Question / Help Twitch Encoding non Partners :O

T

Tidy

Member
Hi Everybody,

I have looked for some sort of official Twitch post about this, but can't seem to find anything concrete.

I was browsing streams a couple of days ago and noticed some v.v.v.v.v.v.v.small streamers having quality options.

I did some digging and found that if your stream was in the top 2-3 for viewers in a gaming category you had encoding options available.

I saw a stream with somebody who had 16 followers, but 14 people watching him - WITH quality options.

Is there a magic number for the encoding options for "non partners" or is it pot luck, or have I missed an announcement somewhere?
 
When they switched to HLS, the accompanying blog post from them hinted at some point in the future allowing some non partner transcodes depending on server load. I imagine it's very much luck of the draw right now, but it could be based on top number of viewers like you've noticed.
 
Cool!

I wonder if the twitch api is updated to reflect when a stream does get the quality options meaning you could ramp up the bit rate without constantly checking?
 
As I understand it, it gets enabled when there are resources not being used by partnered streams, and requires over a certain breakpoint to be enabled. They haven't said anything about requirements, or if they get disabled if a partnered streamer goes live and the resources are needed elsewhere again, or if they last until the end of the stream.
 
I was about to rage for a second because a really low quality caster had quality options and doesn't even have 100 followers and I was like... wut?
 
This is one of the things that really bugs me with Twitch at the moment.

How is a guy meant to make a following on Twitch if they don't have quality options enabled? You are forced to stream in extremely lowres even though your connection is able to handle higher res. It's something that has really put me off using Twitch altogether because they are happy enough to partner with you when you're making them dosh but all the little guys and gals that are nobodies get the crap.
 
Er, the 2000kbps recommended-max is more than enough for a good-quality 720p@30fps stream. That's MORE than enough to attract a following, and is far from 'low res'. Especially as a majority of viewers don't full-screen you.
It's also the resolution and bitrate I used before getting partnered.

Very few people are going to come to your stream just because you're running in 1080p mode. It's a luxury, yes. Same with 60fps... which people are becoming obsessed with for very little good reason. In most cases (especially for FPS players) they'd be better served streaming at 30fps and getting the additional image clarity and blocking reduction afforded by only having to render half as many frames... and maybe even being able to step the encoder speed down a notch, for even MORE image fidelity.
 
FerretBomb said:
Er, the 2000kbps recommended-max is more than enough for a good-quality 720p@30fps stream. That's MORE than enough to attract a following, and is far from 'low res'. Especially as a majority of viewers don't full-screen you.
It's also the resolution and bitrate I used before getting partnered.

Very few people are going to come to your stream just because you're running in 1080p mode. It's a luxury, yes. Same with 60fps... which people are becoming obsessed with for very little good reason. In most cases (especially for FPS players) they'd be better served streaming at 30fps and getting the additional image clarity and blocking reduction afforded by only having to render half as many frames... and maybe even being able to step the encoder speed down a notch, for even MORE image fidelity.
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Still, the lack of quality options restricts those on crappy internet connections from viewing you. Also, twitch servers have been having issues out the ass too from what I have seen.

And it may be the resolution and bitrate you used before getting partnered, but I don't know the full story behind your personal experience in streaming so for all I know you could have not had the transcoding options for a minority of the time before being partnered.

Just saying, you need more details in your response other than "I used these settings and got partnered lol".. how long did it take to be partnered, how long were you streaming for and whatnot.
 
The only option that used to work was the VLC HLS option, which allows the viewer to down the bit rate etc... but thats not worked for months.

I do know a few streamers that got quality options (not partnered) when they were averaging 50 viewers per stream and streamed every night etc
 
Joppsta said:
Still, the lack of quality options restricts those on crappy internet connections from viewing you. Also, twitch servers have been having issues out the ass too from what I have seen.
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True. Which means that you need to mitigate the desire for perfection with the realities of providing a stream that your viewers can watch. Normally the best trade-off for this is to get a VERY beefy CPU (or multi-CPU rig) and run a two-system casting setup, with the encoding machine running the slowest preset possible, at a reasonable framerate, to squeeze as much image quality out of the bitrate you are using as possible. Unfortunately, this can get very expensive, very fast. Otherwise, you learn to manage expectations and find a 'good enough' point that you're happy/can live with.

And it may be the resolution and bitrate you used before getting partnered, but I don't know the full story behind your personal experience in streaming so for all I know you could have not had the transcoding options for a minority of the time before being partnered.

Just saying, you need more details in your response other than "I used these settings and got partnered lol".. how long did it take to be partnered, how long were you streaming for and whatnot.
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No, I only got the transcoding options after partnership. Not at all prior, as they weren't doing that yet.

You strike me as a very demanding, impatient, and entitled individual.
It takes as long as it takes, and no sooner. I am not being glib here, either. No one's path to partnership is identical, or is guaranteed to be anywhere close to anyone else's. So me including any of that will not help you, and just comes across as a demand for credentials. I'm simply saying that it is entirely possible, has been done by a large number of people, and that you don't need these things to get there. Insisting that you do is a crutch. Look for what you can do to improve your stream, within the technical limitations presented.

People aren't going to come and stay because you have crystal-clear video. They'll leave if it's TOO crappy, or is stuck in buffering-hell though.
 
Totally agree with the leaving on a buffering stream. I have a few friends that stream at the wrong resolution / bitrate combination - and its annoying and i leave - (sorry friends! lol)

Personally, i prefer to watch a silky smooth stream (yes im a 60fps fan boy lol), but not as much bothered about 720 if the person hasn't been partnered. So 540p at 48/60fps is a nice stream quality.

One option which does work well for non partnered channels is to split up the screen into sections like:

Game
Chat
Social Media
etc

Pretty much like streamerhouse... it allows you to show a decent quality video with additional information.

Once partnered, then yes ramp up the resolution, remove the frame and do something similar to ferret (yes i watch ur streams bro lol) and have the chat over actual game etc.
 
Yep; there's a certain level of blocking that's acceptable for me, and it's really pretty common-sense. If it looks like a hot mess and you can't tell what's going on? Time to find someone else playing the game. But it doesn't have to be perfect, so long as you can tell what's happening. So a fast-paced FPS at 1080p@30 on 2000kbps? Not going to fly.

Actually have a few games that I specifically drop to a lower res/fps as I can't deliver a good/acceptable video quality (as I tend to hover around 3000kbps available most nights)... mostly racing games (Sonic & All-Stars, Burnout, LA Noire) but a few FPS games too. If I had to cast those at 2000, I'd just drop a res step to 480p (or maybe 540p) to meet those needs.

Yep, another option is to use a frame. It's not something I recommend to new streamers, mostly as it's a much more gray area between resolution and bitrate at that point. A frame/static overlay isn't going to eat almost any bitrate, so as long as your gameplay/cam is only 720p, you can theoretically get away with 1080p on a 720 budget (with a bit added for your webcam). It's generally a LOT of trial and error though to hit that balance.
If you're going that route, I'd STRONGLY recommend setting up a 'hidden' testing stream. I have one for trying out new settings and games to make sure it's going to look good when I go live on the main FB account. Unfortunately Twitch has removed the 'do not list' and 'require password to watch' options.

And thanks much, man! :)
 
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