Having Wirecast Streaming Problems? Check Your Connectivity

Wirecast is one of the popular live video streaming production tools, along with OBS, ReStream and Xsplit. Live streamers all over the world use it to distribute their video content online. As with any other service, things can sometimes go wrong. That's when you're having Wirecast streaming problems. Here are just a few reasons for that:

• Wirecast configuration issues
• PC or Mac not meeting the minimum or recommended hardware requirements
• Internet connection issues

Live streamers who use Wirecast most often see their stream buffering or stuttering. In this post you'll find out where Wirecast streaming problems originate from and how to fix / avoid them.

First of all, you have to make sure your PC or Mac meets the minimum hardware requirements for live streaming through Wirecast. They have a nice Best Practices section with advice - check that out and see how you compare.

Then, look at the platform ingest servers to which you’re streaming (Twitch, Mixer, YouTube, Facebook Live, etc.). They should be up and running without any limitations or glitches.

If those two are checked, the only thing that could cause Wirecast streaming problems would be your Internet connection. Slow and unreliable connectivity is the enemy of live streaming, no matter which service you use. Stuttering and buffering streams are some of the most popular symptoms for this. So, if you don’t want your viewers to be frustrated that they get the buffering wheel or they get disconnected, you have to deal with this.

Now that we’ve determined that your Internet connection is the cause of Wirecast streaming issues, below are five tips yto fix this in a matter of minutes.

Before you try anything:

• Make sure you live stream over a wired Ethernet connection – wireless networks like WiFi and cellular data are unstable by their nature.
• Test your Internet speed. If it’s not looking good (not even close to what you’re paying for), then contact your ISP. This will take a while…

So – here are 5 suggestions to fix your Wirecast streaming issues:

1. Use another ingest server for live streaming. Even if you chose the closest server to you, this doesn’t mean that you also have the best connection to it.
   
2. Lower the live streaming bitrate. You should see a lower number for the dropped frames. Zero would be perfect.
3. Use another streaming platform temporarily. Twitch may be having a hard day sometimes. Go to Mixer / YouTube and see how streaming on those works.
4. Check your router, firewall and potential software conflicts. Restarting the modem / router is always a good thing. Having the latest firmware installed is a plus. 
   Firewall and security software may also be interfering with open ports and communication permissions. Just make sure Wirecast is cleared for permissions with these.
5. If everything else fails… or if you don’t want to waste time going through the checklist above, just use Speedify. Speedify is a fast bonding VPN that allows you to combine multiple Internet connections at once on your computer. It’s optimized for live streaming, so you get the best Internet connection regardless the conditions.

When using Speedify you can be sure that it’s not your Internet connection that’s causing the Wirecast streaming problems. You can configure Speedify to use all your connections together at any time, as secondary connections (for speed boosts, failovers) or just as backup connections. If you’re on metered connections (like your cell phone), you can even set caps on the data to be used, so you don’t go over your plan.

All in all, Speedify intelligently manages your connections to give you the best Internet connections for live streaming and more. Fast, stable and secure – that’s what it’s all about. No more Wirecast streaming problems!