How to live stream with bad internet
A stream does not have to be sharp to stay on air. The aim on a bad connection is simple: never go dark, and look as good as the line allows.
1. Know what your upload really is
Run the upload speed test at the time you will stream. Use at most two thirds of it for video. If you measure 3 Mbps up, aim for about 2,000 kbps. The bitrate calculator does the sum for you.
2. Lower the picture before the sound
A smaller picture at a steady rate looks better than a big one that stutters. 720p at 30 frames is a good level for weak lines. Keep the sound at 96 to 128 kbps: people forgive a soft picture long before they forgive bad sound.
3. Let the app step down instead of freezing
Streamdzy watches how much your line carries. When it cannot keep up, it lowers the picture a step at a time and keeps the centre sharp, instead of freezing for viewers. When the line recovers it climbs back by itself.
4. The lifeline: still on air at under 100 kbps
If almost nothing gets through, Streamdzy keeps going with a very small picture and a clear voice rather than dropping out. We measured what the stream weighs at each step with a moving test picture and a tone for the voice:
| Line carries about | Picture | Whole stream weighs | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 kbps | 640 × 360, 15 pictures a second | 172 kbps | 77 MB |
| 120 kbps | 480 × 270, 12 a second | 90 kbps | 40 MB |
| 60 kbps | 426 × 240, 10 a second | 65 kbps | 29 MB |
| 40 kbps | 320 × 180, 8 a second | 58 kbps | 26 MB |
A real camera picture needs closer to the top of each range than a test pattern does. The lowest step stays under 100 kbps including the voice. Your own recording is always made at full quality.
5. Hide short drops completely
The Record first keeps viewers 10 to 60 seconds behind and plays the buffer while your connection recovers. If the outage is longer than the buffer, the relay replays the last seconds of the show and then shows your standby screen, so the platform keeps its session and viewers stay.
6. Small things that help
- Use a cable instead of Wi-Fi, or move closer to the router and use the 5 GHz band.
- Close cloud backups, game downloads and other streams on the same network.
- Avoid a VPN unless you need one.
- Add a second connection, such as a phone on a cable: see streaming over two connections.
Questions
What bitrate should I use on a weak connection?
About two thirds of your measured upload for video, for example 2,000 kbps on a 3 Mbps upload. Let auto-soften handle dips.
Is the lifeline free?
Yes. Stepping down, the lifeline, Record first with your own relay and extra connections are all part of the free app.
Does the lifeline affect my recording?
No. The recording is made separately at full quality; only what is sent to viewers gets smaller.
Want all of this in one app?
Streamdzy is a free streaming and recording app for Windows: several cameras, your phone as a camera, going live to many places at once, and recording first so a bad connection never costs you the show.