How Stream Built 4K 60FPS Livestreaming

Stream has introduced request-only 4K 60fps livestreaming over WebRTC, a demanding format that requires roughly five times the bitrate of 1080p 30fps because of its higher pixel count and frame rate. The service supports external encoder ingress such as OBS, optional RTMP egress to platforms like YouTube or Twitch, and adaptive bitrate ladders so viewers receive the highest quality their hardware, display, and connection can support. To prioritize broad device compatibility and hardware decoding, Stream uses H.264 rather than VP9 or newer codecs, then optimized its encoding settings with Netflix’s VMAF quality metric to reduce 4K60 delivery bitrate from more than 40 Mbps to 28 Mbps while targeting a perceived-quality score of 85. Stream benchmarked the infrastructure for 10,000 concurrent viewers, though real-world 4K usage is expected to be lower because many devices and networks cannot sustain the top quality. Future plans include dual AV1 and H.264 encoding to lower bandwidth needs while preserving compatibility, but AV1’s software-only 4K60 encoding and inconsistent device support currently limit deployment.

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