Thanks for all the amazing information in this thread. For anyone using Karl’s brilliant wireless HDMI setup, how is the delay? Is it suitable for live commentary? I suppose the commentators would be in sync with the action, but is it a noticeable lag from the actual action.
What is the wireless hdmi solution? Haven’t seen this yet and very interested.
The lag is imperceptible for what we use it for.
@chuckwurt https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=16049
The only unfortunate bit is I’ve only been able to get 2 working at the same time despite the manual claiming 16 transmitters/10 receivers are possible.
Thanks! So you will need one set of these for each hdmi camera, and can only use two sets at once? Did you use some sort of switch to have all the setups going at indisc?
Yes, one set for each hdmi camera.
INDISC was all hardwired. I had planned on using the wireless to stream Classics but had enough on my plate as it was.
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Gotcha makes sense. Thanks for sharing. Being the stream nerd I am, I just wanted to be at indisc to see the setup alone!
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slacker! could have got our killer classic finals on stream 
OBS 21.0 is out with some huge new features:
- Scripting support via Lua or Python!! This should make it way easier to do fancier things (included is a script for instant replay, for example).
- Set transition settings per-scene. For example, my HDMI switch takes a few seconds whenever I switch the signal, so I use a ~5 seconds stringer transition to hide the change, but I want to use a quicker transition when going to something like MatchPlay standings.
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Since I have a lot of the equipment now, might start streaming a little every once in a while for the hell of it. Let me know if you have any recommendations or alterations I should make, here is a test clip.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/222643430
Going to work on the overlay some, but just put something together quickly. Also, I am aware there is no audio, I didnt feel like hooking up the mic, but I should be covered there(Blue Snowball).
Looks great! I would just suggest to show the ball in play somewhere too. Helps viewers know where the game stands.
Yeah I am not sure how I did not even think of that, thanks.
I always forget. Especially when switching from a dmd game to SS mid stream.
How do you guys decide on resolution and bitrate for streaming?
Bitrate for me is all on the type of internet connection you have. At home I do 2500, at a bar near me I had to lower it to 1500 to not get choppy frames.
Resolution is all on the cameras being used and whether they are plugged right into the computer, whether hubs are used, extension cables, etc.
I’ve also experienced lag with certain cameras if you go too high on resolution. C922 at 1080 for example.
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Cool thanks.
to add on, resolution and frame rate correlates to bit rate. The higher the resolution and frame rate, the more data there is.
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There are guidelines for bitrate on twitch. https://stream.twitch.tv/encoding/
For many people bitrate depends on their internet connection. If you have a 2Mbps upload speed you obviously can’t stream at 3500kbps.
Most people who stream pinball stream it at 720p (1280x720) resolution. One reason is it allows you to stream at 60 frames per second. If you have a camera(s) that is capable. If none of your cams will capture 60fps then streaming at 60fps would be a big waste. If you don’t have any cams capable of 60fps but you have good upload speeds then 1080p and 30fps might be a good option.
And if you do only have a 2Mbps upload speed then even 720p30 might be a stretch. Twitch guidelines for 720p30 is 2500-4000 kbps. But I think you can get away with lower bitrates than their guidelines for pinball since there isn’t as much stuff moving on screen at once. A talking head is easier to compress than something like a panning shot of a crowd.
You can also run a test stream on twitch to test your bandwidth w/o going live. You just add “?bandwidthtest” to the end of your twitch key and start the stream. Then you can use twitch inspector https://inspector.twitch.tv/ to monitor the stream and see if your computer/connection is keeping up.
Your computer is also a factor in determining the best resolution/frame rate. It takes more CPU/GPU power to set your cameras at high resolutions and stream in high res. If you are streaming on an older computer you might not be able to do 720p60 or 1080p. But I’ve seen streams around 540p and 480p that look ok… especially on a mobile device.
Also there used to be a max upload rate of 3500 kbps for twitch. That is gone. I’m not sure what the actual new limit is… but people seem to think it’s 6000 kbps which is the highest of their recommended settings. In the past it was good advice for smaller streamers to stick to lower bitrates like 2000-3000 kbps. This is because in the past you had to be partnered to have access to transcodes. Transcodes allow users to watch a lower bitrate version of your stream. Some people don’t have 3Mbps+ download speeds. So they would be unable to watch anything over 3000 kbps, even 2500 might be tough. So if you were a smaller streamer w/o access to transcode options then everyone has to watch your stream at the native bitrate listed as “source”. This also sucks for people watching on mobile with limited data that don’t want to watch a 6000 kbps 1080p stream on their phone. I often drop down to 320p when I watch on my phone if I am not on wifi. HOWEVER. These transcode options are available to everyone at this point. HOWEVER not all the time - it depends on the server load. If there are a ton of people streaming on a Sat night the lower tier streamers might not have transcode options. Partners always have transcode/quality options. Then affiliates, then everyone else starting with streamers with better average viewer counts and stuff. But if you are streaming at 6am on a wed pretty much everyone will have the transcode/quality options. So that can also influence the bitrate you choose.
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but if you compress more there is less but you need more CPU.
True, but it’s still always going to be relative to the resolution and fps chosen.
Need some help! I’m putting together a streaming computer. It needs to handle 6 C920’s, only 2 active at a time (3 games will be camera’d up, only 1 active at a time). What do you think the minimum specs are for CPU/RAM/etc. ?Thanks for your help!
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