Troubleshooting Rendering Lag and Encoder Lag in Your Twitch, Mixer, or YouTube Live Streams

Of all the calamities that can occur on stream, lag is one of the most common and most annoying to wrestle with. There are many potential reasons for why lag occurs, all of which require different sets of solutions.

In the last installment, I covered how to troubleshoot network lag. Now let’s cover rendering and encoder lag. Unlike network lag, dropped frames caused by either rendering lag or encoding lag are tied to your PC’s performance. Here are some pointers for reducing the strain on your PC and maintain a smooth presentation!

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Troubleshooting Network Lag in Your Twitch, Mixer, or YouTube Live Streams

Of all the calamities that can occur on stream, lag is one of the most common and most annoying to wrestle with. There are many potential reasons for why lag occurs, all of which require different sets of solutions.

Though I plan on covering all three major sources of lag, we’re going to cover just network lag in this guide. The post got incredibly long just covering the ways one can troubleshoot their networking difficulties, so we’ll focus on that. If your stream is suffering from network lag, try out some of these tips!

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Why I Bought a Money Gun Instead of a New Streaming PC: Making the Right Improvements for My Streaming Setup

A while back, my wife and I were at a local clearance outlet. Scrounging through the store’s toy section, we stumbled upon the Monopoly Cash Grab Game. Unlike its classic tabletop predecessor, this one essentially boils down to one player shooting Monopoly money out of a money gun while the other players grab as much of it as they can.

I bought it with the intent of using it as a prop on stream. Finally, to celebrate reaching 200 follows on Twitch, I emptied the chamber in a blaze of glory to the delight of everyone viewing live and for those who saw the clip on social media afterwards.

[SIDE NOTE: Thank you for your ongoing support! The best part of streaming is the opportunity to spend time with you. Will continue my best to make this show valuable to you!]

The money gun was a blast to use. But was it a better use of my limited streaming budget at that moment? Especially when I’ve squeezed every ounce of life from my aging PC?

Yes. 

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I Just Want a Cape! – Super Mario World Live Stream

With my 3-year-old “nephew” tuning in, we decided to play a little bit of Super Mario World for him! I embarrass myself by being completely unable to get a cape, and I struggle to explain where Yoshi disappeared to after I jumped off his back to reach the final platform. Apologies for the conflicting music. Will remember to shut off the lo-fi beats for games where I want to play the music!

Click through for the full stream, highlights, and shoutouts!

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3 Tips to Improve Your Logitech C920 and Logitech BRIO Image Quality

[UPDATE: Seeing a lot of confusion in the comments regarding where I toggle the settings. I use these cameras with my OBS setup, so I make all the changes within OBS. If you’re not using OBS, you can try Logitech’s webcam software. Admittedly, my experience with Logitech’s software is awful and I quickly deleted it when it wouldn’t give me the level of control I needed. However, if you’re not using your camera within the context of streaming or video recording, it might be your only option.]

The Logitech C920 is a great starter webcam. The Logitech BRIO is arguably the best webcam on the market. Even so, I noticed issues with my image with regards to my skin looking washed out and my overall image looking a bit grainy.

Turns out that both of those issues can be fixed by getting more hands-on with the camera’s settings. In case you’re looking to squeeze more out of your Logitech webcams, check out these tips!

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Even More Posts About Streaming! #BloggersWhoStream

[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]

My efforts for #BloggersWhoStream are technically wrapping up today. However, writing about streaming is something that I have a deep passion for. I write posts about the subject on most Fridays and I’ll continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

If you enjoyed my work this week and wanted more, here’s a handy post that compiles links to a number of my previous efforts. Give it a look and I hope you enjoy!

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The Writer’s Advantage: Using Your Writing Experience to Stand Out in a Streaming World #BloggersWhoStream

[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]

As a writer with ambitions of streaming, it’s easy to feel like you’re at a disadvantage. In a number of ways, you probably are. While you’re comfortable communicating your words through a keyboard, streaming requires you to learn a number of new technologies that you likely have little-to-no experience with. Even scarier is the thought of communicating through a camera and microphone with your voice, facial expressions, and body language. Oh yeah, and everyone will be judging how you look. Are you ready for your closeup?

Millions of other streamers have already figured out their tech and have no qualms with pointing a camera at their face. Is it too late for you as a writer to follow suit? Absolutely not. Even if the tech gives you plenty of headaches and you may forever be camera shy, your writing experience gives you a distinct advantage over many others in the space. Let me explain.

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Livestreaming 101 featuring The 8-Bit Drummer, Chatia, Family Jules and Rabbid Luigi @ ConBravo 2019

My personal highlight at ConBravo 2019 was being able to sit in on the Livestreaming 101 panel with The 8-Bit Drummer, Chatia, Family Jules, and Rabbid Luigi! They provided us with some amazing info on how to take our streams to the next level and we truly appreciate it! For those who couldn’t make it, I captured a bunch of it on video! Hope you enjoy!

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