Company of Heroes

Here is a little guide on optimising Xsplit based on my experience so far:
Video Encoding
Preset:

Roughly speaking, this tells Xsplit how hard it should try to compress the video.
faster: Uses less cpu , more bandwidth.
slower: Uses more cpu, less bandwidth.
It doesn't affect overall quality (technically as h.264 uses destructive compression, slower may create some artifacts)

Quality:

Higher: Uses more CPU, more bandwidth
Lower: Uses less CPU, less bandwidth
Most important factor deciding quality second to resolution, especially when there are many details changing fast, eg. explosions.

VBV Max Bitrate:

As far as I can tell it just sets the maximum bitrate and should be set to something close to your maximum upload speed. I haven't seen it go above 3000k on my stream, though.
Setting it to low will produce lagspikes. If possible keep an eye on the bitrate when you're streaming; it's shown in the Xsplit's titlebar.

VBV Buffer:

http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Enc...ns#VBV_Encoding. The key sentence in there is "A frame must be fully downloaded into the VBV buffer before it can be decoded" and explains why lower values of the VBV buffer reduce lag spikes. (Courtesy aramonkg)
But from experience I can tell that setting it too high causes some intermittent freezes in my stream.
A lower setting will create more artifacts and the effect that background will take longer to focus.
From what I have seen other people doing and what works for me I recommend setting it to 1/4 of VBV Max Bitrate.

This post has been edited by pingtoft: Apr 25 2011, 15:09 PM

I thought I'd make a thread on this so it can be more easily updated.

It would be awesome if all you broadcasters out there would post your settings, cpu and internet speed, so we can create a baseline for whichs setting works with what hardware.

This post has been edited by pingtoft: Apr 25 2011, 09:14 AM

great... thanks for that

System Specs(for reference): Core i7 @ 3.20GHz, 6GB RAM @ 1600MHz, GTX 285 VGA, ADSL connection with 850Kbps upstream

I broadcast CoH at 1280x720 resolution / 20 fps with maxed DirectX9 graphics and no in-game lag at these settings.



As for the elusive VBV buffer here is something that clears it up, http://mewiki.project357.com/wiki/X264_Enc...ns#VBV_Encoding. The key sentence in there is "A frame must be fully downloaded into the VBV buffer before it can be decoded" and explains why lower values of the VBV buffer reduce lag spikes.

Btw, nicely written pingtoft.

Where do I do that?

Assuming you have the latest version, goto to tools->settings->channels->edit.
In the Encoding box there should be a dropdown call Preset.
If it's a textbox that says streaming, you need to update XSplit.

Will try. Also, does setting a higher cpu priority in task manager help?

Only if you have nonessential processes running that use the cpu.

i7 920 stock clock, 6gb 1600mhz, 5870 1gb, 2M upload. Ingame settings dx10 all high, 4x AA: no ingame lag while broadcasting with the following x-plit settings (1080p, 20FPS):
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/851/xplit.jpg/

Link to my sample:
http://www.justin.tv/pavelmass/b/288548854

Note that my AT-partner is using 3G-internet in this game, should you see any lag it must have been there ingame too But iirc in this one his 3G was pwning throughout the game.

IHATEYOU

Thanks for the bump, but most importantly thanks for the guide. Bookmarked.

whats about any serious alternatives? cuz as soon as xsplit has monthly costs i'll jump off the train

Own3d might have an agreement with xsplit, so it might still be free if you use own3d instead of justin.tv

I guess just wait and see.

How can I disable automatic log in so that I can get the latest beta release?

You don't have to; just use the log out button in the upper right corner and login with the update account. I'm not sure there are any dev builds atm, tho

I'm trying to use Xsplit and I'm getting those lag spikes where every few seconds the stream freezes momentarily and then continues. I have tried everything I can think of short of dropping the quality of the stream below an acceptable level.

I just upgraded to a 25 mbps upstream and I'm getting quite frustrated at all of this. I've tried low buffers, high buffers, low/high max bitrates. No matter what I do, I get those freezes.

I have two channels I have started dual-casting to. One is a severely low quality stream for my friends with painfully slow connections. That one seems to run fine without the lag spikes. This tells me it's something quality-related, but why? My connection and computer specs should be more than enough to handle pushing the data.

Here are my specs:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Mainboard: MSI 890FXA-GD70
Memory: 4GB DDR3 PC3-12800H (800MHz) G.Skill Ripjaws
Hard Drive: 4x 500GB HDDs
Video: ATI Radeon HD 6870
Sound: Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Power Supply: Cooler Master 650w
Printer: Canon Pixma MP210
OS: Windows XP Pro SP3

My bandwidth:


I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to run a good, smooth, high quality stream. If I can get some help, that'd be great.

It would probably help if you posted the framerate and resolution you're streaming along with a screenshot of the settings you're using. Your post told us literally nothing.

I have a 965BE@4Ghz and I still have that issue. I think the problem is that AMD CPUs simply doesn't handle encoding as well as Intel CPUs.
Apart from that, what Inverse said.

Well I don't know what the framerate is that I'm streaming at. Either Xsplit doesn't share that information, or I was too distracted by watching the bitrate to notice.

As far as resolution, I'm streaming through Xsplit at 1280x720. The actual game window might be a little larger when I am playing FEAR 3. When it's in windowed mode, it doesn't let you choose a resolution. You just resize the window freely by dragging the border.

My post tells you literally nothing? How about all of the information about my connection and system specs? I figured you could look at that and come up with a rough idea of what kind of Xsplit settings I should be able to stream with. What if I would have just told you the framerate and resolution and nothing else. Of course then you would say "You didn't even say what your connection is or anything about your system."

Any way, tell me how to find the framerate and I'll go check.


On another note, I have my account here set up to receive email notification of replies and yet I am not. ...and yes, I checked my spam folder.


So basically what you're saying I'm screwed no matter what I do? I put hundreds of dollars into [re]building a new system and upgraded my internet connection and I still won't be able to have a smooth, high quality stream...

This post has been edited by vertigoelectric: Aug 24 2011, 17:17 PM

The framerate is done up at the top menu, right above/below where you set the broadcast resolution. I have mine set to 15 or 20 FPS, I believe, and it works out just fine. It's not the highest quality stream, but it's smooth and reliable (except for xsplit crashing all the time!).

Post a link to your JTV channel, let us take a look at it. It might be a case of unrealistic expectations--you're not going to get a cast that looks like Budwise unless you have the TOP top gear.