Live Event streaming requires the use of an RTMP encoder. If your upload bandwidth and encoder allows, we recommend using three bitrate levels to enable adaptive bitrate switching.
You can set up to three stream qualities for a Live Event. In this section, you’ll find the recommended encoder settings that will achieve the best performance depending on your upload bandwidth. (To see the supported encoder settings which meet the minimum requirements, go to Live Event Supported Encoder Settings.)
Only use up to half of your maximum upload bandwidth for all streams combined. If you go over half the maximum, buffering errors can occur. If you don’t know your maximum upload bandwidth you can run a speed test to determine the bandwidth available to you.
If you are on a shared connection, the upload speed available to you can change depending on who else is using the connection. It’s recommended to run a speed test as part of your pre-event test to ensure you have the correct bitrate configured on the encoder.
- For 5 Mbps or greater, see Multi-stream with 5 Mbps Upload Bandwidth
- For 10 Mbps or greater, see Multi-stream with Over 10 Mbps Upload Bandwidth
Multi-stream with 5 Mbps Upload Bandwidth
If your minimum upload bandwidth is 5 Mbps, use the recommended encoder settings in this section for the following source inputs:
Stream Settings for SD (720 × 480) Source Input
| First or Highest Quality Stream | Second or Medium Quality Stream | Third or Lowest Quality Stream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 720 × 480 | 512 × 384 | 400 × 300 |
| Frame Rate | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS |
| Video Bitrate | 1.2 Mbps (1200 Kbps) | 700 Kbps | 300 Kbps |
| Video Codec/Format | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 |
| Video Profile | Main | Main | Main |
| Keyframe Interval | 2 seconds | 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Level | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio Bitrate | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps |
| Audio Codec/Format | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) |
| Audio Sample Rate | 44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
Stream Settings for Anamorphic SD (720 × 486) Source Input
| First or Highest Quality Stream | Second or Medium Quality Stream | Third or Lowest Quality Stream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 720 × 404 | 512 × 288 | 400 × 224 |
| Frame Rate | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS |
| Video Bitrate | 1.2 Mbps (1200 Kbps) | 700 Kbps | 300 Kbps |
| Video Codec/Format | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 |
| Video Profile | Main | Main | Main |
| Keyframe Interval | 2 seconds | 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Level | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio Bitrate | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps |
| Audio Codec/Format | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) |
| Audio Sample Rate | 44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
Stream Settings for HD (1920 × 1080) or HD (1280 × 720) Source Input
| First or Highest Quality Stream | Second or Medium Quality Stream | Third or Lowest Quality Stream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1024 × 576 | 720 × 404 | 400 × 224 |
| Frame Rate | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS |
| Video Bitrate | 1.4 Mbps (1400 Kbps) | 700 Kbps | 300 Kbps |
| Video Codec/Format | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 |
| Video Profile | Main | Main | Main |
| Keyframe Interval | 2 seconds | 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Level | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio Bitrate | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps |
| Audio Codec/Format | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) |
| Audio Sample Rate | 44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
Multi-stream with Over 10 Mbps Upload Bandwidth
If your minimum upload bandwidth is 10 Mbps, use the recommended encoder settings in this section for the following source inputs:
Stream Settings for SD (720 × 480) Source Input
| First or Highest Quality Stream | Second or Medium Quality Stream | Third or Lowest Quality Stream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 720 × 480 | 512 × 384 | 400 × 300 |
| Frame Rate | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS |
| Video Bitrate | 2.0 Mbps (2000 Kbps) | 1.4 Mbps (1400 Kbps) | 400 Kbps |
| Video Codec/Format | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 |
| Video Profile | Main | Main | Main |
| Keyframe Interval | 2 seconds | 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Level | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio Bitrate | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps |
| Audio Codec/Format | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) |
| Audio Sample Rate | 44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
Stream Settings for Anamorphic SD (720 × 486) Source Input
| First or Highest Quality Stream | Second or Medium Quality Stream | Third or Lowest Quality Stream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 720 × 404 | 512 × 288 | 400 × 224 |
| Frame Rate | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS |
| Video Bitrate | 2.0 Mbps (2000 Kbps) | 1.4 Mbps (1400 Kbps) | 400 Kbps |
| Video Codec/Format | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 |
| Video Profile | Main | Main | Main |
| Keyframe Interval | 2 seconds | 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Level | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio Bitrate | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps |
| Audio Codec/Format | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) |
| Audio Sample Rate | 44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
Stream Settings for HD (1920 × 1080) or HD (1280 × 720) Source Input
| First or Highest Quality Stream | Second or Medium Quality Stream | Third or Lowest Quality Stream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1280 × 720 | 720 × 404 | 400 × 224 |
| Frame Rate | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS |
| Video Bitrate | 2.5 Mbps (2500 Kbps) | 1.6 Mbps (1600 Kbps) | 400 Kbps |
| Video Codec/Format | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 |
| Video Profile | Main | Main | Main |
| Keyframe Interval | 2 seconds | 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Level | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio Bitrate | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps | 96 Kbps |
| Audio Codec/Format | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) |
| Audio Sample Rate | 44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
Stream Settings for HD (1920 × 1080) or HD (1280 × 720) Source Input
| First or Highest Quality Stream | Second or Medium Quality Stream | Third or Lowest Quality Stream | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1920 × 1080 | 1280 × 720 | 720 × 404 |
| Frame Rate | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS | 29.970 FPS |
| Video Bitrate | 3.5 Mbps (3500 Kbps) | 2.5 Mbps (2500 Kbps) | 1.6 Mbps (1600 Kbps) |
| Video Codec/Format | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) | H.264 (mandatory) |
| Video Profile | High | Main | Main |
| Keyframe Interval | 2 seconds | 2 seconds | 2 seconds |
| Level | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Audio Bitrate | 128 Kbps | 128 Kbps | 96 Kbps |
| Audio Codec/Format | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) | AAC (MP3 is also accepted) |
| Audio Sample Rate | 44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |
44100 Hz (recommended) 48000 Hz (supported) |