Our Starlink & Speedify Setup for a Non-Stop Livestream of the Philadelphia Skyline
During late 2022, we got a Starlink for RV dish and started testing, in order to make Speedify work better with it. Since our app is all about getting a faster, more reliable and secure Internet, avoiding Internet disconnects, etc. - putting together a way to prove this and analyzing the data was definitely a requirement.
That's why we used the Starlink dish to set up a 24/7 livestream. We added in some cameras, set up a PC with streaming software, commands and other fun stuff. This article takes you through our set up process, step by step.
Quick answer
Should you get a backup connection for Starlink?
Yes. Starlink goes down every day — an always-on dish averages about 34 minutes of downtime daily from routine satellite handoffs. A second connection keeps you online when Starlink drops.
What’s the best backup connection for Starlink?
A 4G/5G cellular hotspot or SIM is the most practical backup for most Starlink users — it works anywhere Starlink works, requires no installation, and uses a different network so outages rarely overlap. Cable or DSL broadband is a strong option if you have it at a fixed location. A second Starlink dish is also possible if you need maximum throughput.
How do you use two internet connections at once with Starlink?
Speedify combines Starlink with any other connection — cellular, cable, Wi-Fi, or a second dish — into one bonded connection. Speedify runs on your phone, laptop, or router. When Starlink drops, Speedify moves your traffic to the backup instantly, so calls don’t cut out and downloads don’t stall. Speedify is free to try.
71% of Speedify’s Starlink users already run a second connection. The data below shows why.
Try Speedify free →Speedify Starlink Index — real-world performance from 6,209 Starlink users: 2.4% downtime, about 34 minutes a day for always-on connections
Starlink goes down every day.
Here’s what that actually looks like.
Speedify passively monitors every connection it bonds. These figures come from 6,209 Starlink users over 14 days — compared in real time against the other connections on the same devices. No speed tests, no lab conditions.
Daily downtime
~34 min
2.4% of connected time unreachable
Median latency
60 ms
p90 spikes to 257 ms
Avg packet loss
0.17%
vs 0.08% on T-Mobile
71% ran at least one other connection simultaneously — 4,381 of 6,209 users. Cellular is the most common backup.
Use Speedify to stay online during satellite handoffs every 15 seconds
Research confirms Starlink switches between satellites every 15 seconds on a fixed schedule. Each satellite handoff is a potential dropout, and on a congested network or with any obstruction, those Starlink dropouts become real interruptions.
Speedify fixes Starlink connection drops by combining your Starlink internet connection with another satellite dish, Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, or wired Ethernet at the same time. When Starlink drops, Speedify keeps your traffic moving on the backup internet connection instantly.
Speedify alerts you about your Starlink dish status
Speedify software alerts you about your Starlink dish status as soon as your dish experiences an issue - e.g. when your actuator motor is stuck, the mast is not vertical or there's a thermal throttle.
Speedify's Starlink Control Center helps you monitor all your Starlink dishes, read obstruction maps, and align multiple dishes all in the Speedify app. Get a real-time view of each dish's health and optimize the position of each Starlink dish, so you get the best possible performance out of your Starlink connections.
Speedify
Speedify gives you faster, steadier internet by combining Wi-Fi, cellular, and Starlink
Speedify bonds Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, and Starlink into one connection at the same time, giving you more speed, automatic failover when one drops, and AES-256 encryption on every link.
Download Speedify ›More speed
Upload and download speeds combine across every active connection on your device.
Automatic failover
If a connection drops, Speedify moves your traffic to another in milliseconds. Calls stay connected.
Always encrypted
Every link runs through an encrypted tunnel, including public Wi-Fi, cellular, and Starlink.
Speedify Feature · Pair & Share
Speedify Pair & Share: share cellular between your devices, both ways
Most hotspots give. Speedify's Pair & Share gives and takes. Two devices running Speedify pair up and each uses the other's cellular connection simultaneously, so you both get faster uploads, faster downloads, and a steadier connection. No extra hardware, no new data plans, no setup beyond a tap.
Learn how Speedify's Pair & Share works ›More speed
Every device you pair with adds its cellular to yours, and yours to theirs.
Stays connected
If a paired device drops out, Speedify keeps you online on the remaining links.
Always private
Every shared connection runs through AES-256 encryption. Your traffic is yours.
No new gear
Runs on devices already running Speedify, over your local network. Pair once, reconnects automatically.
What You Need to Set Up a 24/7 Livestream with Starlink and Speedify
This is what we used for our non-stop livestream setup:
Internet
- Starlink for RV - main connection
- Comcast cable - secondary connection
- Speedify - to be able to combine the Starlink and Comcast Internet.
We use 2 Internet connections at the same time with Speedify in order make sure the livestream doesn't disconnect or viewers don't experience any periods of low quality video.
Video & Audio
- 2 x Power-over-Ethernet cameras - given our particular setup, we used Lorex 4K IP cameras.
- Slip.stream for royalty-free and DMCA-free music for content creators.
You don't need Slip.stream if you want to broadcast the audio feed from the cameras directly.
Streaming Device & Software
- Asus ROG Strix G10CE PC - streaming device
- OBS - streaming software, with plugins:
- Advanced Scene Switcher - to cycle through scenes
- OBS Remote Parameters script - to use in the Streamlabs chatbot, which allows to set up custom commands that viewers can type in the Twitch chat to control OBS scenes via the OBS websocket
- WebSocket 4.0 Compat - for compatibility with the Streamlabs chatbot, because the Remote Parameter scene switching doesn't work with the updated websocket included with OBS 28
- Streamlabs chatbot - supports OBS websocket control. It also requires IronPython for custom scripts to work
5 Steps to Set Up Your Non-Stop Livestream with Commands
Here is what you have to do:
- Set up the camera(s) where you want to livestream from - we put them on the roof of our office building, so using PoE cameras makes sense for us.
- Set up the streaming PC - install OBS Studio, the plugins above, the Streamlabs chatbot and Speedify.
In our case, the Streamlabs chatbot is connected to our Twitch chat. It reads the chat commands in our chat and triggers OBS Remote Parameters over the OBS Websocket. OBS temporarily switches to the specified scene when it receives commands over the Websocket.
If you're using slip.stream for music, you can choose to download a bunch of songs and put them in a folder for OBS to play as a VLC source. - Set up your Starlink and Comcast Internet connections. Make sure they're working.
- Combine both connections with Speedify. We used an extra USB-to-Ethernet adapter so we could connect both Starlink and Comcast via wired Ethernet, but you can use one Ethernet and one Wi-Fi connection, for example. We configured Speedify to use both Starlink and Comcast as Primary Internet sources.
- Go live with the feed in OBS and make sure the result in Twitch, YouTube or wherever you are streaming to is what you want.
Make Your Livestream More Fun: Use Chat Commands and Get Timelapses
As we have been running the 24/7 live feed of the Philadelphia skyline, there are two things that we started doing:
- creating daily timelapses of the Philadelphia skyline and publishing them on our YouTube channel
- using commands to allow viewers to have some fun while watching the livestream.
This increased the average view duration per user and also provided us with yet another live streaming related subject to engage with our online community.
Get started with Speedify today!
With Speedify you can combine Wi-Fi, 4G / 5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and other satellites into one bonded super-connection to improve livestreaming, video calling, gaming, web browsing, and everything else you do online.
Speed
Stability
Security
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