What’s The Best Internet For Streaming On Twitch?
What’s The Best Internet For Streaming On Twitch?
Currently, Twitch is the biggest streaming platform on the internet, with tons of variety in content ranging from gaming to people just chatting. It’s become so big that practically anyone can adopt it as a profession and earn a lot of money.
To succeed in this streaming environment, you need to get ahead of the competition. One of the most important ways to set yourself up for success is to have a fast and reliable internet connection.
High-quality images and stability are at the core of every streaming channel. It's crucial to understand how to find the best internet for streaming on Twitch.
What’s the best internet speed for Twitch streaming?
While you’re streaming live, you have to consider three major factors in regard to your internet connection: stability, upload speed, and download speed.
When you have a stable and reliable connection, your stream will stay live throughout the entire duration without any drops in image quality. Unstable connections will constantly need to reconnect to the Twitch platform and will have overall lower image quality.
A fast upload speed is essential to any streamer, as it’s what allows you to stream at higher resolutions without dropping in image quality. The faster your upload is, the better your live stream will be.
While having a fast download speed isn't as important as upload, it’s still just as important for a great streaming experience. With a fast download speed, you can interact faster and easier with your community by reading their messages and replying. You can also watch your own live Twitch stream on the platform while you stream to ensure everything is running smoothly.
All of this is easily achievable with fiber internet. It’s safe, fast and the most reliable of all internet connections. If you have cable internet, your speed won’t be symmetrical and will be overall slower than fiber, and it’s not reliable because it can tend to lag during peak usage times.
Upload speeds for Twitch
Twitch measures its video and audio quality through bitrate. Bitrate is the amount of data transferred from you directly to the Twitch streaming platform. A higher bitrate results in better audio and image quality for viewers.
The bitrate numbers are directly related to your upload speeds. For instance, a 1000 kbps bitrate means you need 1000 kbps, or 1 Mbps, of upload speed to transfer the data reliably and achieve the quality you set.
To achieve a high bitrate for good-quality streaming, you need a fast and stable internet connection. Here are a few recommendations directly from Twitch’s Broadcasting Guidelines:
- Full HD (1080p, 60fps): 6000 kbps
- Full HD (1080p, 30fps): 6000 kbps
- HD (720p, 60fps): 4500 kbps
- HD (720p, 60fps): 4500 kbps
To ensure a stable overall connection, it’s recommended to have some extra upload speed starting at 10000 kbps, or 10 Mbps, as streaming at the limit of your connection speed can result in instability. And if you have more people using the internet at the same time, you’ll need even higher upload speeds.
Additionally, you can also stream at higher resolutions than Full HD, but they require much faster and more stable speeds. These aren’t often recommended, as they also require fast download speeds from the viewers and can consume their data caps a lot faster.
Keep in mind that most internet services, like cable, vary their speed throughout the day, depending on peak usage times, and don’t always provide the maximum advertised speeds from the ISP. That’s why using a reliable connection like fiber from a reputable ISP like Fidium Fiber is the best way to start streaming on Twitch.
Fiber internet’s symmetrical upload and download speeds make it a great choice for Twitch streamers
A quality that makes fiber optic internet stand out from alternatives is its symmetrical upload and download speeds. Unlike cable internet, the full advertised speed is available at all times for both upload and download, which greatly helps when live streaming.
For instance, with Fidium’s 1 Gbps “Supreme” package, your upload speed will also be 1 Gbps. This provides more than enough speed for live streaming on Twitch at the highest quality while your family and friends browse the internet at the same time.
For comparison, most other internet cable packages offer the best speeds of up to 25 Mbps. And these packages can often be quite expensive. They’re also not stable or reliable due to the cable technology used to deliver these speeds, making them inferior to fiber optics.
When looking for internet options, your first option should always be looking for fiber optic availability in your area to ensure you’ll get the most out of your investment. Check out if our plans at Fidium Fiber are available in your area right now.
The best internet for Twitch streaming
Considering how popular Twitch is, you need a fast and reliable internet connection to keep your audience around. Fiber optic internet is the best option for that, as it has symmetrical speeds, is lightning-fast and is reliable at all times during the day.
It’s also important to consider adjusting the settings of your streaming software to ensure the best experience for your viewers. Having the settings calibrated to your target bitrate can ensure you’ll deliver high-quality video and audio without any instability.
So if you’re looking for the best internet for Twitch streaming, check out our incredible plans at Fidium Fiber and start or enhance your streaming career today.