How Much Upload Do You Need to Stream for Gaming
How Much Speed Do Yous Demand for Alive Video Game Streaming?
Jan 24, 2022 Share
FAQ, Gaming, Cyberspace Speed Guides, Streaming Guides
Watching other people play video games is almost equally pop as playing them yourself. And people aren't only watching big-proper noun net celebrities either. Twitch, the most popular game streaming platform, has over four million unique creators streaming every month.1 If you like sharing your gaming experiences with the world, you could be one of them.
One of the keys to a successful stream is an net connection that can handle the video (like fiber). No one wants to spend fourth dimension and coin getting your lights and camera but right only for your cyberspace connection to reduce your stream to a choppy, pixelated mess.
But not to worry! We're hither to walk you through everything you lot need to know nearly cyberspace speeds and live video game streaming and so you can get your stream but right.
Use your zip code to run across if fiber internet is bachelor in your area.
Livestreaming is all about upload speed
Livestreaming is 1 of the few situations when download speed (the speed your internet plan typically advertises) doesn't actually affair. All yous have to worry about is your upload speed. You can learn more about the difference between download and upload speed here.
Need a connectedness with more upload speed? See what'due south 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 cyberspace. This is the opposite direction that video data usually flows since most people eat more than online video content than they create.
One more time: download speed doesn't affair for livestreaming.
Upload speed is oftentimes a bit more hard to estimate because most internet service providers (ISPs) don't annunciate it as prominently as they exercise download speeds (your "advertised" speed refers to your download speed). For virtually kinds of internet connection, your upload speed volition be much lower than your download speed. Upload speed can too fluctuate, so the easiest way to find your actual upload speed is to take a speed test. If you want an upload speed that tin lucifer your download speed, your all-time bet is fiber.
Get your upload speed: Desire to find out what upload and download speed you lot're currently getting? Take our speed test.
That said, at that place are withal plenty of online activities that require a proficient download speed. If you're playing a game online or streaming royalty-costless music while you're on stream, you lot demand to brand sure you take plenty download speed to ensure a smooth experience. However, the only number you demand to worry about 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 well-nigh platforms, this will give you a slight buffer to account for fluctuations in upload speed.
Unlike streaming platforms have different requirements when it comes to video quality. Some are optimized so that you can broadcast depression-resolution video from your cell telephone whenever you want, while others try to brand it possible for viewers to tune in to Telly-quality streams. While you lot can technically stream as long as y'all meet the minimum requirements, you should e'er plan to have at least an extra 5 Mbps to account for fluctuations in speed.
Hither's the breakdown of how much upload speed y'all'll need to livestream on different platforms.
Twitch
Twitch is the biggest site for video game streaming, so if y'all want 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 tv, while 60 fps is a common framerate in video games. Just like resolution, frame rate affects the amount of speed you need to stream, so if you don't have the fastest connection, you might accept to make a trade-off.
Facebook Live
Facebook keeps information technology unproblematic, listing only the absolute minimum requirements for streaming on the platform. But that'due south non to say you can't attain a decent video quality with Facebook.
Although you tin commencement a livestream on Facebook with null more than your phone and the Facebook app, Facebook Live is also 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 Male child Advance) to streaming in full 4K UHD.2, 3 Nosotros'd recommend shooting for somewhere in the middle. Plenty of professional streamers stream at 1080p, and that's a high enough resolution to wait expert on everything from prison cell phones to Television set screens.
You demand extra net speed for a stable video stream
We propose that you lot effort to take x–fifteen Mbps more upload speed than the minimum requirement for the quality of video you're trying to stream and even more if you lot know that your connexion has regular problems with slowdown.
Another good rule of pollex is to take twice as much upload speed as whatever you lot set your bitrate to exist, simply to be safe. Not all your viewers will find the subtle difference between thirty and 60 fps, merely everyone will notice if your stream starts freezing and stuttering.
If you just barely meet the speed requirements for the video you're trying to stream, the slightest fluctuation in your connection tin can interfere with or even crash your stream. That'south considering livestreaming is a lot trickier than streaming video from Netflix. Since your stream isn't prerecorded, the server can't buffer to smooth out the normal ups and downs in cyberspace speed.
As well, remember that if you're streaming to multiple platforms simultaneously, you need enough total bandwidth that each stream has plenty of upload speed. For example, if you're streaming 1080p video to both Twitch (six Mbps minimum) and YouTube (3 Mbps minimum), you'd need an upload speed of at least nine Mbps, though realistically, you'd need 15–20 Mbps to keep both streams stable.
