Encoding is all about compressing images. The smaller the size of the image, the less we must compress it and the more quality it keeps. While the same applies for framerate, a viewer can really notice a drop in FPS but not so much in resolution, so we will always try to stream at 60 FPS.
First, run a speed test to determine your upload speed (e.g. Speed Test). We want to use around 75% of your upload speed, as the game and other programs such as Discord will also fight for bandwidth.
Then, we will determine the resolution and FPS that we can use for such bitrate. Most streaming sites have recommendations (Twitch, Youtube, Facebook Gaming) on what to use. These are ours:
Upload Speed |
Bitrate |
Resolution |
Framerate |
3 Mbps |
2,500 |
1024x576 |
30 |
4 Mbps |
3,500 |
1280x720 |
30 |
6 Mbps |
5,000 |
1280x720 |
60 |
8-10 Mbps |
6,000 |
1920x1080 * |
60 |
15+ Mbps |
12,000 (Youtube) |
1920x1080 |
60 |
20+ Mbps |
15,000+ (Youtube) |
2560x1440 |
60 |
40+ Mbps |
30,000+ (Youtube) |
3840x2160 |
60 |
* Important Note for High Motion Content. If you are going to stream high motion scenes (i.e. Racing games, some Battle Royale games, etc.) we highly recommend reducing your resolution. High motion content cannot be compressed as much, and can suffer from more artifacting (encoding errors) that make your stream look “blocky”. If you reduce the resolution, you reduce the data being encoded, and the resulting viewer quality is higher. For example, for Fortnite, many streamers decide to stream at 1600x900 60 FPS.
Note for New and Upcoming Streamers to Twitch. Transcoding allows a viewer to view your video on a different resolution, thus requiring a lower bandwidth. Twitch only offers guaranteed transcoding to Partners; non-partners may receive transcoding, but it is not guaranteed. This is important if your viewers are on mobile phones or their internet speed is not as fast. You may want to consider streaming at a lower bitrate and resolution to lower the bandwidth required to see your channel.