lawsonnz Profile Blog Joined April 2011 Scotland 127 Posts Last Edited: 2012-09-16 19:06:03 #1





PC Specifications:



The PC specifications play a big role aswell in what your capabilities are when it comes to streaming. I would recommend a mid-high-end PC such as below (my specifications).



Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 Processor

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2

Memory/RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz

Graphics Card: Asus GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini HDMI PCI-E

Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V LX Socket 1155 Onboard graphics output 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

Hard Drives: 120 GB SSD with 1TB + 250GB

Power Supply: OCZ 600W





Internet Speeds (Checked with www.Speedtest.net):



Internet, where do I start with this point. A lot of people think "Oh I can stream as long as I have a good PC" Well - I'm sorry too burst your money filled pockets - But you can't just stream with a good PC - You need OK internet as well.







The above is my internet, Its pretty terrible - but I can get decent stream quality with it. You can see the quality I receive here:



As you can see, the quality isn't outstanding, but for the upload speed I have, I'm pretty happy with it! The location can be changed to whatever works best for you!



Settings:



Now onto the settings that I use.







The settings I use in the broadcast window can be found above.



Along with these settings, I use:



Resolution: 1088x612 (16 : 9) - If you have a 16 : 9 monitor you are going to want to have this resolution, or at least another 16 : 9 resolution so that you do not have black bars.



If you have a 4:3 monitor, I would use 1024x768.



Frame Rate: 25FPS - You can increase this if you wish.



Scale Viewport: 10% - You should usually always have it at 10% as it reduces the amount of strain done to a CPU, but for some peoples needs it is best to have it higher.







Final Words:



So as you see, it as easy as that. I would like to ask you guys to please comment on this thread if it helps you guys out! If you need any more help just ask for it on this thread, and/or add me on skype - Lawson101. Also may i add, this guide mainly works for SC2 + LoL and games of that sort, it doesn't really work for FPS games as they shift around too much with action.



Thanks again,



James //

Hello everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is James, and I am the media Coordinator over at Derailed( www.derailed.eu ). After the rise of alot of streamers, I thought to myself why not try and get even more streamers into the streaming area with the settings that i was using. This is where I created the guide here (http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=321498). After some debate around other forums with the settings I was using - I have came to the conclusion that I could get a more steady, and more presentable stream quality with the PC specification and internet bandwidth I had available. So I present to you guys, my newly created Xsplit settingsThe PC specifications play a big role aswell in what your capabilities are when it comes to streaming. I would recommend a mid-high-end PC such as below (my specifications).Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 ProcessorArctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MhzAsus GTX 560Ti DirectCU II 1GB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini HDMI PCI-EAsus P8Z68-V LX Socket 1155 Onboard graphics output 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard120 GB SSD with 1TB + 250GBOCZ 600WInternet, where do I start with this point. A lot of people think "Oh I can stream as long as I have a good PC" Well - I'm sorry too burst your money filled pockets - But you can't just stream with a good PC - You need OK internet as well.The above is my internet, Its pretty terrible - but I can get decent stream quality with it. You can see the quality I receive here: http://www.twitch.tv/derailedtv/b/331964931 As you can see, the quality isn't outstanding, but for the upload speed I have, I'm pretty happy with it! The location can be changed to whatever works best for you!Now onto the settings that I use.The settings I use in the broadcast window can be found above.Along with these settings, I use:1088x612 (16 : 9) - If you have a 16 : 9 monitor you are going to want to have this resolution, or at least another 16 : 9 resolution so that you do not have black bars.If you have a 4:3 monitor, I would use 1024x768.25FPS - You can increase this if you wish.10% - You should usually always have it at 10% as it reduces the amount of strain done to a CPU, but for some peoples needs it is best to have it higher.So as you see, it as easy as that. I would like to ask you guys to please comment on this thread if it helps you guys out! If you need any more help just ask for it on this thread, and/or add me on skype - Lawson101. Also may i add, this guide mainly works for SC2 + LoL and games of that sort, it doesn't really work for FPS games as they shift around too much with action.Thanks again,James // www.derailed.eu - Media Coordinator

Cyro Profile Blog Joined June 2011 United Kingdom 19838 Posts #2 Why are you using Quality 5? Why veryfast (default) preset with that resolution/cpu combo? "oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88

lawsonnz Profile Blog Joined April 2011 Scotland 127 Posts #3 I'm using quality 5 as i havn't really noticed a difference when changing it to a higher quality other than using more CPU. The Veryfast is just because i have not changed it - If i change it too anything else with this set-up it just uses more of that, this is just a sweetspot with my PC!

Cyro Profile Blog Joined June 2011 United Kingdom 19838 Posts Last Edited: 2012-09-16 19:37:15 #4 Quality wont affect your CPU usage, it will only lower the bitrate at times, unless you dont want to use all of the upload you have set all the time, then as far as i know there is no reason for having it lower. Quality 10 = crf25 which isnt particularly amazing quality.



