If you are familiar with OBS/RTMP streaming, this guide contains the settings relevant to streaming to Volume.
Click here to view our basic guide for those unfamiliar with OBS
In general you should push the highest quality stream your setup is capable of. We will automatically transcode your stream to multiple qualities to suit every viewer's connection.
RTMP URL (See link above for more): rtmp://live.volume.com/live-origin
Codec: H.264 Video, AAC Audio.
Aspect ratio: 16:9 recommended, 4:3 permitted
Resolution: From a height of 240 pixels up to 4k (2160 pixels).
Frame Rate: 24-30fps, or 48-60fps for high frame rate (See note below.)
Bitrate: Up to 50 Mbps Video, 320 Kbps Audio - Must be CBR.
Key Frame Interval: 2 is recommended; higher is acceptable
H.264 Profile: Main or High preferred; baseline is acceptable.
Note about frame rate:
We support streams up to 60 fps, however we highly recommend not to use a higher frame rate unless you have both a high quality camera (not a webcam) and a powerful processor capable of supporting these frame rates. High frame rates are commonly used when streaming video games, but have little effect on webcam streams. Broadcasting the same resolution at a high frame rate will increase your bandwidth requirement. 30fps is perfectly fine for most streams.
Upload Speed
We recommended at least 5 Mbps upload speed for Full-HD quality, however lower upload speeds can work but require lower resolutions and frame rates. Download speed has very little effect on stream quality.
Below are the minimum upload speeds for HD resolution streaming
Resolution | Min. Upload Speed |
1280x720 | 3000 kb/s |
1920x1080 | 5000 kb/s |
2560x1440 | 8000 kb/s |
3840x2160 (4K) | 12000 kb/s |
Volume Speedtest
To find your upload speed, you will need to run a network speed test. We recommend using Speedtest.net.
Make the most of your internet connection by following these tips:
- Use a hardwired Ethernet cable connection instead of WiFi
- If you are using WiFi, try to be as close to the wireless router as possible
- Check to make sure you and others on your network are not using bandwidth-heavy applications while you are streaming
* Please note that internet speed is just one factor that affects the quality of your stream. We recommend monitoring your external encoder's status bar while broadcasting and making changes to your resolution as needed to achieve the highest quality broadcast for your setup!
Configuring Bitrate and FPS
If you are streaming at a higher resolution and/or frame rate, you will need to adjust your bitrate correspondingly. Higher bitrate and FPS require more bandwidth and processing power on your computer. If you are unsure of what your system can handle, start with the recommended settings below and then adjust based on your stream quality.
Resolution | Video Bitrate - 30 FPS |
Video Bitrate - 60 FPS |
Audio Bitrate |
1280x720 | 3500 kb/s | 5500 kb/s | 160 kb/s |
1920x1080 | 6500 kb/s | 8000 kb/s | 192 kb/s |
2560x1440 | 9000 kb/s | 12000 kb/s | 320 kb/s |
3840x2160 (4k) | 12000 kb/s | 16000 kb/s | 320 kb/s |