Live video streaming no doubt comes with its challenges. Without the ability to stop or re-do your stream, your only option is to prepare as much as possible in advance. Here are 7 quick tips on how to take your live streaming to the next level!

Tip #1: Make sure you have a strong internet connection

The quality of your broadcast can be heavily affected by a shoddy internet connection. The more high quality a video you’re uploading to be streamed, the stronger your connection must be.

To test your current upload and download speeds, use this 

. For a 720p video at 30 frames per second, you will need an upload rate of at least 5.7 mbps. For a 1080p video, you’ll need 13 Mbps. 

If you have access to an ethernet cable and can physically plug into the internet, you should do so. An ethernet connection is typically faster, more reliable, stable and secure than a wireless connection.

If you are using an ethernet connection, it might help to disable wifi connections for the duration of your broadcast.

If you are using a wireless connection, try moving closer to the router if your signal seems unstable or weak.

If you’re using software like OBS running on a computer, make sure that you limit other tasks or applications running on your machine. This will free up CPU. The more CPU available, the faster you’ll be able to process and upload your live stream.

Remove or turn off other devices that might also be using your internet network.

Tip #2: Set up the best streaming equipment available for your use case.

Decide what your target streaming quality should be, and purchase equipment that can output such quality. Though size and quality of a video can be decreased through 

, a video can’t be made to have a higher quality than the quality it was originally recorded in.

For professional streaming, investing in a 4k or full HD camera is a must. For social media streaming on platforms like Youtube, Facebook, Twitch, or your own custom platform, using a cellphone, a laptop camera, or a lower quality recording device can be sufficient.

Tip #3: Take advantage of Video Transcoding and Adaptive Bitrate Streaming

Video transcoding or encoding, is a process that ensures that viewers can stream content without buffering at the highest possible quality. This ensures that your video is, as we call it, "internet-ready" and viewable by anyone in the world regardless of location, viewing device and circumstances - it will allow your content to reach more end users.

Livepeer can help you here. When you send Livepeer a stream, we turn it into multiple streams of the same video in different sizes (resolutions) and qualities (bitrates, frame rates), each of which is optimized for viewers with different internet speeds and devices.

How does a phone, tablet, or laptop know which of these streams to download for optimal viewing? Most video players today can handle what’s called adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR) - detecting the strength of a viewer’s internet connection and CPU capacity to then select the most optimal stream to show them. The higher the quality of a video stream, the stronger/higher the internet connection and available CPU needs to be. ABR can switch automatically between streams within milliseconds for the best viewing experience possible.

To try transcoding your first Livepeer stream in less than 5 minutes, follow 

Tip #4: Select the appropriate frame rate for your stream

To make sure your live video is accessible by the most number of people around the world, you should select transcoding settings that give viewers options.

The first thing you should consider is frame rate or frames per second (fps). This is the frequency at which images or frames appear in one second of your video. The higher the frame rate, the better quality of your video, the larger the file size you have to transmit over the internet to your users (hence the need for a faster internet connection), and the higher amount of storage you need to store the video. The movie and gaming industries typically use 24 fps and 30 fps respectively, while high definition or HD video use 60 fps, the maximum fps that most monitors and TV’s can display.

At Livepeer, we recommend setting your FPS to 30 if you’re just getting started, though anything between 5 FPS and 60 FPS would encompass most use cases.

Tip #5: Select a variety of resolutions to transcode your stream into

The second important setting to consider is video resolutions. These are measured in pixels (p) or single "points" or squares in a picture. Some of the most common video resolutions, and ones we recommend, are:

The key here is to select a set of resolutions that fit your use case. If you expect most people to watch your stream using their cellphone, and are located all over the world, including smaller resolutions is imperative. If you expect your stream to be watched mostly on high-resolution TVs, you might want to select a couple of higher resolutions, like 1280 x 720 pixels (720p) or 1920 x 1080 pixels (1080p).

To learn how to set your own custom resolutions using the Livepeer API, take a look 

. If you’re just getting started and would like to use livepeer.com to 

, you don’t have to worry about that - we pick the most appropriate resolutions for you!

Video bitrate is the number of bits, the smallest unit of data in a computer that can be processed in a specific amount of time. A higher bitrate will generally mean a higher video quality and larger file size. To get a better idea of what bitrates are typical, HD Blu-ray video hovers around 20,000 kilobits per second (Kbits), web video is typically between 2000 and 3000 Kbits, and phone videos are typically less than 1000 Kbits.

The lower your resolution, the lower the bitrate required - with less information to transmit over the internet, there is no need to have a high bitrate.

