Streaming, resolution and bitrate

[angrygamer1986]

I've been getting into streaming to Twitch lately and did a ton of tweaking to my OBS software to try and get the best quality stream I could possible upload. I won't get into many details as my question is very simple and I was unable to find answers elsewhere.

These were my old settings I used to upload with using OBS:

1) Resolution 720p @60 fps, bitrate and buffer size 5000 mps, audio BR 128

After my tweaks I've come to get to this without sacrificing quality:

2) Resolution 900p @60fps, bitrate and buffer size 4200 mps, audio BR 128

Which of the above would be harder for my viewers to see? I'm not sure if increasing upload resolution while dropping bitrate is making it tougher or easier for people to watch.

All in all I guess what I'm really asking is which has a higher impact on the viewer, the resolution/fps or the bitrate of the upload

 

[hang-the-9]

The resolution only matters for performance if all other things are equal. A higher resolution of lower quality will be just as easy to stream as lower res and high quality. The bits per second of the stream is what would affect the performance of it as far as smoothness without buffering or being jerky.

 

[angrygamer1986]

The resolution only matters for performance if all other things are equal. A higher resolution of lower quality will be just as easy to stream as lower res and high quality. The bits per second of the stream is what would affect the performance of it as far as smoothness without buffering or being jerky.

You are saying that the bitrate is really the only thing that matter to the viewer end?

 

[hang-the-9]

The resolution only matters for performance if all other things are equal. A higher resolution of lower quality will be just as easy to stream as lower res and high quality. The bits per second of the stream is what would affect the performance of it as far as smoothness without buffering or being jerky.

You are saying that the bitrate is really the only thing that matter to the viewer end?

As far as how well they can download things at a given speed of their connection, yes, since that is what is sent down to them.

 

[angrygamer1986]

The resolution only matters for performance if all other things are equal. A higher resolution of lower quality will be just as easy to stream as lower res and high quality. The bits per second of the stream is what would affect the performance of it as far as smoothness without buffering or being jerky.

You are saying that the bitrate is really the only thing that matter to the viewer end?

As far as how well they can download things at a given speed of their connection, yes, since that is what is sent down to them.

Now I'm a bit confused. Is bitrate the only thing that matters? As a more extreme example, a 1080p stream at 6000 BR would be just as tough on the viewer as a 240p stream at 6000 BR?

 

[hang-the-9]

The resolution only matters for performance if all other things are equal. A higher resolution of lower quality will be just as easy to stream as lower res and high quality. The bits per second of the stream is what would affect the performance of it as far as smoothness without buffering or being jerky.

You are saying that the bitrate is really the only thing that matter to the viewer end?

As far as how well they can download things at a given speed of their connection, yes, since that is what is sent down to them.

Now I'm a bit confused. Is bitrate the only thing that matters? As a more extreme example, a 1080p stream at 6000 BR would be just as tough on the viewer as a 240p stream at 6000 BR?

The bit rate is the total data stream send to the system including resolution and quality/compression. Take an elephant made of wood and a horse made of iron, elephant is bigger but would still be easier to lift. Resolution on it's own does not matter if it's low quality video and color and audio, it can be as easy to stream as a lower res video with higher quality or a less effective compression.