Why is a stable video stream so important?
Livestreaming is much more technologically enervating than just playing games. About online games can become by on a pretty modest internet connexion, as long equally at that place's low latency. Livestreaming turns your habitation into your own personal Goggle box station, broadcasting high-resolution video to your fans.
To grow an gorging fan base on a platform like Twitch, y'all need to evangelize a quality experience. A reliable photographic camera, good audio equipment, and a fancy gaming computer are all important investments for whatever dedicated streamer, but none of that makes much of a difference to those watching if your stream freezes and staggers throughout the broadcast.
A reliable internet connection is one of the first investments an aspiring streamer should make.
What type of net is best for livestreaming?
The all-time internet connection for livestreaming is cobweb. To livestream, y'all need a reliable connection with good upload speeds and low latency. In all three of those categories, fiber-optic connections are past far the all-time pick. If cobweb isn't available in your area, you probably want to go with a wired connection, as wireless connections tend to be more susceptible to interference and generally experience college latency.
DSL and satellite connections mostly aren't fast or stable enough for streamers, so you lot're probably going to need either cable or fiber internet.
Cable connections tin attain upload speeds between 5 Mbps and l Mbps, then the best cable plans tin can handle HD streaming, but slower connections will be lucky to deliver anything above Game Boy quality. Cable is besides prone to slowing downwardly at peak hours, so unless y'all stream in the middle of the night, you lot might have to plan effectually the inevitable drop in speed.
Fiber, on the other paw, has symmetrical upload and download speeds, which means if you lot take gigabit download speeds, you get the exact same speeds for your uploads. Cobweb is also a much more stable connection and doesn't endure from the same kind of slowing issues that cable has to deal with. All these factors make fiber the ideal connection for streamers.
For more information, check out our page on fiber providers.
How does latency affect livestreaming?
Latency is the time it takes for a signal to travel from your computer to a server on the internet. It essentially determines the reaction time of your net connectedness. Having high latency will cause lag in games or calls, delaying your reactions and causing problems.
Because streaming is primarily one-way advice, latency is handled a scrap differently than it is in a video call. Streaming software usually performs more than encoding and compression on your video (though yous can arrange this in your settings) in order to ameliorate the final quality at the expense of a few seconds of delay. This isn't commonly noticeable to your audition unless you're streaming a Q&A session or a live result.
One important precaution for streamers to take is to use a wired connection to your router instead of Wi-Fi when possible. Fifty-fifty fast, reliable Wi-Fi introduces a bit of actress latency into your connection, and then a wired connectedness is definitely preferable. If you lot don't already have one, go yourself an Ethernet cable.
Why am I still getting dropped frames?
Exercise you lot accept a solid internet connection but your video notwithstanding looks choppy? Video game streams often suffer from dropped frames, where instead of the video playing smoothly from i frame to the next, the same frame will play twice in a row and so skip frontward. If enough frames are dropped, information technology can lead to jittery, uneven video.
Although a slow or unstable net connection tin cause a stream to drop frames, dropped frames are often a trouble with your capture bill of fare. If your capture card can't record and encode your video data fast enough to proceed up with your framerate, the result is dropped frames in your stream.
Before you lot fork out the money to upgrade to a better capture card, there are a few things you can try. First, bank check your internet speed to make sure you're getting the upload speed you think you are. Besides, make certain that yous're plugged into your router and not relying on Wi-Fi.
If y'all try those things and are certain that it's not your connectedness, attempt adjusting the settings in your streaming software, lowering your bitrate. You can also try updating your reckoner'due south network drivers.
- Twitch, "Press Heart," Accessed October v, 2020.
- Nokia Museum, "Nokia Asha 301," Accessed October 5, 2020.
- CNET, "Nintendo Game Boy Advance Specs," Accessed October 5, 2020
Writer - Peter Christiansen
Peter Christiansen writes nearly satellite net, rural connectivity, livestreaming, and parental controls for HighSpeedInternet.com. Peter holds a PhD in communication from the Academy of Utah and has been working in tech for over xv years as a computer programmer, game developer, filmmaker, and writer. 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's edited all things internet for HighSpeedInternet.com for five years. She graduated with a BA in English and a pocket-size in editing from Brigham Young University. When she'due south non editing, she makes tech accessible through her freelance writing for brands like Pluralsight. She believes no one should experience lost in internet state and that a proficient cyberspace connection significantly extends your life span.
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