In order to have a successful streaming experience, a reliable and stable internet connection is crucial.

We recommend that you run tests at least one hour before your live stream in order to make sure that everything is in order. You should run speed tests to make sure your upload speed is at least 3Mbps to stream in HD quality.

However, it is possible that, for a variety of reasons, you may undergo connection issues during a live stream.

Please make sure you follow those steps if you encounter such issues:

1. Avoid Wi-Fi connections

Wifi connections tend to be more unstable and, as such, are not recommended for live streaming. If you are connected via wifi and experience issues, you should favour other types of connections, where available, such as:

4G connection for mobile app users;
Wired connections (via Ethernet cable) for encoding device and computer software users.

2. Ensure your internet connection is exclusively used for the live stream

It is important that the internet connection being used for your live stream is not shared by any other devices, otherwise it may be overloaded and your stream might not be stable, even if your upload speed seems strong enough.

If you have issues, disconnect any additional devices and leave one internet connection source dedicated exclusively for your live stream, irrespective of which device you're using.

You should use a different internet source to access your live studio and tag the highlights.

3. Change to a different internet source, if available

Ideally, you should have a backup connection in case of issues. For example, if you are using a 4G sim card to stream with a mobile connection, you should also have a cable connection disponible on demmand.

Where this plan B is available, you should consider switching to a different internet connection. Remember that, as long as you do NOT stop live, you can always reconnect to your live event.

4. Decrease your stream settings in accordance with your upload speed

In order to stream in HD quality (720p resolution), a minimum of 3Mbps of upload speed is necessary.

If your connection is unstable and/or not strong enough, make sure to reduce the resolution on your streaming device or streaming software. For a speed between 1 to 3Mbps, you should try to stream in 420p resolution.

Here's how you can adjust your resolution depending on which device you are using:

Mobile app: access the "Streaming Settings" of your app (you will have to leave the match, but remember NOT to stop live), then the "Stream bitrate" and select a lower option. By default, it will be selected as "Auto", but you can manually switch to "Average" or "Low", depending on your connection;

Encoding device: consider the Cerevo Liveshell 2 in this example. In the "Network" settings, you can reduce from 720p to 540p and lower values, as necessary;

Streaming software: consider OBS (Open Broadcast Software) in this example. Stop your stream momentarily ("Stop streaming") but do NOT stop live on the Live Studio. Click on "Settings", then "Video" and change the "Output (Scaled) Resolution" to a lower value (such as 852x480);

Also adjust the "Video Bitrate" to a lower value in "Output". For a 720p resolution, a bitrate of between 2000-3000kbps is the recommended setting; if you lower to a 480p resolution, however, the bitrate should be between 800-1500kbps

4. Determine your connection quality by pinging our servers

Sometimes an internet connection might seem stable, but due to a number of factors it may lose its connection every few seconds and thus causes your live stream to suffer.
However, there's an easy way to check if this is the case: you can simply download a free app like Pingtools and send a test signal to our platform. Just follow these simple steps:

Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and download a ping app of your choice
Launch the app and enter the following address into the Host/IP field: "auto.ingest.mcls.live". Click on "Ping" to start sending the test signal.
Observe the results on your display. If the app shows any packet loss ot the ping takes more than 100ms per sequence, then your connection is unstable and we recommend to switch to another internet source immediately.

IMPORTANT! For your future matches, try to make sure you have a reliable internet connection and, if possible, a plan B in case of any issues. No matter how good your hardware might be, your stream will lose inevitably quality if the connection is not good enough.