How To Improve Video Quality

Hardware

Camera

When purchasing a camera/webcam, we recommend first testing your internet speeds to find out what resolution your internet connection can handle.  You can review our internet speed recommendations in the Advanced OBS Setup guide. Then, you can choose a camera/webcam that supports your selected resolution.

When setting up your video quality, ensure that you do not select a resolution higher than the maximum available for your camera/webcam.  If your webcam resolution is 1920x1080, the highest resolution you should select for your stream setup should be 1920x1080. 

Computer

If you are streaming with OBS, we recommend using the OBS status bar at the bottom of the OBS application to help diagnose any quality issues you are having when streaming.  A high number of dropped frames or a high percentage of CPU usage can indicate that your computer's hardware is having a hard time supporting your selected resolution.  When in doubt, we recommend trying a slightly lower resolution to see if that improves your stream quality.

Resolution

If you are looking to increase your stream resolution for a higher quality broadcast, we recommend first taking an internet speedtest to confirm that your internet speeds are sufficient to support your target resolution.  You can review our internet speed recommendations in the Advanced OBS Setup guide.

When increasing your resolution, be sure to increase your set bitrate in OBS to correspond with your new resolution.  A table of suggested bitrates corresponding to your selected resolution is available in the Advanced OBS Setup guide.  A high resolution needs an increased bitrate in order for your viewers to see your broadcast in your target resolution.

Frame Rate

Volume.com's recommended frame rate is 30 FPS.  High frame rates are commonly used when streaming video games, but outside of these scenarios high frame rates simply take more processing power than is needed for negligible effects. 

If you are looking to set up your broadcast with a high frame rate (48+ FPS), we recommend doing a thorough test of your computer hardware to ensure that your device can support a high frame rate stream.  As with higher resolutions, a high frame rate will also require a corresponding increase in your bitrate. 

Lighting

An HD resolution stream is nothing without adequate lighting!  We recommend setting up your stream so you are well lit from the front to maximize your stream quality. For venues, its recommended to do some test streams with the lighting set as they are programmed for the show. Some venue lighting is geared towards the in-person experience so adjustments may be required to help your camera/s capture a show for live broadcast.