Streaming setup test. Upload, camera and screen, before you go live.
A stream pushes video up the whole time, so the numbers that matter are different from a call. This check measures them and says which bitrate your connection can carry.
6 checks · about 3 minutes
- Webcam
- Microphone
- Internet
- Screen
- Refresh rate
- Browser and system
One check after another, with your progress along the top and a plain verdict on each. Nothing you show the camera or say into the microphone leaves this page.
In short
Streaming setup test: the answer first
A streaming setup test measures what a live stream depends on: sustained upload, a camera's real frame rate and light, the microphone, the rate your screen actually runs at, and whether the browser can capture the whole screen. The result says which bitrate your connection can carry.
Reading your result
- Upload decides the resolution
- The upload figure is judged against what 720p and 1080p60 streams need with headroom. Under that, stream at the lower setting rather than dropping frames.
- A camera at 15 fps needs light
- More light lets most webcams reach 30 fps. Close other programs that hold the camera.
- 60 Hz on a faster panel
- The refresh rate check catches a high refresh panel left at 60 before you go live.
What it measures
Measured here, not assumed.
In the order the checks run.
- Upload speed
- Five seconds of upload to this site over parallel streams, the first second discarded, judged against what 720p (about 3 Mbps) and 1080p60 (about 6 Mbps) streams need with headroom.
- Camera and microphone
- The camera stream's resolution and a counted frame rate, the light level, and the microphone with a playback clip and a noise reading.
- Refresh rate
- The rate your screen actually runs at, so a 144 Hz panel stuck at 60 gets caught before the stream.
- Screen sharing
- Whether the browser can capture the whole screen, which browser-based streaming and some capture tools need.
If it fails
The usual failures, and what fixes each.
- Upload is under 6 Mbps
- Stream 720p at about 3000 kbps, or 1080p30 at 4500 kbps, rather than 1080p60. A cable connection often raises upload on its own.
- The camera runs at 15 fps
- More light lets most webcams run at 30 fps. Close other programs using the camera, and pick 720p in the capture settings if 1080p drops frames.
- The screen shows 60 Hz on a high refresh panel
- Set the refresh rate in the display settings and the graphics driver's control panel; many systems default to 60.
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- Your encoder's load. Whether the processor or graphics card can encode at your bitrate is a question for the stress test, linked below.
- The streaming platform's ingest servers, which may be further away than this site.
- Your OBS or capture settings.
Privacy
Nothing leaves this page.
The camera and microphone are read on this page and stopped as soon as they have been measured. The clip you can play back lives in the browser's memory and is discarded when you leave. The location check discards the position. The internet test sends random bytes to this site and nothing else. The result is stored nowhere unless you ask for it by email, and then only the fact that an email was sent is kept.
Questions
Streaming setup test, answered
- What upload speed do I need to stream on Twitch?
- About 3 Mbps for 720p at 3000 kbps and 6 Mbps for 1080p60 at 6000 kbps, with a third more as headroom. The check above measures your upload and says which of those fits.
- Does this test my encoder or my PC's performance?
- No. It checks the connection and the devices. Whether the machine can encode and game at once is what the free stress test measures.
- Why is my stream dropping frames on a fast connection?
- Usually jitter or a router that struggles with steady upload. A cable, fewer devices on the network, and a lower bitrate usually fix it.
- How is a streaming test different from a call test?
- A call sends and receives in bursts; a stream pushes video up the whole time. That makes sustained upload and capture the figures that matter.
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