How good does my computer have to be for livestreaming?

Elrenu

Elrenu

Official Completionist Seal of Approval
I live stream all the time, but it is a bit of a mess, as I cannot record a lot because my computer is absolutely terrible while XSplit is running, and this is without screen capture and before the broadcast even starts.

I'm forced to rely on Console, when I really can't because I want better Quality, however, even when streaming from my current capture card (Diamond VC500) I get many dropped frames. I know this isn't a computer site but this is worth trying.

This is my System Info from DXDiag
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System Information
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Time of this report: 4/5/2013, 21:49:27
Machine name: APERTURESCIENCE
Operating System: Windows 8 Pro 64-bit (6.2, Build 9200) (9200.win8_gdr.130108-1504)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: Dell XPS720
BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A06
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme CPU Q6850 @ 3.00GHz (4 CPUs), ~3.0GHz
Memory: 5632MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 5630MB RAM
Page File: 3362MB used, 7898MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: 120 DPI (125 percent)
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.02.9200.16384 64bit Unicode


I should have 8GB of Ram but I guess I have a problem with that, but what would I need to help out with livestreaming?
 
Honestly it depends on a few things we need to know.
  • What quality level do you want to stream in? (720/60fps or 720/30fps or what?)
  • What type of games are you going to stream?
  • What program are you going to use to stream?

Streaming is hard in a couple of ways.
It's hard on your PC because you're playing a game while streaming. This means the game you're playing will take up resources on your PC and leave you with whatever's left for streaming. So if it's an intense game, it's harder to stream at the same time than if the game is very easy to run.
Streaming itself is VERY processor intensive. It uses a little of the rest of your system but mostly your processor. This will limit the quality you can stream in. For example; streaming 720/60p is TWICE as hard on your processor as streaming 720/30p. Double the frames means more encoding for your processor to do.

It looks like you have a boxed PC you got somewhere. These are not typically great for gaming or streaming but it can do the trick depending on what you're going to try to play. I will say this, I don't think a person should really even attempt to stream until they can do at LEAST 720/30p. If you go and stream at 360 or 480, it's just not going to compete.

I live stream 4 days a week to a nice little community and build my own PC's and such. If you can answer some of these questions, I may be able to help you with what you CAN and what you CAN'T do.
 
I'm also wondering the same questions since I've tried livestreaming once with XSplit and all it came up with was a black screen...

If you wanna' emulate games they harder to record since it all relies on your CPU, you would need a quad core at least to stream and play at the same time.
 
TheRomanticsWB said:
Honestly it depends on a few things we need to know.
  • What quality level do you want to stream in? (720/60fps or 720/30fps or what?)
  • What type of games are you going to stream?
  • What program are you going to use to stream?
Streaming is hard in a couple of ways.
It's hard on your PC because you're playing a game while streaming. This means the game you're playing will take up resources on your PC and leave you with whatever's left for streaming. So if it's an intense game, it's harder to stream at the same time than if the game is very easy to run.
Streaming itself is VERY processor intensive. It uses a little of the rest of your system but mostly your processor. This will limit the quality you can stream in. For example; streaming 720/60p is TWICE as hard on your processor as streaming 720/30p. Double the frames means more encoding for your processor to do.

It looks like you have a boxed PC you got somewhere. These are not typically great for gaming or streaming but it can do the trick depending on what you're going to try to play. I will say this, I don't think a person should really even attempt to stream until they can do at LEAST 720/30p. If you go and stream at 360 or 480, it's just not going to compete.

I live stream 4 days a week to a nice little community and build my own PC's and such. If you can answer some of these questions, I may be able to help you with what you CAN and what you CAN'T do.
Click to expand...
Well, I really don't care about the quality, as nice as the 60 fps would be if I could. 480p works find with what I have. The video it shows is rather laggy however, and I feel it shouldn't be.

I record with XSplit, I hear it's the best. Though is there something similar to it and faster?

I record off my capture card which works well, however I will be getting an Elgato Game Capture HD, which might give a different effect.
I record emulators, and an NES emulator lags with Screen Capture on the chat as well. With SNES I don't generally see this problem.

I do wish to record games like Minecraft, or Terraria, or Sonic Adventure 2/ Sonic Generations.
Minecraft, for whatever reason, drops from 150-180 fps to 8 fps, though making the window smaller helps a bit. I do have Windows Aero turned off as well, and now the 8gb is installed correctly.
 
