Game Lags when Streaming

[Mn3MoN1C]

Hey guys, my rig set up is

Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.4 ghz
8 gigs of ram
Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT

My Speed Test


and my XML is

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<flashmedialiveencoder_profile>
    <preset>
        <name>Custom</name>
        <description></description>
    </preset>
    <capture>
        <video>
        <device>VHScrCap</device>
        <crossbar_input>0</crossbar_input>
        <frame_rate>25.00</frame_rate>
        <size>
            <width>1920</width>
            <height>1080</height>
        </size>
        </video>
        <audio>
        <device>Line In (High Definition Audio </device>
        <crossbar_input>0</crossbar_input>
        <sample_rate>44100</sample_rate>
        <channels>2</channels>
        <input_volume>97</input_volume>
        </audio>
    </capture>
    <process>
        <video>
        <preserve_aspect></preserve_aspect>
        </video>
    </process>
    <encode>
        <video>
        <format>VP6</format>
        <datarate>1400;</datarate>
        <outputsize>1280x720;</outputsize>
        <advanced>
            <keyframe_frequency>5 Seconds</keyframe_frequency>
            <quality>Good Quality - Good Framerate</quality>
            <noise_reduction>None</noise_reduction>
            <datarate_window>Medium</datarate_window>
            <cpu_usage>Dedicated</cpu_usage>
        </advanced>
        <autoadjust>
            <enable>false</enable>
            <maxbuffersize>1</maxbuffersize>
            <dropframes>
            <enable>false</enable>
            </dropframes>
            <degradequality>
            <enable>false</enable>
            <minvideobitrate></minvideobitrate>
            <preservepfq>false</preservepfq>
            </degradequality>
        </autoadjust>
        </video>
        <audio>
        <format>MP3</format>
        <datarate>128</datarate>
        </audio>
    </encode>
    <restartinterval>
        <days></days>
        <hours></hours>
        <minutes></minutes>
    </restartinterval>
    <reconnectinterval>
        <attempts></attempts>
        <interval></interval>
    </reconnectinterval>
    <output>
        <rtmp>
        <url>rtmp://live.justin.tv/app</url>
        <backup_url></backup_url>
        <stream>STREAM_KEY_HERE</stream>
        </rtmp>
    </output>
    <metadata>
        <entry>
        <key>author</key>
        <value></value>
        </entry>
        <entry>
        <key>copyright</key>
        <value></value>
        </entry>
        <entry>
        <key>description</key>
        <value></value>
        </entry>
        <entry>
        <key>keywords</key>
        <value></value>
        </entry>
        <entry>
        <key>rating</key>
        <value></value>
        </entry>
        <entry>
        <key>title</key>
        <value></value>
        </entry>
    </metadata>
    <preview>
        <video>
        <input>
            <zoom>25%</zoom>
        </input>
        <output>
            <zoom>25%</zoom>
        </output>
        </video>
        <audio></audio>
    </preview>
    <log>
        <level>100</level>
        <directory>C:\Users\Enforcer\Videos</directory>
    </log>
</flashmedialiveencoder_profile>

I am currently using FME 3.2 since 2.5 wasn't showing up in the link. I was wondering if 3.2 is still slower than 2.5(I know 3.0 was).

The Batch file I am using says:

cd "B:\Program Files\Adobe\Flash Media Live Encoder 3.2" 
start /affinity 8 /high FMLECmd.exe /p B:\Enforcer\fme\justin.xml

Essentially, when streaming I have lowered my video setting to fair and still am only pulling 5-10 fps in the game causing it to be choppy.

Here is the most recent example of my capture
justneph - Broadcasting LIVE on Justin.tv

I was wondering if anyone could help me tweak my settings for a better stream. Is it possible with my rig? Thanks again so much.

[Chamassa]

Disclaimer: i am not even close to an expert.

Ok so, i see you are streaming 1080, on a rig simular to mine, except a slower CPU. Your bitrate however seems a tad low.

Now that said, when i talked with tim he said i could probably stream properly on 720, but not a huge bitrate. Problem is that streaming takes more resources then actually playing at high quality.

