Livestream via OBS
Learn how to stream into Livepeer Studio with OBS
The purpose of this guide is to allow you to get a more in-depth look at setting up a livestream using Livepeer Studio with OBS.
Introduction
OBS is an application that many creators use to stream into Livepeer because it is easy to use, open source, and offers a high degree of customization.
Get a unique stream key
Follow our previous guide on creating a stream to get a stream key to provide to the creator on your platform. They will need to use this for their OBS configuration.
Open OBS and create source
The creator will then need to:
- Click the + icon under sources and select Video Capture Device if you’d like to stream using a camera or webcam. If you’d like to stream a browser window, select Window Capture.
- Give the device a name:
Update stream settings
- Select Stream settings.
- Select Show All… and then Livepeer Studio for the service.
- Keep the Default Server and paste the Stream Key provided by Livepeer Studio into the OBS “Stream Key” fields. It is highly recommended to not ignore the streaming service recommendations. If you choose to do this, please see the low latency section below.
Stream and play back
After they save their settings, OBS will return to the stream console.
Press start streaming (from the output they selected when inputting your stream settings above). Any player will now be able to play back the livestream with the playback ID.
Configuring OBS for Low Latency
Balancing Low Latency with User Experience
Achieving the right balance between low latency and stream quality is essential for providing the best possible user experience. Two settings that significantly impact your stream quality, latency, and user experience are:
- Rate Control: This setting dictates the bitrate or “quality” of the stream. A high amount of bandwidth usually means better quality, but keep in mind that your output can never improve the quality of your stream beyond your input.
- Keyframe Interval: Video streams consist of full frames and data relative to the full frames. This setting determines how often a full frame appears, which heavily influences latency.
Optimizing for Low Latency
Low latency is primarily determined by the keyframe interval. Having keyframes appear more frequently allows viewers to “hook onto” a point closer to the actual live point. However, full frames can’t (re)use references to other frames, so more bandwidth is needed to generate a stream of the same quality compared to one with a lower number of keyframes.
We also require that the user turns off B-frames for lowest latency. B-frames, or bidirectional frames, are a type of video frame that makes use of references from the past as well as the future. They improve video compression by having more context, but also increase latency because they require a bigger encode buffer. Furthermore, in WebRTC video playback, B-frames will appear out-of-order on most systems.
Optimizing for Stream Quality and User Experience
Stream quality and user experience are mainly decided by the rate control of the stream. When optimizing for user experience, consider the stability of the video playback and the smoothness of the video. This is mostly decided by the peak bitrate of the video. A high peak bitrate can cause playback problems like buffering or skips in video playback for some viewers.
Livepeer-specific considerations
Since Livepeer is mostly HLS-based, a 2-second keyframe interval is generally encouraged, as HLS has a minimum latency of around 3-5 keyframe intervals. This choice would prioritize low latency.
However, if the connection is fairly poor, a 5-second keyframe interval will allow for higher quality per bit at the expense of more latency. If quality is valued over latency, this is a better choice, and you could even consider going for longer intervals. It is essential to understand the impact of each setting and adapt them to your specific requirements and priorities. The optimal stream settings may vary depending on your specific requirements.
Recommended OBS Settings
The following profiles provide a good starting point for balancing low latency with stream quality and user experience. You may need to adjust the settings to suit your specific situation.
Low latency, high quality
This profile prioritizes low latency, but still maintains a good quality at the cost of more (and more unpredictably spiking) bandwidth.
Low latency for bad connections
This profile prioritizes low latency, sacrificing quality to maintain a low bit rate so that even those with bad connections can watch reliably.
Balanced high quality
A good balance between reasonable latency and reasonable bit rate, but with consistently high quality.
Balanced for bad connections
A good balance between reasonable latency and reasonable quality, but with a consistent bit rate that should be comfortably viewable for most modern internet connections.
High quality, high latency
This profile prioritizes quality over everything else, sacrificing latency to keep the bit rate within reasonable bounds.
Low bandwidth, high latency
This profile prioritizes watchability, even for really bad connections, sacrificing both quality and latency to do so.