How to stream without lag: a checklist
Lag has a few common causes. Work down this list in order and you will find yours.
1. Check your upload, not your download
Run the upload speed test. You need your bitrate plus 30% spare. If you are short, lower the bitrate or the resolution (resolution first).
2. Use a cable
Wi-Fi drops packets and varies. A network cable is the single best fix for dropped frames over the network.
3. Dropped frames: network or PC?
If frames drop at the network (the stream cannot send fast enough), lower the bitrate. If frames drop at the encoder (the PC cannot keep up), use hardware encoding (NVIDIA, Intel or AMD), lower the resolution or frame rate, or close heavy programs. Streamdzy steps the bitrate down automatically instead of freezing.
4. Close what you do not need
Browsers with many tabs, cloud backups, and game launchers all compete for your CPU and upload.
5. Keep the same frame rate end to end
If your camera drops to 15 fps in low light, your whole picture stutters. Add light, and test with the webcam test.
6. Phone cameras
A phone over a congested Wi-Fi will lag. Use a USB cable or the PC’s own hotspot, and keep the PC on a cable to the router.
7. If the internet itself is unreliable
Use a stream delay so viewers never see short drops (Record first), and keep a local recording.
Questions
What is a good frame drop number?
Under 1% is fine. Over 5% is visible.
Is lag the same as buffering?
Lag is delay between you and viewers. Buffering is viewers’ video pausing, usually because your stream is not arriving fast enough.
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.