Live streaming events requires an Internet connection with a good upload speed. Our director Gavin Gration discusses the basics of how to check, verify and solve connectivity issues on location.
The main points covered are:
- Consistent and robust upload speed
- Bandwidth requirements
- Pre-event site visits and testing
- Working in partnership with IT departments
- Internet bonding solutions including 4G
- VLAN basics
In our productions we use hardware live streaming encoders from Teradek which include channel bonding of up to 6 connections.
Best Internet for Live Streaming
This is a detailed technical guide covering what we consider to be the best Internet for live streaming events based on our own experience of producing live video production for our clients in the UK and Europe. It’s important to remember that connectivity options should be checked with a pre-production site visit at the planning stage. Some venues publish very clearly defined Internet and network connectivity documents so it may be possible without a site visit. However, as part of the overall production a site visit is always strongly recommended.
Calculating Bandwidth for Live Production
Working out how much data you need for upload and download is very important. The general rule of thumb is that you need an overhead of at least the same amount that you expect to be using.
With this in mind a simple stream only event sent to a single CDN at 4mbps requires an upload speed of 8mbps. In the UK most connections have a higher download speed than the upload speed so you don’t need to worry too much about that for a stream only, single destination event.
Once you start introducing remote connections or sending multiple encodes then the numbers add up really quickly. Bringing in or sending out higher bitrate feeds such as SRT or NDI will soak up data. Gigabit Internet suddenly becomes a necessity.
As the scope of event grows then more and more resources need to be factored in. If you don’t have enough bandwidth you’re going to have some explaining to do. There are good reasons why an overhead should be double.
Here we are ONLY discussing Internet connectivity. LAN requirements are related but need to be worked out separately – especially with NDI workflows.
Connectivity on Location
WiFi and 4G/5G Internet connections are not recommended for live production and should be avoided where possible. Packet loss, contention and ISP traffic shaping are undesirable leading to drop-out and corrupted data. Channel bonding systems for video encoding can mitigate the risks associated with poor quality connections. Teradek and LiveU are market leaders in this area and can be useful when there are no robust connections available.
A fast connection via Ethernet in the venue is recommended as the best Internet for live streaming.
Full fiber gigabit Internet circa 600-900mbps up/down is available in many venues. This is the ideal connectivity with managed VLANs available for production.
Domestic FTC lines running at 20/70 can be suitable for a single stream with some element of remote guests but not if that connection is shared. For a single basic stream 1080p30 the minimum upload speed should be no less than 10mbps uninterrupted on an Ethernet connection. The download speed should be at least 10mbps for monitoring purposes.
If sending a high quality feed to a remote production location or a cloud facility then 100mbps+ up is needed per 1080p channel. So if you’re sending 5 cameras at 1080 30p then you should allow 500mbps plus an overhead. This really means gigabit upload speed to be certain. If you are receiving a broadcast quality feed from another location then 100mbps down per channel is needed in addition to anything being monitored locally. If you’re facilitating remote guests using low-latency, higher compression methods such as WebRTC or SRT then up/down should be at least 10mbps per feed on a non-shared line/VLAN.
A failover line is highly recommended (fiber preferred with 4G bonded solutions as a minimum).
If venue has IT staff insist on them being available for the site visit and on the day of the event.
In venues with a managed IT infrastructure video production/streaming should be on a separate line or VLAN wherever possible.
That VLAN should have at least 10mbps up 20mbps down with no contention. A backup VLAN should ideally be on a different line with same bandwidth.
Ask the venue if any other events will be running at the same time as your event. Make sure than other resources such as public WiFi or EPOS/AV/VOIP are not sharing the same connection.
Ask if the venue has hosted other similar events and about any lessons they learned from those events. This might seem a bit OTT but you’d be surprised what happens when you shake the tree!
Where possible production comms, AV, lighting and any other resources should not share the same LAN as video production. This might not be possible but it’s worth purusing.
It’s vitally important to verify the venue Internet can sustain the bandwidth required with a failover of similar capability (second LAN or separate line).
Local IT support at the venue during pre-production testing and on the day(s) is necessary. We take time to call ahead to remind the venue that this is necessary and re-arrange if there won’t be anyone available.
There should be no traffic shaping or bandwidth capping on the VLAN used for live production. You should also make sure that all the resources you need are available. It’s not unusual for social media platforms to be blocked on corporate networks.
Manchester Video specialise in live streaming for businesses throughout the UK. We have over a decade of experience and produce high quality live video for digital first, virtual and hybrid events. Talk to us about your next event.