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My quality is bad on some platforms
My quality is bad on some platforms

Learn why stream quality may appear lower on certain channels.

Elisavet avatar
Written by Elisavet
Updated over a week ago

If you're struggling with decreased quality on only some of your streaming platforms, we may have the answer.


Follow the platform's recommended settings

When you stream, there are several key parameters that directly affect your stream's visual quality, such as bitrate, resolution, and frames per second. To ensure a smooth result for your connected platforms, make sure to stick to their guidelines.


Consider how the platform transcodes your stream

Restream does not modify your incoming streams; the stream quality you send us is what platforms receive. It is then up to them how they will process this data.

Since all platforms have their own approach to processing incoming streams, that's where the difference in stream quality may happen.

  1. No transcoding

    Some platforms don't do transcoding and have strict stream quality limitations to ensure that most viewers can view the stream. Exceeding quality limitations may cause issues with stream stability.

  2. Partial transcoding

    Other platforms take a hybrid approach, with strict recommended stream parameters but also transcoding the stream to lower specifications. This allows every streamer to compress the original feed to high quality and enables lower stream quality for viewers who have a bad connection to the platform.

  3. Full transcoding

    The third approach is fully transcoding the stream without preserving the source. Such platforms allow only a limited set of resolutions with a 16:9 aspect ratio, such as 144p, 240p, 360p, 480p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p. The incoming stream will be converted to a certain standard, making it fully predictable in terms of quality and bitrate for viewers.

Since Restream doesn't control these parameters, it's best to check with your platforms about their transcoding methods.

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