Best Streaming Experience?

[NoraSkyes]

I am looking to up my stream quality, I live in a shed so I have no ability to connect to solid wifi and I have been using my phone's hotspot. I have been told my streams are choppy, lag and I have been told by a few guys that they would have taken me private if not for the poor FPS.


I am looking at a Nighthawk LTW Mobile Hotspot as a replacement.
It's a little pricy but I see better connection as a good investment. I was hoping someone had advice with this issue as getting a solid router set up is out of the question because of how far out my shed is. TLDR; It would cost too much at the time being.

Next is a camera, I have been using the built in camera with my MacBook Pro and its decent but I want to get the best quality I can out of my shows. I am new to the tech talk so I don't know much about the whole OBS thing but I have also heard some safety concerns regarding it as well. Whats your personal opinion with it and what have you found to be the best quality camera?


Lastly, are the only major things that feed into stream quality wi-fi and cameras or should I look into other upgrades too?

 

[melanieoncam]

I think your stream quality has more to do with the service than the hardware. I'm assuming you're in the USA, if not disregard my post. If I were limited to a hotspot I'd choose Tmobile or Verizon only. They seem to be the most steady stream. Whenever I've used other providersI get dropped connections.

 

[Lelo1]

Do you know what your current device work at 3g? 4g? 4g+? How many bars are you getting?
How old is your computer?

There is some good info in Portable wifi?!, SaffronBurke has said she use to get 30 Mbps upload on Verizon. With an averaging of 1GB per hour streamed. she didn't mention what resolution / frame / codex she was streaming at at the time.

30 Mbps match up with a 4G+ device.

real world, your mileage may very depending on your settings, extra.
480p @ 30 fps 264MB per hour
720 @ 30 fps 870MB per hour (2-3 Mbps)
1080p @ 30 fps 1.65GB per hour (4-5 Mbps)
4k @ 30 fps 7GB per hour (25 Mbps)


Some hotspots support external Antenna. If you don't have wall power, you might want to consider hotspot battery life.

 

[Deleted member 37064]

I'll agree with those who said that poor quality FPS is a deterrant to going private, as I have issues staying in a room if there's really choppy video. I've also dropped out of privates because of how bad a connection is on the model's side. So, I'm hoping you're able to make something work and have better results.

With that, the max length you can run solid copper ethernet is 328 feet or 100 meters. If you're renting, is there a way you can work something out with them that you can run a cable from their router? You might need to do a couple of short runs such as one from their router to a small switch, then again to a device within your place? I did this with a neighbor of mine, where I routed a cat5e ethernet over to their house as they couldn't afford internet. Biggest thing if you can do this, is to run a VPN tunnel and a firewall so they can't scan your traffic. Of course, you're at their mercy of their service. But, would give you the best connection.

Short of that, I would look into the thread lolo1 mentioned about portable wifi. Or, look into satellite internet providers or over the air internet such as from AT&T. Though, the last two might require someone to professionally install it.

Wish you all the best on this @NoraSkyes

 

[NoraSkyes]

I think your stream quality has more to do with the service than the hardware. I'm assuming you're in the USA, if not disregard my post. If I were limited to a hotspot I'd choose Tmobile or Verizon only. They seem to be the most steady stream. Whenever I've used other providersI get dropped connections.

I was at BestBuy last night and they suggested the same thing. According to the informant, AT&T really is stingy with their service and is always trying to screw you out of your money. The hotspot I was looking at would have been $200 up front and then an additional $20 per month and who knows how much more if it went over the max data they offer for their hotspots which was only a measly 9Gb.

Do you know what your current device work at 3g? 4g? 4g+? How many bars are you getting?
How old is your computer?

There is some good info in Portable wifi?!, SaffronBurke has said she use to get 30 Mbps upload on Verizon. With an averaging of 1GB per hour streamed. she didn't mention what resolution / frame / codex she was streaming at at the time.

