Streaming problems

Tquila

Hey all,

First of, welcome to all the new players. And even though the game may seem rough, just be glad you werent here in the first days of alpha ^.^

Now, I've been trying to set a stream up. I've been playing since the start of Alpha and thought it was about time to show it off a little more. Further, I havn't noticed any consistent streaming channels with NS2, so thought why not me (hopefully I'll be able to throw in some competative play at a later point as well). But I am having a few issues.

<i>The rig:</i>
CPU: i5 2500k SB
MB: ASROCK Z77 Extreme
RAM: 8gb 1600mhz
GPU: HD7870 2gb
Internet: 70/70

SÃ¥ basicaly, the rig is decent, and should be able to stream even with the current performance of NS2.

I am using xSplit to stream to Twitch, but I am having loads of frame drops. It's as bad as 3800/4000 frames are dropped, which makes for a very boring stream with spiky video, and that is not optimal when NS2 is such a fast paced game.

<i>xSplit settings:</i>
720p
4000bit rate
30 frames / sec

I have streamed other things like competative HoN before, but I've never had these issues, so thought I might as well try in here.

//Tquila

Kouji_San

AFAIK dropped frames are usually caused by your network and packet loss if the ingame FPS is consistent, also for a 720p stream you could use 2000kbps and it will still very look nice and crisp. going over 3000 is more of a "1080p" thing

Have you tried the Bandwidth Test in Xsplit to see if it comes up with suggestions (yellow/red light)

Tquila

I tested it with 5000kbps and it turned yellow (suspect it was because the avg. was on 4976 or something) so I turned it down to 4000. I can try a 2000kbps 720p stream. Do you have any idea if it may help to find a native broadcast resolution? Most seem like it's 16:9, but I have a 16:10 screen 1680x1050*.

Doing a test with 2500kbps it's green.

On another note (without hijacking another thread), do you know if it is possible to remove the border when playing windowed mode? Been looking for it, but not sure it exists.

XeiZ

For the border issue : Look up the non-flash menu mod it comes with borderless windowed mode and some other nice options.

As for your rig: Your rig is powerful enough and should even be able to do 1080p (not in current ns2 tho and not with xsplit...)
You definitely should try what kouji said and lower the bitrate, also if you have 2 monitors get a tool that shows you your current cpu usage for every core. No core should hit 100% at anytime, thats bad.
Most of the time dropped frames are caused by a bitrate that is too high for your upload or a cpu thats at its limits, have you overlocked your i5?

For the resolution: You CAN setup custom resolutions in xsplit, but the most common resolutions are 480,720 and 1080p. Also you may look into a different capturesource, like xsplits gamesource or (the highly superior) dxtory.

Last but not least you could try ffsplit and test if you get the same results.

edit: i forgot about the bitrate, you may have enough upload but the question is if its stable. A speedtest only measures a short time so you probably will see pretty good results but xsplit will run over minutes or even hours and is uploading constantly.

Tquila

Thanks for the help :) I just managed to crash the stream in windowed mode now, so don't know how stable it is.

With regards to my internet connection, it is very stable, never any fallouts or anything like that.

Only running 1 screen at the moment. However, I am using GameSource in xSplit, maybe I should try the dxtory.

elodea

I'm curious, do you get this horrendous frame drop only while playing ns2 in fullscreen? Have you tried streaming it in windowed mode?

I have a strange problem where i only get frame drops when playing ns2 fullscreen - they go away when doing windowed.

XeiZ

He is talking about dropped frames in xsplit not in ns2.

Kouji_San

Have you been able to get DXtory to detect NS2 in windowed mode yet? Or rather it does detect it, but shows it as a black screen also lacking the FPS indicators when I tried the trial...

Tquila

Yeah got it working, it would appear that dxTory only accepts fullscreen though, managing about 30 frames/s it would appear.

<a href="http://twitch.tv/tquilaonfire" target="_blank">http://twitch.tv/tquilaonfire</a>

ffff god friggin damnit. Now xSplit once again cut the stream though. No frame loss, but all the suddent it just updates and cuts it, even though it still say streaming in xSplit.

Edit 2: Hmm, apparently there are some driver issues. I'll check a few things out, and update here if I get it working correctly. Out of interest Kouji, what GPU are you running with?

XeiZ

Newest dxtory accepts window mode. =)

Also for the stream cutting please download this tool and look which server gives you the best connection and choose this in your channel settings.
<a href="http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=326034" target="_blank">http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessag...topic_id=326034</a>
This MAY solve this.

edit: watched it for a short time, seemed fine , no frame drops or something, but then again it only was a short time. Also you may check your sound, its ... bad. :p

Tquila

It would appear I have gotten it fixed. A few driver issues seemed to be to blame, and dxtory made all the difference in the actual capture.

XeiZ

Good to know. =)
You still should try choosing the best server for the best lagfree connection at all times possible.
Also if you need more indepth help with stuff like quality or dxtory just add me on steam.

Kouji_San

<a href="http://www.avermedia.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?Id=571" target="_blank">Avermedia Live Gamer HD</a> still an option, even on those newer rig?

XeiZ

If you want to use the encoding feature it comes with, dont buy it yet. Xsplit doesnt utilize this feature for streaming at the moment. With xsplits next build it will support it to some extend, but only for local recordings.