Twitch has always been a great platform for content creators to connect with their audience while playing video games live. Now more than ever, live streaming is extremely popular making twitch the number one platform to stream on. Streaming is advertised as something anyone can do which is accurate for the most part. All you need is a device to play video games and an internet service provider. However, streaming can become complicated when you are unaware of how to handle internet speed as well as upload speeds.
It is important that your upload speed is up-to-par because if it is not, it can cause a great disturbance in the quality of your streams. In this article we will explain what upload speeds are ideal for streaming and share some tips on how to improve your internet speed.
What Upload Speed Do I Need To Stream On Twitch?
First lets briefly explain what an upload speed is and why it’s important. Upload speed is the rate in which online data is transferred from your computer to the internet. A good upload speed is important for streaming on twitch because it should be able to display your content without any issues at a decent quality.
If you plan on streaming then it is recommended that your upload speed is at least between 3 to 6 Mbps. This recommendation is the minimum so anything lower than that might not work out. However, this setting should at least give you 480p quality. For higher quality such as 1080p it is best that your upload speed is 10 Mbps or higher.
In the next section we will discuss what upload speeds you should use for different types of resolutions. We will look at 480p, 720p, and 1080p. A brief description of each will be given regarding the correlation between the upload speed and the megabits per second.
What Upload Speed Do I Need To Stream In 480p?
This resolution is the lowest quality therefore it may not look the best but it is still manageable. A good place to start with to achieve 480p is 3 Mbps. This is especially good if you are streaming on one platform at a time.
What Upload Speed Do I Need To Stream In 720p?
This resolution is a good medium because even though it does not display the highest of quality it can definitely amplify the quality of your streams. To achieve this your upload speed can start at 6 Mbps.
What Upload Speed Do I Need To Stream In 1080p?
This resolution is the highest quality setting and can even be HD depending on how high your upload speed is. If you are okay with not having high quality then your upload speed can start at 10 Mbps. This is the minimum so the higher the better. You can stream from multiple platforms if you do choose to go for a high quality which is about 20Mbps and above.
How To Check Your Upload Speed
The information we covered so far was the easiest way to explain upload speeds and megabits per second. There are many other intricate details to go over however, you might be wondering how you can check your upload speed. That’s where the website www.speedtest.net comes into play. This is a free website and app you can use to check your internet upload speed.
- Enter speedtest.net in a search engine.
- Press Go and that’s it.
As you can see by the results above, I should be able to stream because my upload speed is 36.96 Mbps. This exceeds the previous numbers we mentioned as we covered the bare minimum of Mbps in order to stream on twitch which is between 3-10 Mbps. However, 25 Mbps and above is the golden spot you want to be at if you are not only streaming gaming content but other things such as services like Netflix and Hulu. You want to be mindful of how many things you decide to stream in conjunction with gaming to ensure your getting the best possible connection.
How To Improve Your Internet Speed
Having a good internet speed is important because this determines what you can do online and how many devices you can work with. You especially want to ensure you have good internet speed if you plan on streaming. This can help avoid things like major stream delays and glitches. Here are some tips you can use to improve your internet speed.
- Reset your router
- Reposition your router
- Use an ethernet cable
- Check your internet speed
- Switch your plan or ISP (internet service provider)
- Minimize the number of items connected
- Ensure your router is up to date
- Try a VPN
Wrapping Up
Streaming on twitch can be a fun and engaging activity. It can help with many things such as building a career in the gaming industry or something simple like making new friends. Being mindful of your internet speed and upload speed is super important because with those things performing at its best, you can perform at your best and stream confidently. Hopefully this article helped clarify upload speeds and how to go about them when it is time for you to hit that go live button.
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