Question / Help Trying to Understand BitRate & how it affects Quality on Twitch. Also setting FPS in OBS Studio

[CBSA82]

So here are my PC Specs:

- i7 477k 3.5ghz CPU
- GTX 970 GPU 4gb
- 16gb DDR3 Ram 1333

My Net Connection is:

- 50 mbps DOWN
- 5.2 mbps UP (per the TwitchTest utility to my chosen server)

Last night I tried streaming Paladins via OBS Studio. I feel I did ok and no one really complained about quality or anything. I ran it using 3500 Bit Rate and 3500 Buffer, at 1080p downscaled to 720. Now Paladins is an online game so I was unsure how my connection would handle both streaming and running an onlien game but it seemed to do ok.

However, I went to Reddit earlier in the day asking if I should even try (I ended up giving it a shot anyway) but the one comment I got was to stream at 2500 bitrate, not 3500, so as to get more viewers.

Wouldn't that effect the quality of the stream? I mean, with my setup, what should I even be using for stream settings in general? I have been trying to figure it out and am new to all this 0_o

 

[Adrian Schofield]

The reason for streaming at a lower bitrate is because you are very unlikely to get transcoding which gives viewers the ability to choose what quality to watch in. This means all users, particularly those on mobile will be forced to watch at 3500 which might be a problem.

Recommended settings for Twitch are

Non-partnered 720p 30fps at 2500
Partnered 720p 60fps at 3500

 

[CBSA82]

The reason for streaming at a lower bitrate is because you are very unlikely to get transcoding which gives viewers the ability to choose what quality to watch in. This means all users, particularly those on mobile will be forced to watch at 3500 which might be a problem.

Recommended settings for Twitch are

Non-partnered 720p 30fps at 2500
Partnered 720p 60fps at 3500

Fair enough. How do I set the FPS in Studio then? I know how to change the bit rate and I already have the scale set to 720p. How badly will the quality suffer though by doing this for a high speed game like Paladins / Overwatch / Evolve? Just curious. And what other settings such as CBR and whatnot should I set things to?

 

[Adrian Schofield]

FPS is on Settings, Video. Off the top of my head I can't remember where the other settings are, somewhere in the Output tab. If you are using Simple Output mode all these are configured for you.

 

[CBSA82]

Would the same rules apply (such as bitrate and whatnot) when streaming to Youtube, since Youtube Gaming allows the end user to change their quality settings?

I am thinking of switching over there, since I have an actual following on Youtube already (albiet small) and it would be easier to archive things automatically and whatnot.

I know its possible to stream both to Twitch and Youtube via some method but I am going to stick to one site, and honestly I am feeling it will be easier to maintain a single presence on a single site. I appreciate all the help so far as well :D

 

[Adrian Schofield]

YouTube allows a much higher bitrate for streaming and provides transcoding for all so your only limiting factor is your upload speed to the YouTube servers