Upload speed for caming 2020 Edition

[Lunaluck_]

hey guys ! hopefully it is okay I made a new thread, as with all the new capabilities 720p and hd and the new obs with group/private chat that was just added ( mfc only) im just looking for some current info/guidance

I Live in an older apartment building but in the middle of a large city, however im having a very frustrating internet issue ( again lol) I have a fast internet package that gets up to 100mbs upload speed! 5 days out of 7 its that and irs awesome, but two days of the week itll just be terrible all day and jump around 3mps- 8 mps and viewers tell me how my stream is freezing/ lagging. My internet provider tried a number of things but is now just blaming it on the wiring in my building. Its driving me crazy as some days im completely unable to work and I never know which days that will happen ( I do think it could be traffic related but with everyone working from home its hard to even know when peak hours are right now) I have a few questions that if anyone could help me with id be super grateful

- if seen some threads on this site where people are talking about a a 0.8/1/2 or something upload speed how are they managing to cam at all if I can issues at 7mps?
- I notice no difference if im on web rtc or obs but is there one that demands less/ would work better?
- in 2020 to have a great stream and high quality what is the optimal upload speed or range I should be looking for

some additional info , im only running one device, and im hardwired into the modem via ethernet! ive tried the two main providers in canada shaw & telus which are the only two that provide service to my building , at this point im genuinely thinking I may have to move somewhere with fibre optic in the building so I can have a glitch free camming life lol!

 

[Lucid1]

I'm a natural cynic when it comes to taking the word of an ISP tech as to the cause of an internet issue.

You didn't mention what type of internet service you have, as in cable or DSL, but both have advantages and disadvantages in terms of line quality and through-put speed. Cable uses what are called 'nodes', where many users are connected to a central point and are served from it. Depending on usage and 'over-subscription' rates, cable nodes are commonly known to reach 'saturation' during the busiest times, which can result in reduced speeds and line quality issues. Add in Covid, and the effects of many more people being at home, and cable(and DSL for that matter) speeds are suffering everywhere.

I would suggest using some of the free, online 'line monitoring' tools that are available. There are even some paid ones that are very cheap and can monitor your line for up to a week and determine if there is a problem with ping, packet-loss and how many 'hops' your internet connection is taking. This way you can have more information to present to your provider if these line quality tests show any issues(which I suspect they will).

 

[SaffronBurke]

If they think it's the wiring in your building, have a tech come out and run the lines. Sometimes it's not the wiring IN the building, but instead the wiring leading up to the building.

 

[thinkinboutit]

If they think it's the wiring in your building, have a tech come out and run the lines. Sometimes it's not the wiring IN the building, but instead the wiring leading up to the building.

This happened to me! I had really bad internet for several months... turns out the conjunction box down the street had the lines all jumbled around the last time someone worked on it.

 

[Lunaluck_]

I'm a natural cynic when it comes to taking the word of an ISP tech as to the cause of an internet issue.

You didn't mention what type of internet service you have, as in cable or DSL, but both have advantages and disadvantages in terms of line quality and through-put speed. Cable uses what are called 'nodes', where many users are connected to a central point and are served from it. Depending on usage and 'over-subscription' rates, cable nodes are commonly known to reach 'saturation' during the busiest times, which can result in reduced speeds and line quality issues. Add in Covid, and the effects of many more people being at home, and cable(and DSL for that matter) speeds are suffering everywhere.

I would suggest using some of the free, online 'line monitoring' tools that are available. There are even some paid ones that are very cheap and can monitor your line for up to a week and determine if there is a problem with ping, packet-loss and how many 'hops' your internet connection is taking. This way you can have more information to present to your provider if these line quality tests show any issues(which I suspect they will).