Everyone’s set up, desired video quality, and target audience varies. Finding the most optimal video and transcoding set-up might take you a couple of tries. We recommend you test using different equipment or software, try wireless v. ethernet connection, and test a number of transcoding settings with a variety of frame rates, bitrates, and resolutions.

If you’re streaming to established live streaming social media platforms, you might want to check out any quality constraints or guidelines as well. If you’re selecting your own video player to stream into, be sure to test with several of them prior to settling on one. 

Once you’ve tested several different setups, select the one that worked best for you and get started live streaming!

 for more recommendations, for help selecting the best transcoding settings for your use case, and for general questions about live streaming. We’d love to hear about what you’re working on!

7 Tips to Take Your Live Streaming to the Next Level

 Live streaming has exploded recently, particularly in the last 6 months during the global lockdown. One report went as far as to suggest the hours watched doubled between April 2019 and 2020.  The technologies used in live streaming continue to evolve and advance, though the fundamentals remain the same. In this post, we’d like to walk through the basics of live streaming to explain the key aspects involved in getting content to eyeballs.

The basic workflow for live streaming typical includes the following key components:

1. Camera (sometimes referred to as “video source”).  This can be as simple as a webcam pre-integrated in your laptop or plugged into a computer via USB. It can be as complex as a professional grade SLR or a video camera that requires additional “capture” devices as part of a live streaming workflow. 

2. Microphone (often called the “audio source”).  Similar to the camera this could be a pre-integrated microphone in your laptop or built into your webcam. As production value increases, microphones used include high end broadcast quality microphones with mixing desks to control audio levels and multiple audio sources. 

3. Capture Card (often called “device”).  This device is not typically needed when using a webcam, but once you start to use professional cameras and microphones a capture card will likely be required. It gets the video and audio signals from the source cameras or microphones.  It’s important to make sure this piece of hardware is compatible with your cameras, microphones and encoding solution.

4. Encoder.  Sometimes this is a hardware device which in many cases avoids you needing a capture card but often the encoder is a piece of software such as [OBS](https://obsproject.com/) or [Wirecast](https://www.telestream.net/wirecast/overview.htm).  An Encoder takes the raw digital signals from the cameras and microphones, and formats them into something that is easier to send across the internet.  

5. Internet Connection.  A stable good quality internet connection is a key requirement.  For best results, this is ideally not WiFi based.

6. Transcoding.  To ensure reliable, high quality playback across a broad range of platforms, the live stream is typically converted into multiple versions to best suit the device and location the viewer might be watching from.  The transcoding service can range from a self managed hardware / software solution or a cloud based service.  Unfortunately transcoding is often quite expensive, sometimes prohibitively so.  Livepeer is focused on providing transcoding at a dramatically lower cost to allow anyone to take advantage of its benefits. 

7. Content Delivery Network.  Buffering can be a common issue with live streaming. A good approach to help mitigate buffering is to use a CDN service to help distribute the stream reliably wherever the viewer might be located.  These services are often integrated with the transcoding service and together help ensure a high quality viewing experience for your audience.  At Livepeer we offer a pre-integrate a CDN as part of our service to remove even more complexity from your live streaming workflow.. That said, if you have a CDN you’d like to use instead,  we'd be happy to   help integrate it into our transcoding infrastructure.

8. Player.  This is the final component required to complete your live streaming workflow. It is what your audience will interact with to watch the stream.  Video players can  range from software players embedded into your website, SDK’s used in conjunction with common devices such as phones and tablets, and embedded players in consoles and connected televisions.  We test our transcoding output to make sure it works reliably with the common platforms that you might expect viewers to be watching your live stream on.

We’ve taken you through a simple workflow and the typical components required to deliver a live stream at a high level. As you begin to live stream you can build on these components by integrating payment or advertising to monetize your live streams, implement analytics or promote your streaming using complimentary services.  

Livepeer.com can simplify the process of ensuring you deliver a high quality stream at an affordable price. Whether you are delivering one stream or thousands, [sign up](https://livepeer.com/register) for an account and give us a try.

Live streaming has exploded recently, particularly in the last 6 months during the global lockdown. One report went as far as to suggest the hours watched doubled between April 2019 and 2020. The technologies used in live streaming continue to evolve and advance, though the fundamentals remain the same. In this post, we’d like to walk through the basics of live streaming to explain the key aspects involved in getting content to eyeballs.

The basic workflow for live streaming typical includes the following key components:

Camera (sometimes referred to as “video source”). This can be as simple as a webcam pre-integrated in your laptop or plugged into a computer via USB. It can be as complex as a professional grade SLR or a video camera that requires additional “capture” devices as part of a live streaming workflow.

