Castr blog
Live streaming guides from the team that runs it.
Practical articles on broadcasting, encoding, hosting, monetization, and everything in between, written by the Castr team.
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Tips & Tricks
AV1 Codec: The Next Generation Video Codec
The AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) codec streams faster and looks better than its predecessors, even on slower connections. Here's how it works.
Jun 26, 2024 · 6 min
Tips & Tricks
An Ultimate Guide to Streaming Bandwidth: How Much Do You Need?
Video streaming bandwidth refers to the amount of data your internet connection can transmit in a given second while you are streaming video or audio content.
Jun 26, 2024 · 7 min
Tips & Tricks
Aspect Ratio vs. Resolution: The Concept & Key Differences Explained
Resolutions affect the video image quality; and aspect ratios connect with the device you use to broadcast your videos.
Jun 21, 2024 · 6 min
Tips & Tricks
Lossy vs Lossless Video Compression: What’s the Difference?
Lossy compression shrinks files by discarding less noticeable data. Lossless keeps every bit and preserves perfect image quality. Compare both.
Jun 10, 2024 · 6 min
Tips & Tricks
What Causes Buffering When Streaming?
Are you frustrated with the constant pauses while trying to watch videos? Buffering when streaming can ruin your video streaming experience. This annoyance
Jun 10, 2024 · 8 min
Equipment
Hardware vs. Software Encoding: Which Should You Choose for Live Streaming?
Hardware encoding is faster and more efficient, but software encoding may offer a different level of quality than software encoding.
May 31, 2024 · 9 min
Tips & Tricks
VP9: Google’s Open Source Video Codec Explained
VP9 is an open-source and royalty-free video coding format created by Google. It reduces bitrate by 50% compared to VP8.
May 29, 2024 · 5 min
Tips & Tricks
The Ultimate Guide to Video Aspect Ratio
The video aspect ratio is a proportional relationship between a video’s width and height. The most common aspect ratios are 4:3, 1:1, 16:9, and 21:9.
May 17, 2024 · 11 min
Livestream
StreamLabs vs StreamElements: Which One Should You Choose for Streaming?
StreamLabs offers only PayPal for donations; StreamElements provides more options and has a stream deck control for music overlays, unlike StreamLabs.
May 16, 2024 · 7 min
Tips & Tricks
How to Get a TikTok Stream Key?
Learn how to find your TikTok stream key and server URL so you can go live from OBS or any encoder. A quick, step-by-step guide for beginners.
May 12, 2024 · 4 min
Multistream
YouTube vs. Instagram: Which Platform Is the Best for Streaming?
YouTube offers longer content, monetization options, and a vast audience. Instagram excels in real-time engagement and stories.
Apr 28, 2024 · 7 min
Tips & Tricks
Video Transcoding: What Is It & Why Is It Important in Streaming?
Video transcoding means the process of converting a file from one format to another. It can be a file format, a video file, or an audio file.
Apr 21, 2024 · 9 min
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