate?
 
R

rengel79

Member
OK, so I tried upping the video bitrate from 2500 to 3500, audio bitrate to 320 and changed the video output scaled resolution to 1920x1080 with downscale filter to lanczos and common FPS value to 30, I tried 60 but my CPU was overloaded (I've got a surface pro 7, which runs a i7 processor) so switched it back to 30.
Tried it with a 4g hotspot and I did a test broadcast live stream with youtube and OBS and seemed to work fine with no buffering occuring.
Doing a speed test my output mbps using the 4g was around 4.5mpbs... I'm now using a canon sl2 d200 SLR camera for my video feeds and want my viewers to see a similar crispness in the broadcast.. hopefully I'm doing this correctly as per the guide provided by @koala
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top