Best Practices

Best Practices Guide

Optimization, performance, and production excellence for professional streaming

Version 1.0•Updated November 2025•40-50 min read

Video Encoding Best Practices

Recommended Encoder Settings

H.264 (Universal Compatibility)

Codec:H.264 (AVC)

Profile:High

Level:4.1 (1080p30) / 4.2 (1080p60)

Rate Control:CBR (Constant Bitrate)

Keyframe:2 seconds

H.265 (Better Compression)

Codec:H.265 (HEVC)

Profile:Main10

Bitrate Savings:50% lower

Rate Control:CBR

Use Case:4K streaming

Quality vs Bitrate Recommendations

Resolution	Frame Rate	Bitrate	Use Case
1080p	60 fps	6000 kbps	Gaming, sports
1080p	30 fps	4500 kbps	General streaming
720p	60 fps	4000 kbps	Fast action
720p	30 fps	2500 kbps	Standard quality
480p	30 fps	1500 kbps	Mobile/low bandwidth

OBS Studio Optimal Settings

# Output Settings
Output Mode: Advanced
Encoder: NVIDIA NVENC H.264 (or x264 if no GPU)
Rate Control: CBR
Bitrate: 4500 kbps (1080p30) or 6000 kbps (1080p60)
Keyframe Interval: 2
Preset: Quality (NVENC) or veryfast (x264)
Profile: high
B-frames: 2

# Video Settings
Base Resolution: 1920x1080
Output Resolution: 1920x1080
Downscale Filter: Lanczos (best quality)
FPS: 30 or 60

# Advanced Settings
Process Priority: High
Renderer: Direct3D 11 (Windows) or OpenGL (macOS)

Hardware Encoding Recommendation

NVIDIA NVENC provides the best balance of quality and performance. Use x264 only with powerful CPUs (8+ cores).

Network Optimization

Bandwidth Management

Upload Requirements

• Recommended: 1.5x target bitrate
• 1080p60: 10 Mbps upload
• Test: speedtest.net
• Wired connection preferred

Latency Targets

• OMT: <16ms (real-time)
• WebRTC: <500ms (interactive)
• SRT: 2-4s (professional)
• HLS: 10-30s (mass distribution)

Reliability

• Use wired Ethernet (not Wi-Fi)
• Enable QoS on router
• Dedicated network for streaming
• Backup internet connection

CDN Configuration

# Optimal CDN Settings
{
  "regions": [
    "us-east",    // North America (primary)
    "us-west",    // North America (secondary)
    "eu-central", // Europe
    "ap-southeast" // Asia Pacific
  ],
  "caching": {
    "vod": "7d",         // VOD content
    "thumbnails": "30d",  // Thumbnails
    "live": "disabled"    // Live streams (no caching)
  },
  "optimization": {
    "gzip": true,
    "http2": true,
    "http3": true,
    "brotli": true
  }
}

Performance Tuning

Server Optimization

CPU & GPU Optimization

• Use hardware encoding (NVENC, QuickSync, VCE)
• Optimize encoder preset for CPU/GPU balance
• Monitor CPU usage (keep under 80%)
• Use dedicated GPU for encoding
• Enable GPU-accelerated graphics

Memory & Storage

• Minimum 16GB RAM for production
• Use SSD for recordings (NVMe preferred)
• Monitor disk I/O during streaming
• Separate OS and recording drives
• Regular cleanup of old recordings

Client-Side Performance

// Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABR)
const player = new WavePlayer({
  streamId: 'str_abc123',
  adaptive: {
    enabled: true,
    startLevel: 2,        // Start at medium quality
    switchThreshold: 0.8, // Switch up at 80% buffer
    minBuffer: 3,         // 3 seconds minimum buffer
    maxBuffer: 30         // 30 seconds maximum buffer
  },
  preload: true,
  lowLatency: true
});

