Can I Stream With 720p 60 With 7 Mbps Upload

How to choose the right bitrate for your stream (2020 Update)

Discover out how to brand your stream look the all-time it tin with our simple guide

Updated: August 2020

If you've spent any corporeality of fourth dimension watching streamers, chances are you've noticed the difference in quality betwixt those with killer setups and everyone else with more modest rigs.

And while information technology's true that the creators with the all-time equipment (and the fastest cyberspace) volition always have an advantage, those with more downwardly-to-earth setups can still compete — they simply take to learn how to maximize what they're working with.

And that starts by understanding a core component of streaming — bitrate .

Index:

Intro: What is bitrate?

Part 1: Find your upload speed
Role two: Select your resolution
Part 3: Select your framerate
Part 4: Stick to the speed limit!
Role five: Example resolutions, framerates, and bitrates

Conclusion: Understanding the trade-offs

Intro: What is bitrate?

Allow's keep it simple — bitrate is the quality of the video or audio being uploaded to your chosen platform (or platforms if y'all're using Mobcrush Studio!). Bitrate is measured in kilobits per second (kbps), which means how many 'bits' of information you're sending, and at what 'rate' (i.e. speed) they're being sent.

**If you're using** **OBS** **, your video bitrate and FPS tin exist found in the Settings tab**

**Under 'Output' is where you'll find your video bitrate (measured in kbps) , and 'Video' is where you'll find your framerate**

More often than not speaking, audio bitrate is locked in at 160 kbps while streaming, so when people talk well-nigh streaming games and bitrate, 99% of the time they're talking almost video bitrate.

Bitrate is highly dependent on your cyberspace connection speed and how well your streaming calculator can encode video. Choosing the right encoder is a whole other guide (which yous tin read here), simply for now, let'south focus on what bitrate you use to stream.

Office i: Find your upload speed

Your net speed is cardinal to determining what bitrate options you have. Head to Ookla Speed Test (speedtest.cyberspace), run a quick test and record your results. Your download speed is handy to know, merely what you're really interested in is your upload speed which is measured in Mbps.

An case of a results screen from Oola Speed Exam. Detect the Upload speed on the correct (337.93 Mbps).

Knowing your upload speed will help you lot decide how much of your bandwidth you tin dedicate to streaming — so accept annotation of information technology for the next few steps. Also, if for whatever reason Ookla Speed Exam isn't working for yous, just type Speed Test into Google and use their congenital-in tester. Both are equally as expert.

Let'due south assume you got a outcome of 10 Mbps upload, which is not insanely fast, but also pretty good for what we demand.

You'll no doubt notice that Bitrate is measured in kbps, but your cyberspace speed is measured in Mbps. The conversion is simple: 1000 kbps = ane Mbps. That means 10 Mbps is (in theory) capable of ten,000 kbps — but keep reading and you'll see why this is a bad thought!

On a side note, your internet speed is 1 area where you lot tin't alter hands, and so if y'all accept a low upload Mbps (under 5Mbps) you'll have to call upward your internet provider and see what they tin do.

Decision: Run a speed exam and take note of your upload speed!

Step 2: Select your resolution

The resolution of your stream will determine how much detail needs to exist encoded before being sent to your chosen streaming platform. Let's go along this as simple every bit possible and piece of work with the two most common resolutions for streaming — 720p and 1080p.

A resolution of 720 (1280 x 720) is considered HD and is a nice, easy to render resolution for most streamers. If you want to keep this as simple as possible, apply this resolution!

On the college terminate is 1080 (1920 10 1080) which is considered Full Hard disk, and it requires more processing power, a bigger share of your bitrate, and could make your video appear inclement to viewers if you don't have the bandwidth.

If you're a new streamer, start with 720p and work up from there. For more data about choosing the right resolution, read our video resolution guide right hither!

Decision: 1280 x 720 (720p) is a expert resolution for kickoff-fourth dimension streamers.

Pace three: Select your framerate

While bitrate and resolution determine how practiced your video looks, your framerate governs how polish information technology appears.

Allow's take a shooter like Call of Duty: Warzone, which has an unlocked framerate on PC and runs in excess of lx frames per second (fps). For fast-paced activity games similar that, y'all might consider a 60 fps stream.

