Bandwidth & Bitrates for Streamers
The quality of a stream is dependent on the bitrate of the stream. Bitrate is the amount of data you send to Louper when you stream. Higher bitrates result in higher picture and audio quality. The higher the bitrate, the greater the upload speed requirement is for the streamer and the greater the download speed requirement is for participants.
Internet Upload Speed
We recommend an upload speed that is double the data rate of the stream you want to broadcast. For example, if you intend to broadcast a 1080p stream at 4,000 kbps (4mbps), we recommend an internet connection with an upload speed of 8mbps or more. This will help to reduce the effect that network speed fluctuations may have on your stream. It is important to consider other tasks or users on your network that may affect your upload speed. You can test your internet connection speed here.
Connection Type
Using a wired ethernet connection on the computer or device you are streaming from is recommended. Wifi and 4G/LTE and 5G connections work too, but can be more susceptible to dropouts.
Suggested Bitrates
High motion or fast-paced content has greater bandwidth requirements than slower-paced content. For example, the image quality of a fast-paced action sequence will deteriorate if the bitrate is too low, whilst the image quality of a slower-paced dialogue scene at the same bitrate will not deteriorate.
These are our bitrate suggestions for 4K, 1080p and 720p streams:
| Resolution | Video Bitrate | Audio Bitrate |
|---|---|---|
| 4K | 8,000 kbps - 20,000 kbps (8mbps - 20mbps) | 160kbps - 320kbps |
| 1080p | 2,500 kbps - 8,000 kbps (2.5mbps - 8mbps) | 160kbps - 320kbps |
| 720p | 1,250 kbps - 2,500 kbps (1.25mbps - 2.5mbps) | 160kbps - 320kbps |
Experiment with bitrates to find what works best for your setup. On slower connections, you can decrease the video bitrate in 500kbps increments until you reach the optimal setting. For faster connections, there is a point at which increased bitrates will result in no discernible difference in image quality (the upper limit is around 6000kbps / 6mbps).
It is possible to stream at bitrates as low as 800kbps (0.8mbps) to accommodate participants on severely limited internet connections, at the expensie of image quality.
When choosing a bitrate at which to stream, consider the types of internet connections your participants might have. participants on adequate connections should have no issues with lags or freezes when viewing your stream. participants on slower connections will not be able to view your stream properly if you are broadcasting a stream at 6mbps and they are on a 3mbps connection, for example.