A Quick Overview
Let's take a deeper dive into everything related to connectivity! ⚡️
Demio uses a streaming technology called WebRTC. It's browser-based and it doesn’t require any downloads. This comes at a cost because browsers require a significant amount of computing compared to running a native app.
With that said, there are a few steps we can take to improve our connection and get better results. Let's jump into it now!
Note: The following article is specific to connectivity. For general guidelines around how to prepare for a webinar, check out our Admin Checklist instead.
Performing the Test
Connectivity Test
For starters, you'll want to start by testing your current connection using Demio System Check. Select Run Test to perform the test (it can take up to 30 seconds to complete):
Once you've run the test, you can select Show Details to expand the results:
Let's start diving into what it all means!
Audio vs. Video. With Demio's Connectivity Test, we test both your audio and video connectivity and report the results for each. The audio connectivity relates to the connection quality you can expect for your microphone device, while the video connectivity relates to your webcam device.
The system check test uses an objective test, calculating the MOS scores based on bitrate, packet loss ratio, and (for video) resolution. Objective tests limit the range of scores from 1.0 (poor) to 4.5 (excellent) and you may get different scores for audio and video if, for example, there's more audio packet loss than video packet loss.
Quality. The quality score is an overall score that summarizes the quality of your connection. As long as there aren't any network-related connectivity issues (firewalls, network restrictions), this score will be determined by the two attributes that follow: packet loss and bitrate.
Packet Loss. In summary, packet loss simply refers to the amount of data you send to our servers that has not been received. It can result from having an unstable connection that consistently goes in and out. A high rate of packet loss is a primary culprit for when your audio/video streams cut in and out.
For audio, a packet loss of < 0.5% is excellent and < 5% is good.
For video, a packet loss of < 0.5% is excellent and < 3% is good.
Bitrate. On the other hand, bitrate refers to how fast your connection to our servers is (measured by how much data is being sent per second). A low bitrate is a primary culprit for when your audio/video streams are poor quality/choppy.
For audio, a bitrate of > 30 kbps is excellent and > 25 kbps is good.
For video, a bitrate of > 600 kbps is excellent and > 250 kbps is good.
Best Practices
Reducing Packet Loss
When looking to lower our packet loss, the most important thing is to ensure that we're connecting over a stable network, especially since a live broadcast requires a constant connection.
Here are a few steps you can take to ensure the best results possible:
Connect to your network with an ethernet cable (directly to your modem/router) rather than using Wi-Fi.
Ensure the network you're on is working correctly. Spotty connections (constantly going in and out) can be an underlying problem related to the network itself. Check with your internet service provider to rule out any issues.
Improving Bitrate
When it comes to increasing the bitrate, your connection speed is the biggest factor.
Here are a few steps you can take to ensure the best results possible:
Similar to reducing packet loss, try connecting via an ethernet cable. This will usually result in a faster connection to your network (in addition to being more stable).
Ensure that you or others on the same network aren't consuming large amounts of bandwidth through other applications/uses (such as streaming video content, downloading large files, etc.). Doing so can limit the amount of bandwidth available for you to use when connecting to the Demio servers.
Upgrade your internet service to a faster speed. Sometimes the bandwidth provided on your current internet plan may not be enough for broadcasting on a live video platform like Demio.
Other Tips
If you have an older computer (or have several programs running at once), you might be limiting the available resources that Demio can use. Closing out any unused/competing applications and all unnecessary tabs can help free up resources.
If you're using an older/poor quality webcam or microphone, this may be a limiting factor in the quality that you're able to broadcast.
Connect your laptop to a power source. If possible, use an ethernet cable.
Use Firefox instead of Chrome as it's more conscious regarding how much RAM it uses, which means better CPU utilization. You can also try Safari.
Clear browser cache, restart the browser before the session and use incognito mode.
If your connection is restricted and does not allow you to connect to Demio streaming servers, you may need to open the required ports and whitelist the necessary domains to connect.
You may experience choppy audio/video when you initially turn on and connect your devices—this occurs as the connection is first being established and is normal. Once it successfully connects, everything should clear up. When you or any Presenters are ready to speak, after unmuting your microphone, wait approximately two seconds before speaking. This allows time for Demio's streams to fully connect and ensure the entire room can hear you!
Sharing a single microphone device with multiple presenters might cause recording sync issues.
If you would really like to use Chrome instead, then you would need to follow the below steps:
There you have it—everything you need to know about connectivity when it comes to using Demio!