Microphone (often called the “audio source”). Similar to the camera this could be a pre-integrated microphone in your laptop or built into your webcam. As production value increases, microphones used include high end broadcast quality microphones with mixing desks to control audio levels and multiple audio sources.

Capture Card (often called “device”). This device is not typically needed when using a webcam, but once you start to use professional cameras and microphones a capture card will likely be required. It gets the video and audio signals from the source cameras or microphones. It’s important to make sure this piece of hardware is compatible with your cameras, microphones and encoding solution.

Encoder. Sometimes this is a hardware device which in many cases avoids you needing a capture card but often the encoder is a piece of software such as 

. An Encoder takes the raw digital signals from the cameras and microphones, and formats them into something that is easier to send across the internet.

Internet Connection. A stable good quality internet connection is a key requirement. For best results, this is ideally not WiFi based.

Transcoding. To ensure reliable, high quality playback across a broad range of platforms, the live stream is typically converted into multiple versions to best suit the device and location the viewer might be watching from. The transcoding service can range from a self managed hardware / software solution or a cloud based service. Unfortunately transcoding is often quite expensive, sometimes prohibitively so. Livepeer.com is focused on providing transcoding at a dramatically lower cost to allow anyone to take advantage of its benefits.

Content Delivery Network. Buffering can be a common issue with live streaming. A good approach to help mitigate buffering is to use a CDN service to help distribute the stream reliably wherever the viewer might be located. These services are often integrated with the transcoding service and together help ensure a high quality viewing experience for your audience. At Livepeer.com we offer a pre-integrate a CDN as part of our service to remove even more complexity from your live streaming workflow.. That said, if you have a CDN you’d like to use instead, we'd be happy to help integrate it into our transcoding infrastructure.

Player. This is the final component required to complete your live streaming workflow. It is what your audience will interact with to watch the stream. Video players can range from software players embedded into your website, SDK’s used in conjunction with common devices such as phones and tablets, and embedded players in consoles and connected televisions. We test our transcoding output to make sure it works reliably with the common platforms that you might expect viewers to be watching your live stream on.

We’ve taken you through a simple workflow and the typical components required to deliver a live stream at a high level. As you begin to live stream you can build on these components by integrating payment or advertising to monetize your live streams, implement analytics or promote your streaming using complimentary services.

Livepeer.com can simplify the process of ensuring you deliver a high quality stream at an affordable price. Whether you are delivering one stream or thousands, 

Live Streaming Workflow

Imagine working with a client who is paying you to help them broadcast a concert online to an audience of thousands of viewers around the world. Some of your viewers are watching on their phones, some are watching on their laptop, some are in areas with a bad internet connection. You start seeing a lot of users drop off the live stream complaining that they have to wait several minutes to watch the first couple of seconds of the event, at which point the video stops to buffer again ... and again ... and again. Viewers are complaining that your video is practically unwatchable. The result - your client loses a significant number of viewers, they lose virtual event ticket and advertising income, and you lose their trust. They end up not working with you again. Others in the music industry hear about your company’s streaming performance and decide to not engage your services either.

Had the live stream been transcoded into several different qualities and formats, the viewing experience would have been a seamless one. This example illustrates the critical need for all live video companies to understand and make use of video transcoding.

## What is video transcoding?

Video transcoding or encoding, is a process that ensures that viewers can stream content without buffering at the highest possible quality. It is a process to convert a video from one format to another better-compressed format. The outcome of video transcoding is multiple versions of the same video in different sizes (resolutions) and qualities (bitrates, frame rates), each of which is optimized for viewers with different internet speeds and devices. This ensures that your video is, as we call it, "internet-ready" and viewable by anyone in the world regardless of location, viewing device and circumstances.

![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/dp4k3mpw/production/8cb89759cb54bb3512954a50bd4cf18d67f54486-4608x3072.jpg?h=500&fit=max)

## Why is video transcoding important?

Simply put, video transcoding will allow your content to reach more end users. Online public video content is viewed by users around the world with a range of devices like cellphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers, to name a few. Said devices support a range of different video formats, and in turn, are incompatible with a different set of formats.

Video transcoding helps ensure that viewers with devices that do not support certain formats, have reduced capacity, or are incompatible with obsolete file types, are able to access the video files. 

