A beginner's guide to

We are all aware of the delay of video data transfers.

What exactly is low latency? Do you require reducing latency for all your live occasions? Find out all the answers and more with this article.

An introduction to low latency

Low latency refers to the smallest delay that video data transfers from your player to your screens for viewers.

The reduced data transmission time results in a better video experience, and also facilitates interactions. However, here's the problem to get low latency: it is necessary to sacrifice reduced video resolution or quality.

It is a good thing that not every live event demands very low latency.

You need it when you live stream activities to allow for real-time interaction and watching experience. If you're doing this viewers expect to see what's going on or participate in the live stream during the course of the event. This means you won't be able to afford the high-latency requirements and you will need to stream at lower than 4K video resolutions.

While this is low latency streaming we'll go deep into the particulars of how and how.

What is low latency

When translated, latency literally means 'a delay in transfer.'

In the context of video latency, that's the delay in the duration of the footage you have taken from your camera to it playing on your players' viewers.

Hence, low latency means reduced time to transfer video content from point A (your headquarters for streaming) towards point B (your viewers).

Similar to that, a higher latency means more time in video data transfer from the live streamer's viewers.

What constitutes a low latency?

According to industry standards, high-quality live streaming is less than 10 seconds while streaming broadcast tv ranges between 2 and six minutes. Based on the use you intend to make you may even achieve ultra-low latency, which is between 2 and 0.2 seconds.

Why do you require low latency for video streaming? It's not necessary to have high latency on every live stream that you run. But you do need it for each active live streaming.

It's all about how much interaction and interaction your live event requires.

If your event is like an auction live, you'll need the lowest latency to stream your event. Why? In order to make sure that every interaction is in real-time and not have delays as that can cause some users to gain an unfair advantage.

We'll look into more of these scenarios later.

Do you really need streaming with low latency?

The more participation live your event requires the less transmission time you will require. In this way, guests can enjoy the experience in real-time without delay.

Here are instances when you'll require streaming with low latency:

• Two-way communicationsuch as live chatting. This is also true for live events in which Q&As are involved.
• Experiences in real-timeis essential such as with online games.
• Required audience participation. This is the case, for instance, when it comes to cases of online casinos, gambling on sports and auctions that live.
• Real-time monitoring. Examples include mission to search and rescue bodiescams of military level, child and pet monitors.
• Remote operation that require consistent connections between remote operators and machinery that they are in control of. Example: endoscopy cameras.

Why should you choose to use streaming with low latency?

To summarize the various scenarios which we've previously discussed, you need low latency streaming when you're streaming either:

• Content with a time limit
• Content that demands real-time audience interaction and engagement

However, why shouldn't you use low latency for all the video content you stream? The more efficient the delay in your content being seen by your viewers, the better, isn't it? But, it's not so simple. However, low latency has its negatives.

These drawbacks are:

• A low latency affects the quality of video. The reason: high quality video slows down the process of transmission due to the large volume of files.
• It's the only buffered (or loaded) content available in this line. There's not much room for error should there be a network issue.

If you stream live the streaming platform rapidly preloads content prior to broadcasting to viewers. This way, when there's a network problem, plays the content buffered, and allows the slowdown caused by network to catch up.

Once the issue with network connectivity is solved when the issue is resolved, the player downloads the highest possible video quality. This, however, happens behind the scenes.

The result is that viewers receive an uninterrupted, high-quality replay experience, unless of course, a major incident occurs on the network.

When you opt for low latency, however it's not as much playback video that the player prepares. It leaves little chances of error if the network issues strike suddenly.

That said, high latency can be beneficial in certain circumstances. In particular, the longer delay gives the producers opportunity to block vulgar content or inappropriate language.

Also, in situations where there is no compromise in the quality of video broadcasting, you can increase the delay by a small amount so you can offer a high-quality viewing experience with some space to adjust for errors.

What is the measurement of latency?

In the light of the definition of low latency streaming and its applications off the table, let's see how you can gauge it.

Technically, low latency is defined by the unit the round-trip time (RTT). It denotes the time it takes a data packet to move between points A and B and to reach back the source.

To calculate this most effective method is to use time stamps to the video stream and request an associate to stream the live streaming.

Have them look for an exact time stamp frame which will show up on their monitor. Then take the time stamp's date from the time the viewer saw the exact frame. This gives you the time of arrival.

Alternately, you can ask your teammate to view your live stream, and take a cue whenever it occurs. Now take the time you performed the cue on the live stream and when your assigned viewer saw it. This should give you time, although not as precise like the previous method. However, it's good enough to get a general idea.

How can you reduce the latency of video?

What are the steps to achieve the lowest latency?

The fact of the matter is that there are a variety of factors that impact video latency. From the settings for encoders to the streaming protocols you're using many factors come into play in.

So let's examine these aspects and the best way to maximize these to reduce latency while making sure your quality video doesn't take an enormous hit.

• Internet connection type. The internet connection determines your speed and data transfer rates. That's the reason why Ethernet connections work better for live streaming than WiFi and cellular data (it's better to have those for backups, however).

• Bandwidth. High bandwidth (the quantity of data that can be transmitted at one moment) means less congestion and more speedy internet.

• Size of video files. The larger sizes consume much more bandwidth for transferring video from point A to point B, which increases latency and vice versa.

• Distance. This is how far away you are from the internet provider. The closer you are to your source, the quicker the stream of video will move.

• Encoder. Choose an encoder that can help to keep your latency low by communicating signals directly from your device to your receiving device in as short a time as possible. But make sure the encoder you pick will work with your streaming service.
• streaming protocol or the protocol used to transfer your data packets (including audio and video) through your laptop to the screens of viewers. To achieve low latency, you'll need to select an option that minimizes the loss of data while also introducing lesser latency.

Let's look at the different streaming protocols that you are able to pick from:

• SRT It is a protocol that effectively transmits high-quality video over lengthy distances at very low latency. But, as it's new, it's being used by technology, including encoders. The solution? Combine it with other protocols.

• WebRTC: WebRTC can be used for video conferencing with a bit of compromise on quality of video since it focuses on speed mainly. But the problem is that most players aren't compatible with it as it requires a complex set up to be deployed.
• Low-latency HLS This is ideal to use for latencies that are low, ranging from 1 2-seconds. This makes it suitable for interactive live streaming. However, it's still an in-development specification, so its it's not yet supported for implementation. development.
  

Live stream with low latency

The streaming of low latency is achievable with an extremely fast internet connection, a high bandwidth, the best-fit streaming protocol, and an optimized encoder.

Furthermore, closing the distance between your computer and internet, as well as using smaller formats for video can help.