Switching Stream in Twitch

Utility that runs in the background and keeps track of your stream activity. If you are thinking, “I don’t need this; I can simply run Live streamer with player twitch.” This is true for some people! The Twitch Stream Delay was made because it solves one issue that may affect many users.

The issue is that when you are live, Twitch will actually buffer the video in two ways. First, news feeds are cached so they load much faster when users are browsing them. Second, your computer will have a certain amount of time to play what it has buffered before playback starts.

How to Get Less Delay on Twitch

To get less delay on your stream, you need to increase the size of Twitch’s video cache. The easiest way to do this is by using Live streamer (instructions below). This will allow you to increase the maximum number of seconds that can be buffered before playback starts.

What is Twitch Stream Delay

Twitch Stream Delay is a simple tool that monitors your stream, and when it detects you are live, starts a timer. When the number of seconds in that timer hits a certain value, it dumps a preset delay into the Twitch chat. For example, if you set this to 30 seconds, once Twitch hits 30 seconds since the last frame update.

Why does it happen

When you start streaming, Twitch will buffer the video for a certain period of time. If you set this to 30 seconds, it is because Twitch feels that due to network conditions and your hardware, there may be up to 30 seconds (give or take) of delay between what viewers see on their screen and what you see on yours.

How to fix the issue

To fix the issue, you can use Live streamer to increase the amount of time that Twitch buffers. The most common values are 1 minute and 3 minutes. This allows you to come dangerously close (if not actually) pass the buffer limit set by Twitch.

Do I need to worry about my stream delay if I’m just watching other people’s streams ?

Yes. If you watch other people’s streams, it is very likely that you will always see them a few seconds ahead of time (depending on your setup). This may make you think, “If I’m watching an event no one else can view yet, and I’m seeing it before they do, this means the stream has been manipulated.” However, this is not the case. The reason you see the stream a few seconds ahead of time is because Twitch has already buffered those few seconds before you began watching it. In other words, to your eyes, those seconds have been pre-loaded!

Common misconceptions about Twitch Stream Delay

Twitch Stream Delay is not an extension or plugin that, when activated, makes your stream available to others in some way. Twitch does not do this (and I believe they never will). People sometimes say “I don’t need it because I’m streaming live”. The “live” part of the sentence is crucial, it means you are already past the buffer limit set by Twitch. This is why you are only seeing yourself in the chat.

How to avoid delay on other games/streams

The only way to avoid delay on other games or streams is by increasing the size of Twitch’s video cache. The easiest way to do this is by using a Live streamer with a big number for max delay.  This will allow you to increase the maximum number of seconds that can be buffered before playback starts.

If you’re like me, you don’t want to risk having your stream waiting for the previous game’s video before it plays; or even worse, seeing another streamer’s video. This is why I made Twitch Stream Delay, I hope it helps!