30 Mbps match up with a 4G+ device.

real world, your mileage may very depending on your settings, extra.
480p @ 30 fps 264MB per hour
720 @ 30 fps 870MB per hour (2-3 Mbps)
1080p @ 30 fps 1.65GB per hour (4-5 Mbps)
4k @ 30 fps 7GB per hour (25 Mbps)


Some hotspots support external Antenna. If you don't have wall power, you might want to consider hotspot battery life.

I was hoping to reach at least 1080p, though I feel discouraged after speaking with the BestBuy folks as they told me that Verizon quit doing their prepaid hotspots and they say that for streaming any hotspot "Won't give out good quality" and advised me to not purchase anything.

I currently stream using a 2018 Macbook Pro with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor. As for connection, I have been using my AT&T serviced iphone 8 with its built in hotspot. It is a 4G phone but I honestly have no clue about the output status for the connection. When streaming I usually have an average of three bars.

I'll agree with those who said that poor quality FPS is a deterrant to going private, as I have issues staying in a room if there's really choppy video. I've also dropped out of privates because of how bad a connection is on the model's side. So, I'm hoping you're able to make something work and have better results.

With that, the max length you can run solid copper ethernet is 328 feet or 100 meters. If you're renting, is there a way you can work something out with them that you can run a cable from their router? You might need to do a couple of short runs such as one from their router to a small switch, then again to a device within your place? I did this with a neighbor of mine, where I routed a cat5e ethernet over to their house as they couldn't afford internet. Biggest thing if you can do this, is to run a VPN tunnel and a firewall so they can't scan your traffic. Of course, you're at their mercy of their service. But, would give you the best connection.

Short of that, I would look into the thread lolo1 mentioned about portable wifi. Or, look into satellite internet providers or over the air internet such as from AT&T. Though, the last two might require someone to professionally install it.

Wish you all the best on this @NoraSkyes

Yes, I have been told my video quality is choppy and that it lags for the video and sound, my regulars tell me that issue is common on MFC but I would like to fix it to the best that I can. My goal simply is a nice clean and non laggy stream.

I live out in a rural area, my family found out I had begun camming and long story short they kicked me out of the house so I have been living and camming from a shed on the property. Its my long term goal to find a place to rent, but I can't afford that at the time being so I have to stick with what I have. I really wish I could go with a solid internet provider but I don't think it is doable until I find my own place sadly. Thank you so much for the suggestions though!

 

[Lelo1]

I was hoping to reach at least 1080p, though I feel discouraged after speaking with the BestBuy folks as they told me that Verizon quit doing their prepaid hotspots and they say that for streaming any hotspot "Won't give out good quality" and advised me to not purchase anything.

It seems like other models have managed it on cell; but cell reception isn't the same everywhere.

2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor.

an i7 is more then enough for 1080p.

I have been using my AT&T serviced iphone 8 with its built in hotspot. It is a 4G phone but I honestly have no clue about the output status for the connection. When streaming I usually have an average of three bars.

Do you know if your hitting your monthly cap?
Have you tried calling ATT? You could always say your trying to stream to twitch and the quality isn't good. Maybe you'll find out you've already hit your monthly cap or some thing.

kicked me out of the house so I have been living and camming from a shed on the property. Its my long term goal to find a place to rent,

As ForceTen pointed out, if you can run an outdoor rated Ethernet cable from house to shed. Or use a wireless bridge from the house to the shed. But if they're not on board, I'm guessing they'll be against it.

 

[melanieoncam]

I was at BestBuy last night and they suggested the same thing. According to the informant, AT&T really is stingy with their service and is always trying to screw you out of your money. The hotspot I was looking at would have been $200 up front and then an additional $20 per month and who knows how much more if it went over the max data they offer for their hotspots which was only a measly 9Gb.


I was hoping to reach at least 1080p, though I feel discouraged after speaking with the BestBuy folks as they told me that Verizon quit doing their prepaid hotspots and they say that for streaming any hotspot "Won't give out good quality" and advised me to not purchase anything.