You should really be bumping up resolution/fps (or in the case of limited bandwidth, bumping down preset) to utilise your CPU though, encoding 1088x612 at veryfast and 25fps is extremely easy, i have a weaker CPU and can pull a rock solid 45fps at 1920x1080 on superfast which is around 2.5x your resolution. If you are lowering preset you can get notably better compression ratio's, so more quality and less bandwidth, at the cost of cpu, which in sc2's case is mostly idle anyway. "oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88

ffswowsucks Profile Blog Joined August 2005 Greece 2196 Posts Last Edited: 2012-09-17 11:31:22 #5 Great thread! helped me realize i can stream through twitch even tho my county has poor upload connections (0.71mb). my d/l speed is 8.1mb.

I do have a pretty good computer. same specs as yours too! but i got an ati 5870 instead of a ge force. the only problem i stubble upon is that when im hearing my stream there is a weird buzz coming out from the sound. Might be because I have both speakers + headset ? I muted the sound and only play with the mic but I really want my viewers to hear the sounds from starcraft as well. Any solution to this? btw you can check out twitch.tv/getyoubarbara did a record today morning as a test. maybe give me some tips... btw im using the platronics 780 headset which is 7.1 surround and i only hear stuff from it. disabled my speakers. Terran in particular is a notoriously strong race for a no brain skillhand bot style. <-sataNik my aka: Red.SOStoss

lawsonnz Profile Blog Joined April 2011 Scotland 127 Posts #6



Perhaps the buzzing is your microphone? Thats the only real thing i would say makes it happen. Good luck on fixing it ! Hi,Perhaps the buzzing is your microphone? Thats the only real thing i would say makes it happen. Good luck on fixing it

HellGreen Profile Joined September 2010 Denmark 1146 Posts #7 On September 17 2012 04:04 Cyro wrote:

Why are you using Quality 5? Why veryfast (default) preset with that resolution/cpu combo?

Well, at that low a bitrate for the resolution, it really doesn't matter. You would be hitting max bitrate on most scenarios anyway (except a static image probably).



Well, at that low a bitrate for the resolution, it really doesn't matter. You would be hitting max bitrate on most scenarios anyway (except a static image probably). On September 17 2012 04:23 Cyro wrote:

Quality wont affect your CPU usage

Yes true (at least not in any way that practically affects the game)



Yes true (at least not in any way that practically affects the game) On September 17 2012 04:23 Cyro wrote:

i have a weaker CPU and can pull a rock solid 45fps at 1920x1080 on superfast which is around 2.5x your resolution. If you are lowering preset you can get notably better compression ratio's, so more quality and less bandwidth, at the cost of cpu, which in sc2's case is mostly idle anyway.

I'd agree that OP could benefit from using a notch slower preset, but at that low bitrate it's not as efficient anyway. Also, please remember you have an exceptional rig that (for unknown reasons to me) is capable of doing better than most faster rigs (we have talked about this many times ). What works for one streamer is unfortunately not always the case for another (a computer's streaming performance inevitably varies). I'd agree that OP could benefit from using a notch slower preset, but at that low bitrate it's not as efficient anyway. Also, please remember you have an exceptional rig that (for unknown reasons to me) is capable of doing better than most faster rigs (we have talked about this many times). What works for one streamer is unfortunately not always the case for another (a computer's streaming performance inevitably varies). Free to do whatever I want!

Cyro Profile Blog Joined June 2011 United Kingdom 19838 Posts #8 On September 23 2012 16:08 HellGreen wrote:

Show nested quote +

On September 17 2012 04:04 Cyro wrote:

Why are you using Quality 5? Why veryfast (default) preset with that resolution/cpu combo?

Well, at that low a bitrate for the resolution, it really doesn't matter. You would be hitting max bitrate on most scenarios anyway (except a static image probably).



Show nested quote +

On September 17 2012 04:23 Cyro wrote:

Quality wont affect your CPU usage

Yes true (at least not in any way that practically affects the game)



Show nested quote +

On September 17 2012 04:23 Cyro wrote:

i have a weaker CPU and can pull a rock solid 45fps at 1920x1080 on superfast which is around 2.5x your resolution. If you are lowering preset you can get notably better compression ratio's, so more quality and less bandwidth, at the cost of cpu, which in sc2's case is mostly idle anyway.

I'd agree that OP could benefit from using a notch slower preset, but at that low bitrate it's not as efficient anyway. Also, please remember you have an exceptional rig that (for unknown reasons to me) is capable of doing better than most faster rigs (we have talked about this many times ). What works for one streamer is unfortunately not always the case for another (a computer's streaming performance inevitably varies). Well, at that low a bitrate for the resolution, it really doesn't matter. You would be hitting max bitrate on most scenarios anyway (except a static image probably).Yes true (at least not in any way that practically affects the game)I'd agree that OP could benefit from using a notch slower preset, but at that low bitrate it's not as efficient anyway. Also, please remember you have an exceptional rig that (for unknown reasons to me) is capable of doing better than most faster rigs (we have talked about this many times). What works for one streamer is unfortunately not always the case for another (a computer's streaming performance inevitably varies).



Capture performance, maybe, x264 encoding shouldnt though Capture performance, maybe, x264 encoding shouldnt though "oh my god my overclock... I got a single WHEA error on the 23rd hour, 9 minutes" -Belial88