Can cam sites be used for real-time (lag free) chat & interaction?

[alton99]

I am a new CB member this year and it has become clear to me that what I find most gratifying is the personal connections, beyond just sex. And with one broadcaster in particular I have developed a sort of rapport (note: I intentionally did NOT say 'relationship' ), and we are trying to have video chats to get to know each other a bit better (i.e. a private in her room, while she is in my room). But so far I have had no real success doing this via CB because the lag makes conversation all but impossible (usually 5-10 seconds).

CB support has thus far been mostly unhelpful -- they only suggested using OBS, which I tried and it didn't help. A quick search online reveals many people complaining about lag on camming sites, with many saying that is just the nature of these sites. So this provokes a basic question for me:

Can cam sites, and CB specifically, be used for natural, lag-free (like < 1s, say) video chatting?
(as can be done with meeting sites & apps like skype, zoom, facetime, etc)

Maybe it's just a matter of getting the OBS settings just right?

I should mention that I test the lag by broadcasting from my room on my desktop PC (w/ Logitech Brio) while viewing my stream anonymously on a laptop, both on my home LAN. I have verified 150/150 internet service, and will be upgrading to 1 gig service next week, so I can't imagine my internet connection is in any way responsible for my issues.

It's not just about what I want as a fan either. My partner & I have considered broadcasting as a couple and I imagine we would prefer not to have this lag while broadcasting.

Thanks for any thoughts and/or advice anyone has to offer.

 

[maskedsissyslutforyou]

The lag is because the transcode (to different resolutions/bandwidth) plus network distribution design is very different for a "broadcast(one to many)". The broadcast design uses much fewer resources, but causes the stream to be send via many different hops and each hop takes some time and adds a lag. I would expect the delay to vary depending on how many hops away the viewer is. So on a given broadcast the delays will be different for different viewers depending on where they are in the world.

The meeting apps likely do a simple star topology (data goes to one node and then gets send to everyone on the meeting--so a single hop), and may not even transcode.

OBS is likely adding some delay in, but I would expect it to be well under a second, so in the scheme of things is not a major contributor to the delay the viewers see.

 

[cbhours]

I am a new CB member this year and it has become clear to me that what I find most gratifying is the personal connections, beyond just sex. And with one broadcaster in particular I have developed a sort of rapport (note: I intentionally did NOT say 'relationship' ), and we are trying to have video chats to get to know each other a bit better (i.e. a private in her room, while she is in my room). But so far I have had no real success doing this via CB because the lag makes conversation all but impossible (usually 5-10 seconds).

CB support has thus far been mostly unhelpful -- they only suggested using OBS, which I tried and it didn't help. A quick search online reveals many people complaining about lag on camming sites, with many saying that is just the nature of these sites. So this provokes a basic question for me:

Can cam sites, and CB specifically, be used for natural, lag-free (like < 1s, say) video chatting?
(as can be done with meeting sites & apps like skype, zoom, facetime, etc)

Maybe it's just a matter of getting the OBS settings just right?

I should mention that I test the lag by broadcasting from my room on my desktop PC (w/ Logitech Brio) while viewing my stream anonymously on a laptop, both on my home LAN. I have verified 150/150 internet service, and will be upgrading to 1 gig service next week, so I can't imagine my internet connection is in any way responsible for my issues.

It's not just about what I want as a fan either. My partner & I have considered broadcasting as a couple and I imagine we would prefer not to have this lag while broadcasting.

Thanks for any thoughts and/or advice anyone has to offer.

Stripchat is the only one as far as I know. They pushed for low latency support at the expense of more specific obs setting requirements.

 

[alton99]

thanks so much for the replies. i had a real suspicion that there was a basic tech reason these sites could not be used this way. oh well.

ok, so then do you all have any tips on how to minimize the lag? i meen i already tried all the obvious things (reducing the image resolution, bitrate, etc.), including the recommended settings on the CB fag page for OBS, but nothing made a differnence. in fact using OBS (with any settings) caused more latency than broadcasting directly from the CB site (abnout 5 sec on CB, and 10+ sec via OBS).

 

[Rytar]

Lack of the obvious, for private 1on1 why wouldn't one just use skype etc, there all lag free. Seems more logical way for friends to chat back and forth instead of using cam sites that all basically have delays with video chatting.

 

[Vixxen81]

There's a built in five second delay to simulate live streaming on Chaturbate. There's no way to get rid of that particular piece of the puzzle. In general, the faster your internet speed (and her's) is the smoother everything will go but there will never be a 100% seamless experience unless you use Skype.

 

[alton99]

There's a built in five second delay to simulate live streaming on Chaturbate. There's no way to get rid of that particular piece of the puzzle. In general, the faster your internet speed (and her's) is the smoother everything will go but there will never be a 100% seamless experience unless you use Skype.

Thank you. I am going to take this as the definitive answer, and what I suspected. Thank you again.

 

[Vixxen81]

Thank you. I am going to take this as the definitive answer, and what I suspected. Thank you again.

You're welcome. I have had a number of people complain I was a video because of this feature. Once explained they were like ohhhh I get it now.

 

[alton99]

Lack of the obvious, for private 1on1 why wouldn't one just use skype etc, there all lag free. Seems more logical way for friends to chat back and forth instead of using cam sites that all basically have delays with video chatting.

Yes true, but we are not actually friends, and moving off Chaturbate would violate the established boundaries (for her and me). But mostly I am asking this question to understand what is possible and what is not on these platforms for my needs, both as a member as well as a broadcaster (soon, I hope). But thanks for you input.

 

[alton99]

You're welcome. I have had a number of people complain I was a video because of this feature. Once explained they were like ohhhh I get it now.

That's very interesting -- I had the same suspicion a number of times with certain broadcasters. Makes more sense now.

So is it actually possible to simply run a video of a previous broadcast on CB & such?

 

[alton99]

The lag is because the transcode (to different resolutions/bandwidth) plus network distribution design is very different for a "broadcast(one to many)". The broadcast design uses much fewer resources, but causes the stream to be send via many different hops and each hop takes some time and adds a lag. I would expect the delay to vary depending on how many hops away the viewer is. So on a given broadcast the delays will be different for different viewers depending on where they are in the world.

The meeting apps likely do a simple star topology (data goes to one node and then gets send to everyone on the meeting--so a single hop), and may not even transcode.

OBS is likely adding some delay in, but I would expect it to be well under a second, so in the scheme of things is not a major contributor to the delay the viewers see.

Sorry I forgot to thank you for your input - so thank you.

 

[Vixxen81]

That's very interesting -- I had the same suspicion a number of times with certain broadcasters. Makes more sense now.

So is it actually possible to simply run a video of a previous broadcast on CB & such?

You can, I'm not sure of all that entails, but numerous people have been banned for doing so, even if it's just a video on a brb screen.

 

[Vixxen81]

Oh, I forgot to add something. My beat piece of advice is to let the other person finish speaking before you try to say something in return.

 

[alton99]

Oh, I forgot to add something. My beat piece of advice is to let the other person finish speaking before you try to say something in return.

that makes sense. thanks. may not be too bad i guess -- probably just have to get used to speaking in turns and waiting 5s.

 

[Ozzie_]

So is it actually possible to simply run a video of a previous broadcast on CB & such?

I'll add info for one of the "and such":-

On Stripchat, for example, whilst it is "possible" to broadcast a recording, it is prohibited / forbidden to do so, and I suspect it would lead to a permanent ban, not merely a suspension..​