Street Fighter V is a great example of a game where you may desire to give upwardly some resolution in favor of a higher framerate

On the flipside, single-player games like The Terminal of U.s.a. Role II are slower-paced merely take detailed environments that wait perfectly fine at 30 fps.

Why is this of import to know? Well, your framerate volition work in tandem with your bitrate — and you lot may have to sacrifice resolution for a larger framerate.

If you do take to choose betwixt framerate and resolution, go with whatever you think is more important, only here are a few simple examples to help you lot out.

PUBG frequently features enemies off in the distance, so a sacrificing framerate for a higher resolution like 1080p at 30fps might be the way to go. Meanwhile, Tekken vii features large, fast-moving character models, and so dropping your stream downwards to 720p at lx fps makes sense.

Conclusion: threescore fps streams look bully, but 30 fps is good when starting out.

Role 4: Stick to the speed limit!

This is an important lesson for streamers of all kinds — fifty-fifty if you have a 500 Mbps upload connection, a bitrate that is TOO big will cause issues on the viewer's finish.

The problem is that not every platform (such as Twitch) lets viewers change resolutions unless the streamer is a Partner and has platform-side transcoding.

You might think ' I'll send the platform the best possible video and they can downscale it'. But in practice, platforms might reject your video mid-stream, or struggle to transcode it on the fly which causes the video to appear jerky.

Being able to see enemies at a distance in PUBG is a good reason to up the resolution for your viewers

Besides, if you're streaming a multiplayer game y'all'll demand some leftover bandwidth or yous'll feel in-game lag, and then make certain you go out at to the lowest degree 2 Mbps spare for multiplayer gaming.

Conclusion: Don't apply crazy loftier bitrates and resolutions only considering you can!

Part 5: Example resolutions, framerates, and bitrates

And so you know your upload speed and the limits of what it tin do — what now? Let's wait at some examples of setups you can utilize for your stream based on your bitrate.

1080p 60 fps (Total Hd, high framerate)

Recommended upload speed: half dozen.five–8+ Mbps
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Bitrate: 4500 to 6000 kbps
Framerate: lx fps

720p 60 fps (Hard disk, high framerate)

Recommended upload speed: 5.5–vii Mbps
Resolution: 1280 10 720
Bitrate: 3500 to 5000 kbps
Framerate: threescore fps

—

1080p 30 fps (Total HD, standard framerate)

Recommended upload: five.5–7+ Mbps
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Bitrate: 3500 to 5000 kbps
Framerate: xxx fps

720p 30fps (Hard disk drive, standard framerate) * Get-go HERE*

Recommended upload speed: 4.five–6 Mbps
Resolution: 1280 x 720
Bitrate: 2500 to 4000 kbps
Framerate: 30 fps

—

480p 60 fps (SD, high framerate)

Recommended upload speed: 3.5–5 Mbps
Resolution: 640 ten 480
Bitrate: 1500 to 2500 kbps
Framerate: lx fps

Conclusion: Agreement the merchandise-offs

One thing that comes up in well-nigh every stream setup guide is that being a expert streamer is most finding balance. How powerful is your streaming PC? How fast is your net? Do I really need to stream at 1080p? Let's use an analogy to break this down.

In front of yous is a water jug that represents your upload speed, and iii glasses that represent your bitrate, resolution, and framerate. You cannot make full all three, just none can be empty.

Y'all need to balance them out, simply also choose which volition become a fiddling less. You might decide to put a little into resolution (720p), a trivial into framerate (30 fps), and more into bitrate (5000 kbps). This would result in a clean 720p stream that isn't as smooth as a 60 fps stream, or as sharp as a 1080p stream, but nonetheless looks good overall.

If you take annihilation away from this guide, let it exist this — a squeamish, clean, stable 720p stream running at 30 fps is a million times more than watchable than a 1080p stream running at a choppy 60 fps.

If you remove the technical issues and provide a nice viewing experience, people volition exist far more than likely to stick around and sentinel you! Forget what the Large streamers are doing! Focus on growth. Start small-scale, work on your fundamentals, and grow with your audience!