My guess would be that streaming at 1080 is just killing your CPU in 10 different ways at once.

What you could try is keeping an eye on the resource manager (Taskmanager, then the 4th tab) I have the feeling its gonna be maxxing out.
If thats the case your gonna have to lower the resolution.

[Mn3MoN1C]

Lower the resolution of my game? or for that particular monitor?

[xartin]

I could toss my hat in the ring here and say that my Intel core2 quad Q9650 with a 275GTS nvidia couldn't handle streaming and playing games very well. it somewhat worked in 720p but definitely couldn't handle 1080p.

If I recall correctly nvidia's 8800 series cards were all pci express version 1.x and they also lacked several attractive features to fully support gpu rendering of HD video that are all common on modern video cards.

If i were to suspect anything that would likely be the culprit. pcie 1.x offers significantly reduced interface bandwidth over a newer graphics card.

Since you haven't listed your motherboard model I don't have any way to verify the specifications for your motherboard's pci express slot capabilities but given you have a Q series core2 duo I'm willing to guess your motherboard could very well be pcie 2.x capable.

If thats the case your video card is causing a giant video processing bottleneck that could be the source of your game lag while streaming. You should check if your motherboard does support pci express 2.x and possibly consider upgrading to a 560 series or better nvidia graphics card.

[Mn3MoN1C]

Sorry for the delay in response my mobo is kinda old, linked here

Newegg.com - ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

I'm thinking of upgrading to a newer video card if it means I could stream. Any newegg suggestions on what could work with my board?

[xartin]

I did find this

Newegg.com - MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Here's another option as well from ncix. same gpu with 2560MB video memory in an evga. newegg doesn't have any of them. If you've never heard of ncix theyre Canada's top online retailer based in Vancouver. They expanded into the usa in the last year or so.

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=621...nufacture=eVGA

It's middle of the mark for cost and still has 320 bit memory interface which can mean a significant performance increase for video processing and often far less lag. That video card is as close as it gets to an nvidia 580GTX without the additional $300.00 price tag.

One thing to consider is does your power supply have the new dual 8 pin pci express connectors a newer video card would require? Here's a few choices if you do need an upgrade.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...1&name=Corsair

I also located this

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int.../P5E/#overview

and my guess was right on the mark. your current motherboard does have pci express version 2.0

If you do upgrade and find your performance still doesn't meet your expectations you've started buying the nuts and bolts for a custom pc rebuild anyway. just keep going and build yourself an intel sandy bridge based system with an i7-2600k when you can afford the rest of the components.

I mention that because the rest of your current system is fairly outdated and an ICH9R intel chipset was never known to be a terribly great performer overall.

[Mn3MoN1C]

So I believe I'm gonna get a gtx 570 and I'm looking at these two models here

Newegg.com - EVGA 012-P3-1577-KR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) HD DoubleShot 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Newegg.com - MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

The EVGA one is also on sale for 319 with no shipping but I'm not sure if it's worth it to just plop the extra 70 and get the MSI. Any ideas?

[xartin]

That evga does have a mini displayport so why not

note the msi one also comes with a factory overclock at 770mhz core, 4000MHz memory vs 732MHz, core 3800 memory for the evga. probably where the 70.00 investment lies.

I don't see it being a significant difference considering your current video card as either one will be an upgrade to "warp speed captain". evga and msi are both very reputable since BFG decided to can they're video card production line.

Your eyes will water diamonds once you get either card installed and crank the graphics up to over 9000 with directx11. Just don't neglect to check the power supply requirements. 850 watt power supplies have become a mainstream necessity in the last year.

[Mn3MoN1C]

So yesterday I installed the new video card and on the second highest setting i was getting 60fps in game, when I ran the fme batch file, it went down to about 20-30 which is fine. The game itself runs smoothly now when streaming but the stream itself seems to still be a bit laggy.

Here is the capture I did today, justneph - Leveling my Affliction Lock

I think it might have to do with my bitrate but I'm not quite sure what to set it too.

[Tim]

Basically your CPU is the bottleneck.

Use FME 2.5, with VP6, and probably 720p MAX with 10fps @ 1000 or 1500kbps.