An introduction to

A lot of us are aware of the delay when it comes to video data transmission.

Then what is the definition of low latency? Are you looking to cut down on latency on all of your live events? Let's answer all this and more with this article.

A primer on low latency

Low latency refers to the smallest delay in video data transfer between your player and your viewers' screens.

The shorter time for data transmission results in a better viewing experience and facilitates interaction. However, here's the problem to get low latency: you need to compromise with lower resolution or video quality.

It is a good thing that no live event requires low latency.

It is essential in live streaming activities to allow for real-time interaction and watching experience. If you're doing this viewers expect to be able to watch or participate in the live stream as the event unfolds. This means you won't be able to afford excessive latency, and have to stream in smaller resolutions than 4K.

Although this is low-latency streaming in its simplest form we'll go into the details of when and how.

What is low latency

In its literal meaning, the word "latency" is a term that means "a delay in the transfer.'

For the purposes of video latency, this means the length of amount of time that it takes for the video captured from your camera until it is played on your players' viewers.

Therefore, a low latency will mean reduced time to transfer video content to point A (your stream's headquarter) towards point B (your your audience's members).

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

What constitutes as a low latency?

Based on industry standards, high-quality live streaming is 10 seconds and under and broadcast TV streaming ranges between 2- six minutes. Based on the use you intend to make you may even attain ultra-low latency which lies between 2 - 0.2 seconds.

Why do you require the lowest latency when streaming video? You don't need the same level of latency for each live stream that you run. You do require it for all active live streaming.

The key here is the amount of interaction that your live event demands.

Therefore, if the event you're planning involves like a live auction, you'll need low latency for your stream. Why? To ensure all interactions show in real-time - not with delay, as this could result in unfair advantage.

Let's take a look at some examples of these usage cases later.

What are the times you require streaming that is low-latency?

The greater participation in live streaming your event demands the less transmission time you will require. So, your attendees will be able to enjoy the experience in real-time without interruption.

These are some instances where it is necessary to stream at a low-latency:

• Two-way communicationsuch as live chatting. This includes live events where Q&As are part of the.
• Experiences in real-timeis important, just like online games.
• Participation of the audience is required. For instance, in cases of casinos online, bets on sports, as well as live auctions.
• Real-time monitoring. Examples include search and rescue missions, military-level bodycams, and monitoring of pets and children.
• Remote operation that require consistent connectivity between a distant operator and machinery that they are in control of. Example: endoscopy cameras.

Why should you choose to use streaming with low latency?

Summarizing the use cases that we've discussed above, you need low latency streaming when you're streaming either:

• Content that is time-sensitive
• Content that needs real-time audience interaction and engagement

But why not use low latency on all the video content you stream? In the end, the less delay your content has in reaching your viewers more effectively, right? Well, not exactly. However, low latency has its negatives.

The disadvantages include:

• Low latency compromises the quality of video. Why is this? High video quality slows the processing of the video due to its huge file size.
• There's not much buffered (or preloaded) content in this line. This means there's little chance of error in the event that there should an issue with the network.

In the event of live streaming, a streaming service like rapidly preloads content prior to stream to viewers. In this way, if there's an issue with the network, it plays the content buffered, and allows the slowdown due to the network to recover.

When the network issue is resolved, the player downloads the highest possible video quality. All this, however, happens behind the scenes.

The result is that viewers receive the same high-quality, uninterrupted playback experience unless, of course, a major error on the network occurs.

When you opt for low latency, however you'll see less replay video that the player prepares. This leaves you with minimal chance of error when an issue with your network occurs from the blue.

The fact is that high latency is useful in some situations. In particular, the longer delay gives the producers chance to remove insensitive content as well as profane.

Similarly, in cases where you are unable to compromise on the quality of video broadcasting, you can increase the latency ever so slightly so you can offer an excellent viewing experience, and have some room to correct errors.

How is latency measured

In the light of the definition of streaming with low latency and its applications off the table Let's look at how you can measure it.

Technicallyspeaking, the term "low latency" is determined by a measurement unit known as the round-trip duration (RTT). It denotes the duration it takes for a data packet to go between points A and B and for a response to return back to the origin.

Now to calculate this, an effective way is to add video timestamps and ask your teammate to view the live video.

Request them to search for an exact time stamp frame that will appear on the screen. Then take the time stamp's date from the time the viewer saw the exact frame. That will calculate your time of arrival.

You can also ask a friend to watch your live stream, and take a cue when it comes. Take note of the moment when you made the cue sound on the live stream and when your assigned viewer saw it. This should give you the latency, but not as precisely like the previous method. It's still enough for a rough idea.

How to reduce video latency

How do you get the lowest latency?

The fact of the matter is that there are a variety of elements that influence the speed of your video. From encoder settings to streaming protocol you're using, many factors come into play to play.

We'll take a look at these elements and ways to optimize the way you use them to decrease latency , while ensuring that your quality video doesn't take the biggest hit.

• Internet connection form. The internet connection determines your speed and data transfer rates. This is why Ethernet connections are more suitable to stream live than wireless and cell data (it's recommended to use them as your backups though).

• Bandwidth. High bandwidth (the amount of data that can be transmitted at one time) is less crowded and a faster speed for internet.

• Size of video files. Bigger sizes require more bandwidth in transferring between points A and B, which can increase time to transfer and vice versa.

• Distance. It's how far you are from the internet provider. The more close you are to the internet source closer to the source, the more quickly the video stream you upload will be transferred.

• Encoder. Select an encoder that helps to keep your latency low by sending signals from your device to the receiver device as quickly a time as possible. However, make sure that the encoder that you choose works with the streaming services you are using.
• Streaming protocol or the protocol that delivers your data packets (including video and audio) directly from your computer to the screens of viewers. For achieving low latency, it is necessary to choose a streaming protocol that reduces data loss while introducing lesser latency.

We'll now look over the streaming protocols you can pick from:

• SRT: This protocol effectively transmits high-quality video over lengthy distances at very low latency. However, since it's relatively new, it's still being used by technology, including encoders. The solution? Combine it with other protocols.

• WebRTC: WebRTC is great for video conferencing however it has a few compromises on video quality since it's focused on speed mostly. However, the issue is that a lot of video players can't be used with it as it requires an elaborate setup to deploy.
• Low-latency HLS is great 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 undeveloped specification and implementation support is in the works.
  

Live stream with low latency

The streaming of low latency is feasible with a speedy internet connection, high bandwidth, the best-fit streaming protocol with an encoder that is optimized.

What's more you can reduce the distance between you and your internet and using smaller videos can be helpful.