Thank you for your response! I am currently on cable but am going to try switching to dsl next week before I take more distract action! I think you are right about it being traffic related because I am noticing patterns on certain days, there most be some more at home live-streamers.... also going to set up a line monitor this morning, that you for that advice

 

[Lunaluck_]

If they think it's the wiring in your building, have a tech come out and run the lines. Sometimes it's not the wiring IN the building, but instead the wiring leading up to the building.

ive had one tech out already who didnt know what an upload speed was hmmmph, tomorrow another is coming out so I will suggest this too him ! thank you!

 

[SplitCam]

Hello @Lunaluck_
If your problem with internet speed continues. I would try to help you.

Answers to your quetions :

- if seen some threads on this site where people are talking about a a 0.8/1/2 or something upload speed how are they managing to cam at all if I can issues at 7mps?
Maybe somebody work with this upload speed but their resolution very low.

- I notice no difference if im on web rtc or obs but is there one that demands less/ would work better?
Good strem through Webrtc need internet speed around 3mb/s and higher and webrtc need good JITTER ( This pertains to the variance in time delay in milliseconds (ms) between data packets over a network).
For example here you can test your speed, ping and jitter to MFC servers, if you from Canda look on North America (East or West) depend where you live in Canada:
http://tests.myfreecams.com/


- in 2020 to have a great stream and high quality what is the optimal upload speed or range I should be looking for
If you want to stream by RTMP with resolution 1080@60fps for one site for good quality you need around stable 7mb/s or higher just for stream , it's mean your internet connection must be better.
I recommend to you minimum internet connection with speed around 15-20mb/s if you stream to one site.
If you stream to few sites at the same time and you don't have enough internet speed connection let me know i explain you how to do it.

Thank You

 

[Lunaluck_]

just wanted to update all that helped me! my cable isp provider came out and confirmed the wiring is older and orobably the problem, offered no other help, so I have switched to DSL and for the last three days ive had a steady upload speed of 38-40 mbps! which is working out for me much better than fluctuating between up 1- 100mbps. as some of you pointed out im pretty sure it was traffic related also and having my own line with dsl is working out better for my old crappy apartment building lol!

 

[Lunaluck_]

- I notice no difference if im on web rtc or obs but is there one that demands less/ would work better?
Good strem through Webrtc need internet speed around 3mb/s and higher and webrtc need good JITTER ( This pertains to the variance in time delay in milliseconds (ms) between data packets over a network).
For example here you can test your speed, ping and jitter to MFC servers, if you from Canda look on North America (East or West) depend where you live in Canada:
http://tests.myfreecams.com/

split cam! thank you for this info! I was just updating this thread, ( see my latest post) i just tested my speed on that site and got

download- 40.41 mbps. upload 44.40 mbps and jitter 0ms

so im thinking that all seems okay for now. I only stream to mfc no split camming

 

[LylacDoll]

This happened to me! I had really bad internet for several months... turns out the conjunction box down the street had the lines all jumbled around the last time someone worked on it.

Had a similar thing happen too (apartment complex up the road had a mess of connections). Part of the problem we had wasn't just that the upload was slow but it was so inconsistent that the stream just couldn't really compensate for it. We'd spike up to 3mbps and down to 0 like a ping pong ball. To OP's question about how people stream at low upload speeds, it's because you can stream at a low upload speed as long as your bitrate/resolution is low enough, but when it's massively inconsistent you're screwed.

 

[Lunaluck_]

Had a similar thing happen too (apartment complex up the road had a mess of connections). Part of the problem we had wasn't just that the upload was slow but it was so inconsistent that the stream just couldn't really compensate for it. We'd spike up to 3mbps and down to 0 like a ping pong ball. To OP's question about how people stream at low upload speeds, it's because you can stream at a low upload speed as long as your bitrate/resolution is low enough, but when it's massively inconsistent you're screwed.

ahhh okay that makes sense mine would be lightening speed for hours then like 1mbps for 5 mins, im fairly hopeful telus is providing me with a more consistent upload speed for now, I test the speed like every hour and I only see very minor fluctations.