I currently stream using a 2018 Macbook Pro with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor. As for connection, I have been using my AT&T serviced iphone 8 with its built in hotspot. It is a 4G phone but I honestly have no clue about the output status for the connection. When streaming I usually have an average of three bars.


Yes, I have been told my video quality is choppy and that it lags for the video and sound, my regulars tell me that issue is common on MFC but I would like to fix it to the best that I can. My goal simply is a nice clean and non laggy stream.

I live out in a rural area, my family found out I had begun camming and long story short they kicked me out of the house so I have been living and camming from a shed on the property. Its my long term goal to find a place to rent, but I can't afford that at the time being so I have to stick with what I have. I really wish I could go with a solid internet provider but I don't think it is doable until I find my own place sadly. Thank you so much for the suggestions though!

AT&T does absolutely suck, I do agree with that.

The guys and gals at BestBuy are helpful but they aren't cam hosts. I'd ask other hosts if you know of any (preferably some in your area) who need to use hotspots and see what they use.

If I were in your situation I'd give Tmobile a try if they service your area. I've streamed from my phone's hotspot (Mine's an Android Motorola Moto E) and see no difference in that and a dedicated mobile hotspot so I don't think you need that. I wasn't able to get 1080p but I did get a nice clear stream (I think it was 720p maybe?, been awhile). I had 4 bars and it was very steady. Definitely not as good as my cable internet but still made good $ with it.

 

[Emberblaze]

Have you considered making a shit ton of clips and then going somewhere with wifi and uploading them to a bunch of ssites once or twice a week? Manyvids, clips4sale, niteflirt, mfc share etc.

The quicker you can build your Empire the quicker you can have some more stability on your Internet and living situation. Clips could help a lot. Fetish, cosplay, explicit, femdom whatever.

Also I think Saffrons example was 1gig per hour with 720p as that's what streamate maxes out at.

 

[Deleted member 37064]

Have you considered making a shit ton of clips and then going somewhere with wifi and uploading them to a bunch of ssites once or twice a week? Manyvids, clips4sale, niteflirt, mfc share etc.

The quicker you can build your Empire the quicker you can have some more stability on your Internet and living situation. Clips could help a lot. Fetish, cosplay, explicit, femdom whatever.

Also I think Saffrons example was 1gig per hour with 720p as that's what streamate maxes out at.

I was just thinking about this, where if she's not able to stream often she could probably up her content that doesn't require her to be streaming. It's a shitty situation, and I hope there's something she can get worked out to improve her living situation.

 

[BraisleeAdams]

As someone who lives in a place where when it rains, my home internet becomes unreliable, I've been saved by hotspot usage. I'm on t-mobile and their service offers 7Gbs of tethering/hotspot from your phone. I use that and have another hotspot just in case, or when I went to conventions in previous years I could just hotspot with my phone or the standalone hotspot and never have to worry about internet issues if it was lacking at the convention. If you have a semi-recent phone, the built in hotspot will usually be a lot better than a standalone.

 

[JoleneBrody]

I cam 100% from mobile data on Verizon. I have three jetpacks I cycle through (only 15g each per month) and have streamed from my phone hotspot a couple times. In general, it does great but service varies by area. I have a speed test app by ookla on my phone I use to test my up and down. If I’m getting less than 1.5 up, camming is really hard.
I would suggest you do a speed test first just to see what you’re getting.
I use an average of 1 1/2g per cam session of about 3 hrs. I stream on high resolution but the lower settings otherwise I get choppy.
If you have some decent shifts then it goes bad, you may have gone over your hotspot allowance and are getting throttled. You’ll want to run the speed test also on your laptop while you are connected to the hotspot. Most providers send you a text to tell you you used it up but I don’t know how att does it.
I have carconnect WiFi unlimited in my truck and it has saved my butt and worked great but that’s a whole different type of service