It also ensures that both those with access to fast, high-bandwidth internet connections and those with low-bandwidth, slow connections can have a seamless watching experience. Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data transmitted over an internet connection in a given amount of time. Without video transcoding, many in rural or remote areas around the world with low-bandwidth internet connections would have difficulty watching  large, high-quality videos streamed or uploaded online. People in various situations, like those driving a car on a cell connection, or in an office building sharing bandwidth with their coworkers, or even those connected to a high-quality wifi router that's behind a thick wall, would all also have degraded internet connections and would benefit from transcoded video. Like the initial streaming company client example, all these individuals would see their stream “buffer” often. In other words, they’d see the infamous spinning wheel icon linger on their screen for far too long, indicating that their video was loading.

In the end, it is preferable to stream or view a video with lower quality or size than to have to wait a long time or never be able to view one of higher quality.
![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/dp4k3mpw/production/0ab5835eba9bb44db4e762b89e8c87c1ecdade7a-693x523.png?h=500&fit=max)

## How can I control the quality and size of my videos through transcoding?

Three of the most important factors that affect the resulting quality and performance of video streams are frame rate, video resolution, and bitrate settings.

Frame rate or frames per second (fps) is the frequency at which images or frames appear in one second of your video. The higher the frame rate, the better quality of your video, the larger the file size you have to transmit over the internet to your users (hence the need for a faster internet connection), and the higher amount of storage you need to store the video. The movie and gaming industries typically use 24 fps and 30 fps respectively, while high definition or HD video use 60 fps, the maximum fps that most monitors and TV’s can display.

Video resolutions, the second important factor in controlling video quality and size, are measured in pixels (p) or single "points" or squares in a picture. Some of the most common video resolutions are:

- **720p**: 1280x720
- **480p**: 854x480
- **360p**: 640x360
- **240p**: 426x240

These numbers represent the number of horizontal lines a video has from top to bottom. The first resolution on the list, for example, is made up of 720 lines stacked on top of each other and 1280 lines from left to right. For comparison, the third resolution on the list is made up of half of that, meaning, it is half as sharp as the first resolution and should be viewed on a smaller screen to achieve the same perceived video quality.

Finally, video bitrate is the number of bits, the smallest unit of data in a computer that can be processed in a specific amount of time. A higher bitrate will generally mean a higher video quality and larger file size, though the quality will depend on what "codec" or decoding/encoding algorithm is used in the video transcoding process. Newer codecs have gotten much better at keeping bitrates low, and therefore making videos smaller and easier to transfer over the internet, while maintaining higher video quality. To get a better idea of what bitrates are typical, HD Blu-ray video hovers around 20 megabits per second (mbps), web video is typically about 2 mbps, and phone videos are typically less than 1 mbps.

Together, video bitrate, resolution, and frame rate all contribute to how good your video will look and how much bandwidth it'll consume while being streaming online.

## How can I transcode my video?

Originally, video transcoding software was supposed to be purchased and installed in one’s machine before being used. However, the cloud and distributed computing networks have changed the world of video transcoding.

Though anyone could transcode video locally on their machines using open source software like ffmpeg, the process is a computationally intensive one. This means that depending on the number and length of video streams to be transcoded, desired number of formats to transcode the video in, and desired platforms to send video to, more powerful hardware and processing capacity will be needed than you might have available.

## How can Livepeer help?

Luckily, juggling the many decisions involved in transcoding video can be simplified by using transcoding providers like Livepeer.

Livepeer provides live video transcoding services in an affordable, scalable, secure, and reliable fashion. Our network of transcoders, massively distributed throughout the world, can provide reliable transcoding for companies looking to stream live video over the internet. Given our distributed nature, we are able to offer prices over 10x cheaper than comparable public cloud transcoding providers.

Livepeer is currently looking for potential partners to test our platform. Get in touch at hello@livepeer.com or by joining our [Discord server] (https://discord.gg/mEQz5A) - we'd love to hear more about what you're building and see how we could be of help.

For instructions on how to try Livepeer for free, get an [API key](http://www.livepeer.com/register) and check out our [documentation] (https://livepeer.com/docs).

Imagine working with a client who is paying you to help them broadcast a concert online to an audience of thousands of viewers around the world. Some of your viewers are watching on their phones, some are watching on their laptop, some are in areas with a bad internet connection. You start seeing a lot of users drop off the live stream complaining that they have to wait several minutes to watch the first couple of seconds of the event, at which point the video stops to buffer again ... and again ... and again. Viewers are complaining that your video is practically unwatchable. The result - your client loses a significant number of viewers, they lose virtual event ticket and advertising income, and you lose their trust. They end up not working with you again. Others in the music industry hear about your company’s streaming performance and decide to not engage your services either.

Had the live stream been transcoded into several different qualities and formats, the viewing experience would have been a seamless one. This example illustrates the critical need for all live video companies to understand and make use of video transcoding.

