Twitch Streaming Issues on Pi 4/RetroPie 4.6

BGallagherLA · 12 May 2020, 09:46

Hi all. So I had had previously gotten Twitch streaming working on my Pi 2, but as you can imagine, it was rather slow and choppy, at best, and unplayable at worst. When the new 4.6 version came out, I was happy to see that gameplay is drastically improved on the streams with my Pi 4... but there was no sound. Below is my twitch.cfg file which is based on an older forum post (https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/18303/livestreaming-to-twitch-on-retropie-4-4/6)

vcodec = libx264
acodec = aac
pix_fmt = yuv420p
threads = 2
scale_factor = 1
format = flv

video_preset = ultrafast
video_profile = main
video_tune = animation
video_bufsize = 512k
video_minrate = 512k
video_maxrate = 512k
video_r = 60
video_g = 120
video_keyint_min = 60

sample_rate = 44100
audio_preset = aac_he_v2
audio_global_quality = 1

That earlier post was based on a 2016 article (http://selsine.com/2016/10/16/how-to-live-stream-to-twitch-from-a-retropie/) and when I noticed some of the different audio codex, I decided to give those a try. While libfdk_aac didn't work, the libmp3lame codex - which the author said gave him a "'bus error' at the following location: ‘/opt/retropie/supplementary/runcommand/runcommand.sh: line 855: 16499" - did actually work on NES, SMS and Genesis. Success! But... when I configured the mame-libretro and fba emulators for streaming, they wouldn't even start up after a long delay of just a black screen, and one time, EmulationStation even crashed. The games I tested played fine in the regular emulators when I wasn't trying to stream, and sure enough, when I turned the audio codex back to aac, it booted right up and streamed with no lag, though, sadly, with no sound either.

I'm not well-versed at all in audio codex and whatnot, so can someone possibly point me in the right direction as far as what other audio codex to try to get everything working smoothly? Thanks, and sorry for the super long post haha.

mitu · 12 May 2020, 13:27

In the newer version, there are a few streaming/recording profiles predefined - you should try one of them and stream, before using a custom file. You can access those settings from the RGUI, under the Settings -> Recording.

BGallagherLA · 12 May 2020, 17:18

I'm not seeing any of these profiles. This is all I see under Settings > Recording in RGUI - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-5hq99qLSYWpyufNk7bCq4YrPWqagIU4/view?usp=sharing

mitu · 12 May 2020, 17:23

@BGallagherLA I can't see the screenshot, it asks for a login.

BGallagherLA · 12 May 2020, 17:30

@mitu https://imgur.com/a/wfDbTDS

mitu · 12 May 2020, 17:37

@BGallagherLA This looks about right - the Stream Quality is where the presets can be set.

BGallagherLA · 12 May 2020, 18:07

@mitu Still no audio on Mame. Even when I change one of the presets it goes right back to Low automatically. I have streaming working fine with all of the above settings with libmp3lame as the audio codex for NES, SMS and Megadrive/Genesis. When I try to load a game on Mame, it doesn't even open. The only way it will work on the streaming emulators I created (using those links in the original post as guides) for Mame or FBA is if aac is the audio codex... and then it streams with no audio. What are some of the other audio codex I can try to alleviate this?

BGallagherLA · 14 May 2020, 08:22

Update: I was tinkering around with audio codecs and finally found one that works with everything - libshine. Enter that into the twitch.cfg file with all the above settings and everything works fantastic!

BGallagherLA · 14 May 2020, 17:39

@BGallagherLA CC: @mitu Just FYI, I got it working properly with audio codec libshine.

mitu · 14 May 2020, 17:41

@BGallagherLA Thanks for the heads-up. Can you post your .cfg file, for reference ?

BGallagherLA · 14 May 2020, 18:13

@mitu Sure thing!

vcodec = libx264
acodec = libshine
pix_fmt = yuv420p
threads = 2
scale_factor = 1
format = flv

video_preset = ultrafast
video_profile = main
video_tune = animation
video_bufsize = 512k
video_minrate = 512k
video_maxrate = 512k
video_r = 60
video_g = 120
video_keyint_min = 60

sample_rate = 44100
audio_preset = aac_he_v2
audio_global_quality = 1

With this twitch.cfg file, I've had successful stream tests on NES (Bionic Commando), Sega Master System (Astro Warrior), Genesis (NHL 94), MAME (NBA Jam) and FBA (Street Fighter III).

nestalgic · 14 Jun 2020, 18:01

Hey guys!
This is my first post here.
I've been trying to stream directly from RPi3 and I followed the famous Selsine and Retro Resolution guides (https://retroresolution.com/2016/07/06/recording-live-gameplay-in-retropies-retroarch-emulators-natively-on-the-raspberry-pi/ AND http://selsine.com/2016/10/). I got that, but it's too slow when I'm playing (almost impossible to play), although the output was ok (streaming and record).
Check my tests:

I didn't change anything on /opt/retropie/configs/EMULATOR/emulators.cfg
Instead, I use to press "Start Streaming" on RGUI during the play.

Any idea about why playing is slow?

I've tried two Twitch config options as follow and both worked:

#1
vcodec = libx264
acodec = libmp3lame
pix_fmt = yuv420p
scale_factor = 2
threads = 3
video_crf = 25
video_preset = superfast
video_tune = animation
audio_global_quality = 75
sample_rate = 44100
format = flv

#2
vcodec = libx264
acodec = aac
pix_fmt = yuv420p
threads = 2
scale_factor = 1
format = flv
video_preset = ultrafast
video_profile = main
video_tune = animation
video_bufsize = 512k
video_minrate = 512k
video_maxrate = 512k
video_r = 60
video_g = 120
video_keyint_min = 60
sample_rate = 44100
audio_preset = aac_he_v2
audio_global_quality = 1

BGallagherLA · 14 Jun 2020, 19:15

@nestalgic I have never tried on a Pi3 but I did try on a Pi 2 and it was unplayable. I'm not sure if anyone has had success on a Pi 3, but I can tell you that it streams great on my Pi 4. I'd consider an upgrade to a Pi 4 if you want to stream. I'm hopefully picking up a capture card next week so I can add a video feed to my stream.

nestalgic · 14 Jun 2020, 23:20

@BGallagherLA Hey! I'm glad to hear you about Pi 4 and I'll consider an upgrade onto it. I've been trying a lot on Pi 3, but I'm exhausted. I believe its hardware isn't good enough for this job.
I'd really love if I could avoid another PC to streaming.
Thanks my friend!

BGallagherLA · 15 Jun 2020, 02:25

@nestalgic You're welcome! My Twitch is

if you wanna see what I've done so far.

nestalgic · 15 Jun 2020, 16:31

@BGallagherLA I've just watched your videos . Those are really nice! The main point is you can play "nice and soft" on RBPi4.
If you check my streamings out you'll see the results are the same as yours. But unfortunetely unplayable on RBPi3. See you on Twitch!