Does Streaming Use Upload Or Download Speed

How Much Speed Do You lot Demand for Live Video Game Streaming?

Jan 24, 2022 Share
FAQ, Gaming, Net Speed Guides, Streaming Guides

Watching other people play video games is almost as pop as playing them yourself. And people aren't merely watching big-proper name internet celebrities either. Twitch, the nearly pop game streaming platform, has over four million unique creators streaming every calendar month.^ane If you lot similar sharing your gaming experiences with the world, yous could be one of them.

1 of the keys to a successful stream is an internet connection that tin can handle the video (similar fiber). No one wants to spend time and coin getting your lights and camera just right only for your internet connection to reduce your stream to a choppy, pixelated mess.

But not to worry! Nosotros're here to walk you lot through everything you need to know about internet speeds and live video game streaming and so you tin can go your stream simply right.

Use your nil lawmaking to see if cobweb cyberspace is bachelor in your surface area.

Livestreaming is all about upload speed

Livestreaming is 1 of the few situations when download speed (the speed your net programme typically advertises) doesn't really matter. All yous have to worry virtually is your upload speed. Y'all tin can learn more well-nigh the difference betwixt download and upload speed here.

Need a connexion with more than upload speed? See what's available in your area.

When you're livestreaming, video captured from your device is sent, or uploaded, from your home to video servers somewhere on the internet. This is the opposite management that video data usually flows since most people consume more online video content than they create.

I more time: download speed doesn't matter for livestreaming.

Upload speed is often a flake more difficult to gauge because most internet service providers (ISPs) don't advertise it as prominently as they do download speeds (your "advertised" speed refers to your download speed). For most kinds of net connection, your upload speed will be much lower than your download speed. Upload speed can also fluctuate, then the easiest manner to find your bodily upload speed is to take a speed test. If y'all want an upload speed that can match your download speed, your best bet is fiber.

Get your upload speed: Want to detect out what upload and download speed you're currently getting? Accept our speed test.

That said, there are still plenty of online activities that require a skilful download speed. If you're playing a game online or streaming royalty-free music while you're on stream, you lot demand to make sure yous take enough download speed to ensure a shine feel. Yet, the merely number yous demand to worry nearly for getting your stream online is your upload speed.

Upload speed requirements for livestreaming beyond video platforms

We recommend having a minimum upload speed of 10 Mbps for livestreaming. On most platforms, this will give you a slight buffer to account for fluctuations in upload speed.

Dissimilar streaming platforms accept different requirements when it comes to video quality. Some are optimized and so that you can broadcast low-resolution video from your cell phone whenever you want, while others try to make it possible for viewers to tune in to Television receiver-quality streams. While you can technically stream as long equally you meet the minimum requirements, you should always programme to accept at to the lowest degree an extra 5 Mbps to account for fluctuations in speed.

Hither's the breakdown of how much upload speed you'll need to livestream on different platforms.

Twitch

Twitch is the biggest site for video game streaming, so if yous desire to be a streamer, you should be able to stream on Twitch. Fortunately, it gives streamers a few different recommendations for resolution and frame rate.

For context, 30 frames per second (fps) is the standard frame rate for television, while sixty fps is a common framerate in video games. But like resolution, frame rate affects the amount of speed you demand to stream, so if y'all don't have the fastest connection, you might have to make a trade-off.

Facebook Live

Facebook keeps it elementary, listing only the absolute minimum requirements for streaming on the platform. Just that's not to say y'all tin can't achieve a decent video quality with Facebook.

Although you tin can commencement a livestream on Facebook with zip more than than your phone and the Facebook app, Facebook Alive is too compatible with standard streaming software like OBS Studio, Streamlabs OBS, and vMix.

YouTube

YouTube has a staggering amount of recommendations, ranging from a 240p stream (which is the resolution of an old Nokia cell phone or a Game Boy Accelerate) to streaming in full 4K UHD.^{ii, iii} We'd recommend shooting for somewhere in the middle. Enough of professional streamers stream at 1080p, and that's a high enough resolution to look good on everything from cell phones to TV screens.

Y'all need actress internet speed for a stable video stream

We suggest that you try to have 10–15 Mbps more than upload speed than the minimum requirement for the quality of video you're trying to stream and even more than if you know that your connection has regular issues with slowdown.

Some other good rule of thumb is to have twice equally much upload speed as whatever you set up your bitrate to be, only to be prophylactic. Not all your viewers volition notice the subtle departure between 30 and lx fps, but everyone will detect if your stream starts freezing and stuttering.

If you merely barely meet the speed requirements for the video you're trying to stream, the slightest fluctuation in your connexion can interfere with or fifty-fifty crash your stream. That's because livestreaming is a lot trickier than streaming video from Netflix. Since your stream isn't prerecorded, the server tin't buffer to smooth out the normal ups and downs in internet speed.

