What are the best HD settings for church streaming?

[Ojharper]

Hi everyone, I run the online stream for my church and I'm an amateur when it comes to OBS. We're currently streaming our services on YouTube using a Canon M50 and the EOS webcam utility via USB.

We've managed to have a smooth stream on 720p, but if we go any higher in the OBS settings the video becomes incredibly choppy.

What are the best settings to get 1080p quality on our steam? It feels like a waste to have a good camera and no utilise it properly.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ojharper]

Hi everyone, I run the online stream for my church and I'm an amateur when it comes to OBS. We're currently streaming our services on YouTube using a Canon M50 and the EOS webcam utility via USB.

We've managed to have a smooth stream on 720p, but if we go any higher in the OBS settings the video becomes incredibly choppy.

What are the best settings to get 1080p quality on our steam? It feels like a waste to have a good camera and no utilise it properly.

Thanks in advance.

For some reason, my initial screenshots didn't attach. Here are my stream and video settings.

Thanks again

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

The issue is the Canon camera and associated software.
That camera is USB2, right? the Canon EOS webcam FAQ specifically mentions limits on resolution, and that if you want higher resolution, you typically need to use a camera with a Clean HDMI output, a HDMI capture device (usually USB) and get the video that way. In that manner, you can get much higher resolution video from the camera.
For reference, I have a Canon 80D and a nice selection of lenses (but no L series glass). I found that none of my lenses would go wide enough, and then zoom in for a pulpit, lectern, alter zoom shot, not to mention low light capability for evening services, etc. So we got a 20X PTZ camera... made a huge difference. but HoW budgets being what they are... making do is a common need.

With newer DSLR/mirrorless, with USB3 ports, you can get higher resolution video. Otherwise you need to check into HDMI out for your camera. Canon model specific forums will be your best resource for video output settings optimizations (and any camera settings required/trade-offs to get Clean HDMI out)

 

[Ojharper]

Hi Lawrence, thanks very much for this.
Yes it is USB2 I think. I found using clean HDMI very fiddley so I switched to using USB for the stream, but I might have to switch back if this is the case. I'll also post in the Canon forums to see if there's anything that can be done.

Not sure what the correct term is, but is there a type of "HUB" I can get that reduces the amount of clutter? There are so many cables that go into the laptop that the team gets confused sometimes. If something like this exists then it'll save us a lot of stress.

Thanks again!

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Beware USB Hubs... sometimes great, sometimes it can make matters worse, as now all traffic on a single link... so... it depends
*IF* you have a newer/upper-end laptop, with a ThunderBolt connection, using a TB3 or TB4 dock will probably be fine
A well-made USB3 port and dock can be fine.. depending [don't expect good performance with a cheap no-name hub]
Trying to connect to a USB2 port on a laptop, and combining video on a single link - recipe for a mess. If your laptop only has UBS2 - time for a new computer.
For USB3... depends as that can be 5,10, or less likely 20Gbps (depending on version). Consumer laptops tend to have flakier drivers.. ymmv

Yes, there are absolutely USB Hubs that can help have a non-changing USB peripheral connection setup, BUT, look into USB Root Hub overload discussions here ... short-version - you can use a USB Hub, and it might work, or it might not, and technical troubleshooting is possible though not simple [it depends on the specifical make, model, CPU laptop, and driver versions]. Also, realize that the different USB ports on a laptop can have different capabilities, possibly connected to different USB Root Hubs with performance implications, especially video capture
so beware any simple answers you may hear.

If your HDMI capture was 'fiddley', I'd dig into why, exactly. laptop itself? your overall OS, peripheral and driver setup? capture device itself? etc

 

[Ojharper]

Thanks so much for this. I'm not the most technical of people so it's useful to have all this info.
I guess the next thing to do would be to switch back to HDMI and see how I can make it work. My main worry is that I already have a projector plugged into the HDMI port, but I might have a workaround for that.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

The HDMI port on the laptop is an OUTPUT only port. You can't use it (that I'm aware of) as an INPUT port
To get HDMI output from camera into computer, you need a HDMI capture "card", which back in the day was a PCIe add-in card (AIC), but now is more often a USB Adapter/dongle (not a 'card' but name is often used anyways). There are cheap no-name HDMI capture devices, with varying levels of stability/reliability/performance, and there are some big name, well-supported models, (some of which have had recent driver issues with Windows Updates... if I recall correctly). So depends on your budget, technical expertise, and need/desire to be able to call technical support if required.
Regardless, expect to get more technical to make HDMI output from camera into OBS PC work consistently over time. And don't go cheap on the cable either
Then, my standard advice is get the video (and audio) inputs working correctly at the Operating System (OS) level first (OBS not even running/started). And only after OS drivers, permissions, etc all configured and known working (usually using native OS apps), then move to get those input sources configured in OBS