In the end though, it's not even up to your computers specs. If you don't have an internet connection with good download/upload speed (I'd recommend 8mbps Upload Speed) then your stream will be bad quality even using great equipment. So, It does require a lot of good hardware, and a lot of patience. :)
 
Elrenu said:
Well, I really don't care about the quality, as nice as the 60 fps would be if I could. 480p works find with what I have. The video it shows is rather laggy however, and I feel it shouldn't be.

I record with XSplit, I hear it's the best. Though is there something similar to it and faster?

I record off my capture card which works well, however I will be getting an Elgato Game Capture HD, which might give a different effect.
I record emulators, and an NES emulator lags with Screen Capture on the chat as well. With SNES I don't generally see this problem.

I do wish to record games like Minecraft, or Terraria, or Sonic Adventure 2/ Sonic Generations.
Minecraft, for whatever reason, drops from 150-180 fps to 8 fps, though making the window smaller helps a bit. I do have Windows Aero turned off as well, and now the 8gb is installed correctly.
Click to expand...

480p is ok for older games and some of the things you're talking about. One of the problems you're running into is caused by screen capturing chat. Any screen capturing requires a fair amount of resources in Xsplit. Your rig isn't really great for streaming anything but it should be possible.

To be clear are you talking about lag ON your pc? Lag as in, it freezes, trying to move windows around is sluggish, etc... or are you referring to lag on your actual stream page where the video lags there but it's fine locally on your PC? Have to clear that up before I can help with it.

I can help you get it running. I have a viewer I helped get his working and he has a 7 year old PC with a dual core and I got him streaming at 720/30p just fine. The resolution is just literally the Size/Shape of the stream so I still recommend 720. It fits the window right and looks the same small or larger. Your actual resolution is dependent on the bitrate of the video you push. So a 720/30p stream could look WORSE than a 480 if the bitrate is lower than the bitrate on the 480.

Still need more info man. Give me your settings in xsplit and I'll help you tweak them. Btw, Free Xsplit is utter garbage. There's a newer open source, free alternative called OBS. It's harder to set up but there are plenty of tutorials out there already. Just search for OBS in google. It's Open Broadcaster Software.

So list your settings in xsplit, they apply if you use OBS also and I'll probably be able to tell right away what the problem is.[DOUBLEPOST=1365230515,1365230441][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh and Minecraft will be almost impossible with that rig at any decent bitrate. Minecraft is super hard on your processor. More so than some AAA titles with crazy graphics.
 
TheRomanticsWB said:
480p is ok for older games and some of the things you're talking about. One of the problems you're running into is caused by screen capturing chat. Any screen capturing requires a fair amount of resources in Xsplit. Your rig isn't really great for streaming anything but it should be possible.

To be clear are you talking about lag ON your pc? Lag as in, it freezes, trying to move windows around is sluggish, etc... or are you referring to lag on your actual stream page where the video lags there but it's fine locally on your PC? Have to clear that up before I can help with it.

I can help you get it running. I have a viewer I helped get his working and he has a 7 year old PC with a dual core and I got him streaming at 720/30p just fine. The resolution is just literally the Size/Shape of the stream so I still recommend 720. It fits the window right and looks the same small or larger. Your actual resolution is dependent on the bitrate of the video you push. So a 720/30p stream could look WORSE than a 480 if the bitrate is lower than the bitrate on the 480.

Still need more info man. Give me your settings in xsplit and I'll help you tweak them. Btw, Free Xsplit is utter garbage. There's a newer open source, free alternative called OBS. It's harder to set up but there are plenty of tutorials out there already. Just search for OBS in google. It's Open Broadcaster Software.

So list your settings in xsplit, they apply if you use OBS also and I'll probably be able to tell right away what the problem is.[DOUBLEPOST=1365230515,1365230441][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh and Minecraft will be almost impossible with that rig at any decent bitrate. Minecraft is super hard on your processor. More so than some AAA titles with crazy graphics.
Click to expand...

Are these what you want?

533315_10200899272353509_825403919_n.jpg

Resolution 854 x 480
Framerate: usually at 25 or 30

Also, I'm talking about lag in the Xsplit window itself. The video itself in Xsplit has dropped frames no matter the framerate.
 
Wow. If your video is lagging IN the xsplit window and you're dropping frames constantly, your bandwidth isn't cutting it or your processor just isn't going to do the trick.

Go to testmydotnet and run a test and post your results.
 
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