Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Best UK ISP for Twitch Streaming

Apr 3, 2017 9:24PM PDT

Hi Guys,

I swear I've been trying to do this for the past 3 years, switching ISP's buying new routers etc.

I've been really wanting to take my youtube channel to the next step by creating Live Streams - on youtube and twitch. They have been largely requested by a lot of people who tune in.

I know the UK is a terrible place for internet, I see twitch streamers from America with like 326Mbps - and I'm like, I can barely get 30Mbps.

Is there some specific route I will have to do to map out my network for Twitch streaming - Maybe switches, or a Gaming Router? What ISPs are usually recommended for this type of stuff.

I'm not bothered about pricing - I tried getting Virgin, but the lines do not go to my home, which is a real shame - I think they really let their speeds down when they wire the street with Fibre, but then put Coaxial to your door. Could be mistaken there.

So far I've been with:

Sky - Fibre
Plusnet - Fibre
SSE - Fibre
Talk-Talk - Standard -
BT - Fibre

Every time I have tried doing a stream - It cuts out within like 5 minutes. I have tried moving homes, 3 different apartments and the problem is still there.

I was wondering if I'm doing anything wrong? Chasing the wrong ISPs? Using stock equipment rather than high performance routers, and would these make a real difference?

Thanks for the help,

Kieran.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
how old the coaxial cable from....
Apr 3, 2017 9:32PM PDT

...street to home? Maybe the entire coaxial line needs replacing, if old?

- Collapse -
Coax Cable
Apr 3, 2017 9:40PM PDT

I'm not to sure the problem lays with the Coaxial cable. At the moment, I get a steady 12Mbps over Ethernet. Which is not bad for the average stuff - But we're paying for the 38Mbps. Our ISP cannot do anything about it, and the standard package takes us to 3Mbps. The cabinet is literally 20 steps from our front door.

I've had the problem in different apartments specifically in Yorkshire & the Humberside. Which Is starting to make me think, that either I'm doing something wrong, or I'm using the wrong hardware.

Just not to sure whether I'm doing something wrong, such as going with the wrong ISP's. As waiting for 3 years to maybe do a Twitch Live Stream may pay off one day Happy

- Collapse -
just because you are paying...
Apr 3, 2017 9:52PM PDT

...for a promised speed doesn't mean it's being supplied by the ISP. I think the only way you could know for sure is if the ISP service department checked the node at the fibre cable and on the coaxial convertor side to see if that speed is actually available there. I use fiber to my home and the coaxial converter, called an ONT for Verizon, is in my basement and I do get the speed I ordered.

- Collapse -
Thanks
Apr 3, 2017 10:16PM PDT

That's really good Happy I will look deeper into that.

I think I may have confused you a little though. I wouldn't say there's a problem with the ISP or Internet Connection - As sometimes we do get bounces to 30Mbps which is the speed we ordered.

I'm trying to setup an Internet Connection which I can Live Stream to a broadcasting site called Twitch.

I think the problem is with me... Going with the wrong ISP's, fooled by the bigger names. Or because I'm still using stock hardware such as the routers the ISPs provide. What speeds I should look for.

Or whether there is something I would have to do which is nothing to do with my ISP... Like install any new hardware to allow myself to do this.

Everything I have tried has resulted in a five minute live stream - with massive amounts of lag.

- Collapse -
Problem seems to be ISP related...
Apr 3, 2017 10:23PM PDT

...since this happens over multiple places and mulitiple hardware, unless it's something to do with your computer itself. Twitch is for gaming, yes? Take a look at what your computer can supply in speed and compare it to requirements needed for the higher speeds you want to achieve. For instance, running a Celeron processor with onboard video chip that has 64 MB shared RAM for video certainly won't get the speeds you are hoping for. Has ANY of your neighbors achieved the advertised speed rates? Have you had someone with a really great gaming computer tried using your connection to see if they achieve the higher speed?

- Collapse -
Computing
Apr 4, 2017 1:22AM PDT

Hi James,

I do work in Computer Modifications, but my networking is very poor. I have 3x Gaming rigs.

Me & my girlfriend use the two most powerful to play fps games and the other is used as our editing workstation.

There specifications shouldn't be causing any kind of issues, we even scrapped the Mechanical HDD's for SSD's to enhance the read and write times.

Twitch is for gaming, but it's all dependent on broadband connection. A lot of UK streamers stream on Twitch, so my next step is to start messaging them for a little advice on what they do with their broadband.

My neighbors have always seemed to have no issues with their broadband, mainly because they probably have no interest in Live Streaming.

Thanks for the advice, I will be sure to follow this up with my ISP.

Do you know of any Hardware which can be used to boost the performance of the Internet over Ethernet? A new router maybe? Happy

Thanks,

Kieran.

- Collapse -
I doubt router is cause
Apr 4, 2017 11:59AM PDT

At home I can get about 50 Mbps from the ActionTec supplied to me by Verizon. My service plan is limited to 15, but when they wanted me to upgrade to 50 since I don't game, I chose not to and they moved the entire neighborhood anyway to the higher speed but only charge me the lesser rate.

- Collapse -
Here's the thing.
Apr 4, 2017 8:36AM PDT

To stream TO Twitch takes an abnormal amount of upstream bandwidth. You may have to get a business class internet connection where the the upload/download is symmetric.

Yes you can try a better router, almost any 200 buck router will be better than the ISP supplied router but for uploading, your home internet offering is usually the wrong choice.