Also, recall that if you're streaming to multiple platforms simultaneously, you need plenty total bandwidth that each stream has plenty of upload speed. For example, if you're streaming 1080p video to both Twitch (vi Mbps minimum) and YouTube (3 Mbps minimum), you'd need an upload speed of at to the lowest degree 9 Mbps, though realistically, yous'd demand 15–xx Mbps to proceed both streams stable.

Why is a stable video stream and then important?

Livestreaming is much more technologically demanding than but playing games. Most online games can become by on a pretty pocket-size internet connection, as long as there's low latency. Livestreaming turns your dwelling house into your ain personal Goggle box station, broadcasting high-resolution video to your fans.

To abound an avid fan base on a platform like Twitch, you need to deliver a quality experience. A reliable camera, expert audio equipment, and a fancy gaming calculator are all important investments for whatsoever dedicated streamer, just none of that makes much of a difference to those watching if your stream freezes and staggers throughout the broadcast.

A reliable internet connectedness is i of the commencement investments an aspiring streamer should make.

What type of internet is best for livestreaming?

The best cyberspace connexion for livestreaming is fiber. To livestream, you need a reliable connectedness with good upload speeds and low latency. In all three of those categories, fiber-optic connections are past far the best option. If fiber isn't bachelor in your area, you probably want to get with a wired connexion, as wireless connections tend to be more susceptible to interference and by and large experience higher latency.

DSL and satellite connections generally aren't fast or stable enough for streamers, so you're probably going to need either cable or fiber cyberspace.

Cable connections can reach upload speeds between five Mbps and fifty Mbps, so the all-time cablevision plans can handle Hard disk drive streaming, but slower connections will be lucky to deliver anything above Game Boy quality. Cable is also decumbent to slowing downwards at summit hours, so unless you stream in the middle of the night, you might have to plan around the inevitable drib in speed.

Fiber, on the other hand, has symmetrical upload and download speeds, which means if you have gigabit download speeds, you go the exact same speeds for your uploads. Fiber is also a much more stable connection and doesn't suffer from the same kind of slowing bug that cablevision has to deal with. All these factors make fiber the ideal connection for streamers.

For more than information, check out our page on cobweb providers.

How does latency impact livestreaming?

Latency is the time information technology takes for a signal to travel from your computer to a server on the internet. It essentially determines the reaction time of your internet connexion. Having high latency will cause lag in games or calls, delaying your reactions and causing problems.

Considering streaming is primarily 1-mode communication, latency is handled a chip differently than information technology is in a video telephone call. Streaming software unremarkably performs more encoding and compression on your video (though you tin can adapt this in your settings) in order to improve the final quality at the expense of a few seconds of delay. This isn't usually noticeable to your audience unless you're streaming a Q&A session or a live event.

1 important precaution for streamers to have is to employ a wired connectedness to your router instead of Wi-Fi when possible. Even fast, reliable Wi-Fi introduces a fleck of actress latency into your connection, so a wired connection is definitely preferable. If you lot don't already have one, become yourself an Ethernet cable.

Why am I still getting dropped frames?

Do you take a solid internet connection but your video still looks choppy? Video game streams often endure from dropped frames, where instead of the video playing smoothly from one frame to the next, the aforementioned frame volition play twice in a row and then skip forward. If enough frames are dropped, it can pb to jittery, uneven video.

Although a slow or unstable internet connection can crusade a stream to drop frames, dropped frames are oft a problem with your capture card. If your capture carte can't record and encode your video data fast enough to keep up with your framerate, the issue is dropped frames in your stream.

Before you fork out the money to upgrade to a better capture card, in that location are a few things you can endeavour. Outset, cheque your internet speed to brand sure y'all're getting the upload speed you call up you are. Also, make sure that you're plugged into your router and not relying on Wi-Fi.

If y'all try those things and are certain that it's non your connection, try adjusting the settings in your streaming software, lowering your bitrate. You lot can too endeavor updating your computer's network drivers.

Twitch, "Printing Eye," Accessed October five, 2020.
Nokia Museum, "Nokia Asha 301," Accessed October 5, 2020.
CNET, "Nintendo Game Boy Accelerate Specs," Accessed Oct 5, 2020

Writer - Peter Christiansen

Peter Christiansen writes about satellite cyberspace, rural connectivity, livestreaming, and parental controls for HighSpeedInternet.com. Peter holds a PhD in communication from the University of Utah and has been working in tech for over 15 years every bit a computer programmer, game programmer, filmmaker, and author. His writing has been praised by outlets like Wired, Digital Humanities At present, and the New Statesman.

Editor - Cara Haynes

Cara Haynes has been editing and writing in the digital space for 7 years, and she'south edited all things cyberspace for HighSpeedInternet.com for five years. She graduated with a BA in English and a small in editing from Brigham Immature University. When she'south not editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands like Pluralsight. She believes no one should feel lost in internet land and that a good internet connexion significantly extends your life span.