Streaming Tips

Useful tips for an excellent live streaming.

1. Stream Test

When you have an important event scheduled on your channel, make sure everything will work properly by stream testing it in advance. We recommend you to begin testing it a week or two prior to the scheduled event.

 

2. Replicate the entire event

Test the entire event with at least a day before the actual live streaming one. This means that you should replicate your event starting with the length of the representation, place, etc. You should test the cameras and the sound, test all the resolutions and the bit rates that you intend to use. See if there any interlaces, or sound differences and try to adjust them before the main event.

 

3. Use a hard-wired internet connection

If you want your broadcasting to run effectively, you need to have a good internet connection with at least 1.5 Mbps consistent upstream bandwidth. This connection should be dedicated only to your live stream.

 

4. Check your network

Test using the same networks and ISPs that will be used for the live event. Test under the same network load that is expected during the event.

 

5. Follow our recommended live settings

Check that you are following our recommended live encoding settings. They were made by experts and you should follow them so that your live streaming worked properly.

 

6. Disable your firewall

Before starting your live broadcasting, you should make sure that you have a wide-open connection to the Internet.

 

7. Set your resolution properly

Make sure you make the proper settings when you change the resolution of your video.

  • 360p – 640×360 pixels
  • 480p – 640 × 480 pixels
  • 720 – 1280×720 pixels
  • 1080 – 1920×1080 pixels

Important: When the stream is adaptive, the resolution that will appear on the player is strictly related to the player size, meaning that if the player is smaller then the resolution that will play will be the lower one. If the user will switch to full screen, then the resolution that will play will be higher.

 

8. Turn off your antivirus protection

In some cases, your antivirus may slow your live streaming event. It is best to disable it for the actual broadcasting.

 

9. Close other applications

While you are live streaming, it is recommended to close other running programs, especially the ones you use to download/upload data.

 

10. Local record

We highly recommend you to save the live stream in your computer. This will ensure that even when you experience any network issues, the complete file will be archived. You can then upload the complete local recording to the platform.

Important: Do not change the video source during a broadcast that is recorded (autorecord or DVR). Otherwise, unexpected results and even corrupted videos may be experienced.

Note: There might be a delay between the live capture and the website video. The  common delay is between 5 to 30 seconds (within 5 seconds when using HD Wave for streaming); this is due to the encoding and decoding process.