New in H2R Gear v2.12
A rewritten cable engine that routes around your gear, plus cable shortcuts and a long list of fixes.
Read more →Video bitrate
10 Mbps
H.264 (AVC)
Audio bitrate
128 kbps
AAC stereo
Total upload used
10.1 Mbps
1 stream at the top of the range
Minimum upload speed
16 Mbps
21 Mbps or more is comfortable
YouTube publishes a single recommended H.264 bitrate per format and a min to max range for HEVC and AV1. Minimum upload is 1.5x the total and comfortable is 2x. Measure sustained upload at the venue, not a quick speed test on an empty network.
How the streaming bitrate calculator works
Choose your platform, resolution, frame rate and codec. The calculator shows the platform's recommended video bitrate, a typical audio bitrate and the total. It then multiplies by the number of destinations and adds headroom to give a minimum upload speed (1.5 times the total) and a comfortable upload speed (2 times). 25 fps uses the 30 fps guidance and 50 fps uses the 60 fps guidance.
Where a platform gives a range, the upload figures use the top of the range so you are not caught short.
YouTube live bitrate
From YouTube's live encoder settings help page. H.264 has one recommended value per format; HEVC and AV1 have a minimum to maximum range.
| Format | H.264 | HEVC / AV1 |
|---|---|---|
| 720p30 | 4 Mbps | 3 to 8 Mbps |
| 720p60 | 6 Mbps | 3 to 8 Mbps |
| 1080p30 | 10 Mbps | 3 to 8 Mbps |
| 1080p60 | 12 Mbps | 4 to 10 Mbps |
| 1440p30 | 15 Mbps | 5 to 25 Mbps |
| 1440p60 | 24 Mbps | 6 to 30 Mbps |
| 2160p30 | 30 Mbps | 8 to 35 Mbps |
| 2160p60 | 35 Mbps | 10 to 40 Mbps |
YouTube recommends 128 kbps AAC for stereo audio.
Twitch, Facebook and Vimeo bitrates
| Format | Twitch | Facebook Live | Vimeo |
|---|---|---|---|
| 720p30 | 3 Mbps | 3 to 4 Mbps | 2.5 to 4 Mbps |
| 720p60 | 4.5 Mbps | 4 to 6 Mbps | 4 to 5 Mbps* |
| 1080p30 | 4.5 Mbps | 4 to 6 Mbps | 4 to 5 Mbps |
| 1080p60 | 6 Mbps | 6 to 9 Mbps | 6 to 9 Mbps* |
| Codec | H.264 | H.264 | H.264 |
| Audio | 160 kbps | 128 kbps | 128 kbps |
* Vimeo accepts up to 5 Mbps at 30 fps on Advanced and Premium plans, and up to 9 Mbps at 60 fps on Enterprise. Twitch standard ingest tops out around 6 Mbps; its Enhanced Broadcasting program adds higher resolutions and HEVC for supported encoders. Facebook Live takes up to 1080p60 over RTMPS. Across all of them, use constant bitrate (CBR) and a 2 second keyframe interval unless the platform says otherwise.
Upload speed for live streaming
Bitrate is what you send; upload speed is what the connection can carry. Leave a gap between the two. Internet connections fluctuate, other devices share the line, and an encoder that runs out of upload drops frames or disconnects. The 1.5x minimum and 2x comfortable rules in the calculator are a practical starting point.
- Test at the venue, at the time of day you will stream. Run a speed test on the actual port you will use, then a private test stream for at least 10 minutes and watch for dropped frames.
- Use a wired connection. Venue Wi-Fi is shared with every phone in the room. Ask for a dedicated wired port, ideally on its own VLAN.
- Multistream smartly. Three separate 1080p60 YouTube streams at 12 Mbps each need about 36 Mbps of upload before headroom. A multistream service or cloud restreamer takes one feed and sends it on.
Bonding and backup connections
For shows that cannot drop, plan a second path. Common options are a cellular bonding device or router that combines several 4G or 5G modems, a failover router that switches to a backup line when the main one drops, or a second encoder sending a backup stream to the platform's backup ingest URL (YouTube supports this). Keep a local recording running too, so a network failure never loses the content itself.
For a full rig walkthrough, see the live streaming use case, the ATEM Mini setup diagram and our guide to multi-camera live stream planning.
Sources
YouTube figures come from the YouTube Help article on live encoder settings, bitrates and resolutions. Vimeo figures come from the Vimeo Help Center live events FAQ. Twitch and Facebook figures reflect their broadcasting guidelines and live video specifications as published at the time of writing (September 2026). Platforms update these, so confirm before an important event.
Plan the rest of the stream in H2R Gear
Once you know your bitrate and upload, H2R Gear helps with the physical side. Draw the stream rig with real cameras, switcher, encoder and router, connect the HDMI, SDI and Ethernet cables between the actual ports, and give each cable a label and length. The packlist builds itself from the plan so nothing is left behind, and you can share a read-only link with the crew or client on Personal plans and up.