Video transcoding or encoding, is a process that ensures that viewers can stream content without buffering at the highest possible quality. It is a process to convert a video from one format to another better-compressed format. The outcome of video transcoding is multiple versions of the same video in different sizes (resolutions) and qualities (bitrates, frame rates), each of which is optimized for viewers with different internet speeds and devices. This ensures that your video is, as we call it, "internet-ready" and viewable by anyone in the world regardless of location, viewing device and circumstances.

Simply put, video transcoding will allow your content to reach more end users. Online public video content is viewed by users around the world with a range of devices like cellphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers, to name a few. Said devices support a range of different video formats, and in turn, are incompatible with a different set of formats.

Video transcoding helps ensure that viewers with devices that do not support certain formats, have reduced capacity, or are incompatible with obsolete file types, are able to access the video files.

It also ensures that both those with access to fast, high-bandwidth internet connections and those with low-bandwidth, slow connections can have a seamless watching experience. Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data transmitted over an internet connection in a given amount of time. Without video transcoding, many in rural or remote areas around the world with low-bandwidth internet connections would have difficulty watching large, high-quality videos streamed or uploaded online. People in various situations, like those driving a car on a cell connection, or in an office building sharing bandwidth with their coworkers, or even those connected to a high-quality wifi router that's behind a thick wall, would all also have degraded internet connections and would benefit from transcoded video. Like the initial streaming company client example, all these individuals would see their stream “buffer” often. In other words, they’d see the infamous spinning wheel icon linger on their screen for far too long, indicating that their video was loading.

In the end, it is preferable to stream or view a video with lower quality or size than to have to wait a long time or never be able to view one of higher quality.

How can I control the quality and size of my videos through transcoding?

Three of the most important factors that affect the resulting quality and performance of video streams are frame rate, video resolution, and bitrate settings.

Frame rate or frames per second (fps) is the frequency at which images or frames appear in one second of your video. The higher the frame rate, the better quality of your video, the larger the file size you have to transmit over the internet to your users (hence the need for a faster internet connection), and the higher amount of storage you need to store the video. The movie and gaming industries typically use 24 fps and 30 fps respectively, while high definition or HD video use 60 fps, the maximum fps that most monitors and TV’s can display.

Video resolutions, the second important factor in controlling video quality and size, are measured in pixels (p) or single "points" or squares in a picture. Some of the most common video resolutions are:

These numbers represent the number of horizontal lines a video has from top to bottom. The first resolution on the list, for example, is made up of 720 lines stacked on top of each other and 1280 lines from left to right. For comparison, the third resolution on the list is made up of half of that, meaning, it is half as sharp as the first resolution and should be viewed on a smaller screen to achieve the same perceived video quality.

Finally, video bitrate is the number of bits, the smallest unit of data in a computer that can be processed in a specific amount of time. A higher bitrate will generally mean a higher video quality and larger file size, though the quality will depend on what "codec" or decoding/encoding algorithm is used in the video transcoding process. Newer codecs have gotten much better at keeping bitrates low, and therefore making videos smaller and easier to transfer over the internet, while maintaining higher video quality. To get a better idea of what bitrates are typical, HD Blu-ray video hovers around 20 megabits per second (mbps), web video is typically about 2 mbps, and phone videos are typically less than 1 mbps.

Together, video bitrate, resolution, and frame rate all contribute to how good your video will look and how much bandwidth it'll consume while being streaming online.

Originally, video transcoding software was supposed to be purchased and installed in one’s machine before being used. However, the cloud and distributed computing networks have changed the world of video transcoding.

Though anyone could transcode video locally on their machines using open source software like ffmpeg, the process is a computationally intensive one. This means that depending on the number and length of video streams to be transcoded, desired number of formats to transcode the video in, and desired platforms to send video to, more powerful hardware and processing capacity will be needed than you might have available.

Luckily, juggling the many decisions involved in transcoding video can be simplified by using transcoding providers like Livepeer.

Livepeer provides live video transcoding services in an affordable, scalable, secure, and reliable fashion. Our network of transcoders, massively distributed throughout the world, can provide reliable transcoding for companies looking to stream live video over the internet. Given our distributed nature, we are able to offer prices over 10x cheaper than comparable public cloud transcoding providers.

Livepeer is currently looking for potential partners to test our platform. Get in touch at hello@livepeer.com or by joining our 

 - we'd love to hear more about what you're building and see how we could be of help.

For instructions on how to try Livepeer for free, get an 

Blog

7 Tips to Take Your Live Streaming to the Next Level

7 Tips to Take Your Live Streaming to the Next Level

Live Streaming Workflow

Video Transcoding - What is it, why is it important, and how can I do it?

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