// Network-aware quality selection
player.on('networkChange', ({ bandwidth }) => {
  if (bandwidth < 2000) {
    player.setQuality('360p');
  } else if (bandwidth < 4000) {
    player.setQuality('720p');
  } else {
    player.setQuality('1080p');
  }
});

Production Workflows

Multi-Camera Productions

1
Plan Camera Angles
Wide shot, medium shot, close-up, overhead, audience
2
Synchronize Sources
Ensure all cameras have identical settings and time sync
3
Configure Scenes
Pre-program scene transitions and compositions
4
Test Transitions
Practice switching between cameras smoothly
5
Monitor Quality
Watch output feed, check audio levels, monitor bitrate

Live Event Checklist

Test all equipment 24 hours before eventVerify internet bandwidth and stabilityConfigure backup streaming serverTest audio levels and balanceSet up monitoring dashboardBrief team on rundown and transitions

Scaling Strategies

Handling 1M+ Concurrent Viewers

Infrastructure

• Multi-region CDN deployment
• Edge caching for VOD content
• Load balancing across origin servers
• Auto-scaling groups

Optimization

• Adaptive bitrate streaming (ABR)
• Multi-quality transcoding
• Geographic routing
• Connection pooling

Auto-Scaling Configuration

# Auto-scaling policy
{
  "scaleUp": {
    "metric": "concurrent_viewers",
    "threshold": 80,  // 80% of capacity
    "cooldown": 300,  // 5 minutes
    "increment": 2    // Add 2 instances
  },
  "scaleDown": {
    "metric": "concurrent_viewers",
    "threshold": 30,  // 30% of capacity
    "cooldown": 900,  // 15 minutes
    "decrement": 1    // Remove 1 instance
  },
  "limits": {
    "min": 2,         // Minimum 2 instances
    "max": 100        // Maximum 100 instances
  }
}

Security Best Practices

Authentication & Authorization

• Implement token-based authentication (JWT)
• Use short-lived access tokens (15 minutes)
• Rotate API keys quarterly
• Implement role-based access control (RBAC)
• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

Content Protection

• Enable TLS 1.3 for all connections
• Implement DRM (Widevine, FairPlay, PlayReady)
• Use signed URLs with expiration
• Enable geo-blocking when needed
• Implement watermarking for premium content

DDoS Protection

• Use CDN with DDoS protection
• Implement rate limiting (per IP, per user)
• Enable bot detection and blocking
• Monitor traffic patterns for anomalies
• Have incident response plan ready

Monitoring & Observability

Key Performance Indicators

Metric	Target	Alert Threshold
Stream uptime	99.9%	< 99%
Buffering ratio	< 2%	> 5%
Start time	< 2s	> 5s
Frame drop rate	< 0.1%	> 1%
Viewer engagement	> 70%	< 50%

Alert Configuration

# Critical alerts (immediate notification)
stream.offline:          15 seconds
bitrate.drop:            > 30% for 10 seconds
frame.drops:             > 5% for 30 seconds
viewer.disconnect.rate:  > 10% in 1 minute

# Warning alerts (5 minute notification)
cpu.usage:               > 80% for 5 minutes
memory.usage:            > 90% for 5 minutes
disk.usage:              > 85%
network.latency:         > 100ms for 5 minutes

# Info alerts (daily summary)
viewer.count:            Daily peak and average
bandwidth.usage:         Daily total
storage.usage:           Current utilization

Cost Optimization

Bandwidth Optimization

• Use adaptive bitrate streaming
• Optimize video encoding settings
• Leverage CDN caching effectively
• Implement viewer-based quality

Storage Management

• Auto-delete old recordings
• Use tiered storage (hot/cold)
• Compress archived content
• Implement lifecycle policies

Cost Monitoring Tip

Set up budget alerts at 50%, 75%, and 90% of monthly budget to avoid unexpected costs.

Related Guides

Getting Started Guide

Quick start for first-time users

Beginner

Setup Documentation

Complete installation and configuration

Intermediate

API Integration Guide

Complete API reference and examples

Intermediate