How do I determine the best OBS bitrate and resolution for 1080p 60fps streaming?

For 1080p 60fps, Twitch recommends up to 6,000 kbps, Kick allows around 8,000 kbps, and YouTube Live supports 9–12 Mbps. Use CBR rate control, a 2-second keyframe interval, and keep your total bitrate under 75% of your stable wired upload speed. The Streamer Companion bitrate calculator applies these platform caps automatically from your resolution and upload speed.

How do I configure stream audio sample rates and bitrates for clean broadcast audio?

Set a 48 kHz sample rate, the broadcast standard, and an audio bitrate of 160–320 kbps depending on your platform cap — Twitch allows 160 kbps and YouTube Live up to 320 kbps. Higher sample rates add no benefit and can cause audio sync drift, while too-low bitrate makes your mic sound compressed. Match the audio bitrate to your platform cap and prioritize clean mic processing over raw bitrate.

How do bandwidth and upload speeds impact stream stability and frame drops?

Dropped frames almost always mean your bitrate exceeds what your connection can sustain. Add your video and audio bitrates for total throughput, keep it under 75% of your wired upload speed, use CBR with a 2-second keyframe interval, and pick the ingest server with the lowest ping. A wired Ethernet connection is essential — Wi-Fi causes fluctuating throughput and dropped frames. Persistent drops below 1% are normal; anything higher needs attention.

How do I set up stream companion overlays and alert widgets for live streaming?

Add overlay widgets as Browser Sources in OBS Studio or Streamlabs — paste the widget URL, set the resolution to 1920x1080, and replace the default Custom CSS body background with body { background: transparent !important; } so the widget composites transparently. For Streamer Companion prompt cards, toggle OBS Overlay Mode on first, position and resize alerts on your canvas, and uncheck Shutdown source when not visible so widgets persist between scene switches.

What are the best practices for multi-platform streaming to Twitch, YouTube, and Kick?

Each destination consumes its own bandwidth unless you use a restreaming service like Restream or Castr, which takes one feed and redistributes it. Always test on a wired Ethernet connection, tailor your bitrate to each platform's cap (Twitch 6 Mbps, Kick 8 Mbps, YouTube 9–12 Mbps), use a 2-second keyframe interval, and use a hardware encoder like NVIDIA NVENC to offload encoding. Streamer Companion's tools and overlays work across all three platforms from a single browser source.

Encoder & Ingest Directory

A comprehensive index of official RTMP ingest endpoints, maximum audio/video bitrate thresholds, and supported codecs for the major live streaming platforms.

Twitch

Ingest URL: rtmp://live.twitch.tv/app/ (main) · regional: rtmp://conroe.twitch.tv, dallas, san jose, chicago, new york, miami, seattle, stockholm, etc.
Max Video Bitrate: 6,000 Kbps (affiliate/partner)
Max Audio Bitrate: 160 Kbps (AAC)
Supported Codecs: H.264 (AVC), AAC audio

Keyframe interval must be 2s. Use CBR. Transcoding provided for partners/affiliates.

YouTube Live

Ingest URL: rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2 · backup: rtmp://b.rtmp.youtube.com/live2
Max Video Bitrate: 51,000 Kbps (4K 60fps) · 12,000 Kbps typical 1080p60
Max Audio Bitrate: 256 Kbps (AAC stereo)
Supported Codecs: H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC for 4K), AAC audio

Auto-transcodes to 1080p/720p/480p/360p. Keyframe 2s. VBR or CBR accepted.

Kick

Ingest URL: rtmp://ingest.kick.com/ (region-specific subdomains)
Max Video Bitrate: ~8,000 Kbps
Max Audio Bitrate: 160 Kbps (AAC)
Supported Codecs: H.264 (AVC), AAC audio

Higher bitrate ceiling than Twitch. Keyframe 2s. CBR recommended.

Facebook Gaming

Ingest URL: rtmp://live-api-s.facebook.com:8080/rtmp/
Max Video Bitrate: 6,000 Kbps (1080p) · 4,000 Kbps (720p)
Max Audio Bitrate: 128 Kbps (AAC)
Supported Codecs: H.264 (AVC), AAC audio

Keyframe 2s. CBR. 1080p requires Partner Level.

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