How to Change Stream Delay on Twitch & OBS – (Mobile & PC)

Stream delay has its own pros and cons and in this guide, I am sharing step by step how to change stream delay on twitch and Streamlab OBS.

Through delay stream, you can get rid of stream snipers by increasing stream delay and can chat quickly by reducing stream delay.

So I will share how to enable and turn off stream delay on twitch PC and Mobile.

 

How to Change Stream Delay on Twitch

Here I will take you through step by step how to reduce and setup stream delay on Twitch Streamlab OBS and OBS studio.

But before proceeding you must know a little more about twitch stream delay and when this should be used.

What is Stream Delay on Twitch

Stream delay is basically permitting a specific timeframe in the middle of things really happening and then appearing on stream.

This feature is available in almost all streaming software and is mostly used when streamers are stream sniped.

As a viewer, you may have seen streamers yelling at these stream snipers and many consider them worse than the hackers.

Does Twitch automatically have a delay?

Yes, not only Twitch but also other streaming platforms have an auto delay between 5 to 30 seconds depending on your location.

This delay can be increased and reduced depending on the streamers.

Generally, many viewers say this delay as lag and probably you may have also said sometime.

As a streamer, if you notice too much delay in the stream then you can fix or change on Twitch, Streamlab OBS, studio.

 

How to Reduce Stream Delay on Twitch (Desktop)

Viewers may report to you on the chat that there is a huge delay on stream that can be really annoying not only for the viewers but also for the streamers.

People love streaming because it’s LIVE. 

But no worries once you get to know about this delay you can remove this stream delay on Twitch using low latency mode.

1. For both Windows and Mac PC, pull up your browser to open twitch or you can also bring up the twitch desktop app.
   
   
2. Click on your profile picture located at the very right-hand top and from the suggestions choose Settings.
   
   

   

    

3. From the top settings tab, click on “Channel & Videos” and then from the left-hand menu options click on “Stream”.
   
   
4. Now look for “Latency Mode” which will be under Stream key and Preferences. Make sure latency mode is selected to “Low Latency”.
   
   

   

If not, select Low latency as this will reduce the delay on stream. You can apply these changes on your mobile as well.

 

How to Reduce Stream Delay on Twitch (Mobile)

There are ways to reduce twitch stream delay on mobile but not through the Twitch app on Android and iPhone.

This needs to be done either through the browser or the community guideline feature.

• Launch your Twitch app on your Android mobile or iPhone.
  
  
• Tap on your profile picture located at the very left-hand top and from the drop-down tap on “Account settings”.
  
  

  

  
  
• In the account settings menu tap on “Community Guidelines” which is at the bottom.
  
  

  

  
  
• On the very right-hand top, you will see a human icon, tap on it and then tap on Browse.
  
  

  

  
  
• Twitch app will now load in the desktop mode, tap on your profile picture at the right-hand top, and from the drop-down choose Settings.
  
  
• Tap on the Channel and Videos tab. Now tap on the hamburger icon at the left-hand top and then on Stream that is under the Settings.
  
  

  

• Scroll down and you will find the Latency mode. Make sure it’s enabled to Low Latency.

Once done you can make a twitch test stream to check how the delay is working.

 

 

What are Low Latency and Normal Latency on twitch? When to Use it

Low and normal latency is a feature on Twitch that allows to reduce or increase the time it takes for streams to reach the viewers.

In simple words, I can say Twitch is a platform that creates interactions between streamers and viewers. 

When to Use Low Latency on Twitch

So if you go with low latency there will be less delay between the things happening in real-time and appearing on stream. This is mostly recommended and loved by both streamers and viewers as they can quickly chat in real-time.

By default, there is a delay of 5 to 30 seconds which is fine for most of the viewers but viewers and streamers hate it if this delay increases.

So in order to get the lowest delay you can choose the Low latency option. 

 

When to Use Normal Latency on Twitch

But sometimes streamers have to go with normal latency to delay the stream.

As a streamer imagine when you are concentrating on your gameplay in a particular direction or team with some strategies and suddenly you are attacked by an unexpected player or different team.

This is called stream sniping and I have seen these stream snipers in almost all games and locations and this can really ruin your gameplay and of course your mood. 

So in order to temporarily get rid of these stream snipers, you can go with normal latency that will increase the delay between things happening and appearing on stream.

 

How to Setup Stream Delay on Twitch

Let’s see how you can manage and adjust stream delay for twitch. 

If you have a twitch program you can set it up from the twitch creator dashboard only. But if not you can also do it from the most used streaming software like OBS, Streamlab, and Xsplit

 

How to Change Stream delay on Twitch – Streamlabs OBS

If you stream on Twitch or any other platform using SLOB then you can easily manage and adjust stream delay through Streamlab delay settings.

• Pull up Streamlab and click on the Settings gear icon at the left-hand bottom to open Streamlab Settings.
  
  

  

  
  
• From the left-hand settings menu, click on the “Advanced”.
  
  
• Scroll down to the Stream Delay section and check the box of Enable.
  
  

  

  
  
• Now to reduce the stream delay click on the box of Duration (seconds) and type 0. Doing this will force twitch to keep you at 0 seconds delay. In case if 0 doesn’t work go with 1  
  
  
• You can change it and increase stream delay by clicking on the box of duration and typing the seconds. Let’s say you want a delay of 40 seconds then you can type 40 in the box.

Similarly, you can adjust the stream delay according to your requirement. You must be aware of these navigations like how to open streamlab recordings and other settings SLOB settings.

 

How to Change Stream Delay on Twitch – OBS Studio

Stream delay settings in OBS studio are almost the same as Streamlab. So if you use OBS studio for streaming follow the below steps to manage Stream delay.

• Launch your OBS studio and then click on Settings located at the very right-hand bottom.
  
  
• From the left-hand settings menu, click on Advanced and then come to the Stream delay section.
  
  
• Now check the box of Enable to enable stream delay and then in the duration box type number of seconds for delay.
  
  

  

• By default, the stream delay is set to 20s, so if you want more delay then you can increase the seconds.
  
  
• To reduce the stream delay on OBS, you can set the seconds to 1. 

Once done click on Apply and then on Ok. You can restart your OBS studio and then check how this is working. In case you get display black screen in OBS then revert the action and put the delay time to 20 seconds again.

 

How to Change Stream Delay on Twitch – XSplit

Xsplit is another best streaming software and is easy to use. You can easily remove or add stream delay for twitch or YouTube on Xsplit by following the below steps.

• Open Xsplit and click on the Settings gear icon.
  
  
• In the settings box again click on the settings gear icon of stream settings under the Game capture.
  
  
• Now enable the box of Stream delay and type the number of seconds for stream delay.
  
  
• