Question / Help Why is my down-scaled and overall quality so bad on my two pc setup?

I

Ickz

New Member
I just recently built a second pc dedicated to streaming - 3700k@4.5/8gb pc1600/GTX 460/Avermedia capture device (I originally bought the Extremecap U3 and was unhappy with my quality and performance so I then bought a Live Gamer HD thinking the different hardware interface would improve it, but that does not seem to be the case). In my opinion, my stream quality is overall pretty horrible compared to other peoples' streams who also use a two pc setup and, hell, I don't think it's even really on par with the quality I get from using my main pc and a lower quality preset some times. My downscaled quality just looks so blurry and... washed out or something, especially in motion. I've tried everything and it just doesn't look good. Again, looking at other peoples' superior streams that list their two pc setup's specs and settings (some of which are less powerful than mine) as well as comparing it to the quality I get using lower presets on my main PC, I really think I should be getting a much better result. The native 1080p looks alright, but I was skipping/duplicating frames... and that was only on fast :\

At this point I'm about ready to give up, part out the pc, and get most of my money back to use on a 4960x or 4930k so I can just use my main pc for everything... Those processors would probably eliminate any slight lag or stutter when using very fast or faster while gaming, right? Is there a reason more streamers don't do this?

All tests are using 3500br/buffer, CBR/CFR enabled, Lanczos as the filter, as well as threads=9 in my custom settings. Any suggestions are appreciated, I've been going nuts over this the past few days :\ I'm trying to get everything set up as perfect as possible since I want to take a crack at streaming seriously.

864p/30fps/fast - stream pc: http://www.twitch.tv/ickzy/b/511221885
http://pastebin.com/HhwdNrR6

720p/30fps/medium - stream pc: http://www.twitch.tv/ickzy/b/511219529
http://pastebin.com/HUykBMhM

1080p/30fps/fast - stream pc: http://www.twitch.tv/ickzy/b/511249766
http://pastebin.com/Vs0w68LK

720p/30fps/very fast - main pc using game capture aero disabled: http://www.twitch.tv/ickztv/b/511243447
http://pastebin.com/BLureSTX
 
Krazy

Krazy

Town drunk
Well, threads=9 is not really a very good setting for a second PC setup. You're unnecessarily restricting x264 to use less threads.

As far as actual video quality goes...I'm not really sure what you're complaining about? This is as good as things are going to look without raising bitrate to insane levels, and your stream actually looks quite good. Keep in mind your source material; a third person MMO with the full scene almost constantly in motion, with many hard to encode fine details like particle effects, lighting/shadows, and grass everywhere. The best benefit to a 2PC setup is to ensure no performance impact on your gameplay at all, being able to lower preset and get a slight quality bump is more of a side benefit, if anything.

Also, I can't count the number of times someone has said on these forums "but other streams look so much better!" when, in fact, that has pretty much never been the case. If you could link some examples of these "better" streams, we could maybe make a more direct comparison.
 
I

Ickz

New Member
Logs were already linked in my original post. Anyone have experience gaming and streaming on a 3930k/4930k? Possible to use very fast/faster preset with no noticeable ingame lag/stuttering?
 
Sapiens

Sapiens

Forum Moderator
Totally didn't notice you had included those, sorry about that. For the most part a 3930/4930 in a single PC setup should allow you to use roughly the same settings you would on your existing streaming PC. I have no idea why you would go through the trouble though, your existing setup is great and the example videos you posted look excellent considering the content (grass is almost always going to look like shit when you're bitrate limited). I can only assume this is a case of unrealistic expectations or being finicky about the LGHD's YV12 colorspace, but it's your time and money, so do what you think is best I suppose.
 
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