What is stream delay, and why use one?
A stream delay holds your show back a few seconds before viewers see it. Those seconds are a safety net.
What it does
Instead of sending video the moment it exists, the stream waits. Viewers watch 10, 20 or 60 seconds behind real time. During that wait, three things become possible: your internet can drop briefly without viewers noticing, you can cut a mistake before it airs, and nobody can use your live stream to ambush you in a game.
When it helps
- Unreliable internet, mobile data and trains.
- Events where you cannot afford a stall.
- Competitive games where stream sniping matters.
- Live shows where you might say something you want to dump.
When not to use it
When you talk with chat in real time. A 20-second delay makes conversation feel odd. For that, use a normal low-latency stream.
Important: a delay must be real
An extra delay set on a platform does not protect against drops: if your PC stops sending, the platform has nothing to play. Real protection means recording first and sending from a place that does not depend on your PC’s connection, such as a relay. That is what Streamdzy’s Record first does: the relay runs on your own free Cloudflare account, and we tested that a 6-second cut produced no stalls for viewers.
Questions
How long a delay should I choose?
20 seconds is a good default. Use 60 seconds on mobile data, and 5 minutes or more only for breaks you want hidden.
Does a delay affect recording?
No. Your local recording is always the full, undelayed original.
Keep going
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.