Twitch, Nvidia, and OBS: Revolutionizing the Streaming Experience

Twitch, in partnership with Nvidia and OBS Project, has announced an initiative to improve the quality of streaming on its platform. The Enhanced Broadcasting feature will allow streamers to broadcast at higher resolutions and with new codecs. This is a significant improvement for Twitch, as the maximum quality that could be achieved previously was Full HD resolution, and the codecs used did not provide an excessively good image.

The Enhanced Broadcasting feature aims to address the issue of video quality by creating multiple video qualities of the original content. This will allow viewers with poor internet connections or older devices to watch the channel without buffering. The new feature will be available to streamers using the latest version of OBS Studio, which will be downloadable once access to the beta is granted.

The new feature will also make it easier for content creators to offer better video quality with a new “Automatic Configuration” feature that applies optimal settings in OBS according to the hardware of the PC. This will eliminate the need for testing to find the best configuration and allow for a configuration with higher bit rates and resolutions of 1440p and 4K, both at 60 frames per second.

Enhanced Broadcasting has already begun its beta period, and any streamer can request access. To work, a manufacturer’s card and the latest beta version of OBS Studio are required. The AV1, an open-source and royalty-free video codec, will also be available for Nvidia cards, although initially only for the RTX 40xx cards.

The new feature will reduce buffering for viewers and lower latency by using fewer encoding steps. With the high-quality dedicated encoder (NVENC) in modern GeForce RTX and GTX GPUs, streamers will be able to broadcast up to three resolutions simultaneously at up to 1080p. This will provide optimal viewing experiences for a broad range of device types and connections.

Overall, the Enhanced Broadcasting feature is a significant improvement for Twitch and its users. It will offer more options for quality streams, regardless of the size of the community running on the hardware. It will also make it easier for content creators to offer better quality video, and viewers will benefit from reduced buffering and lower latency.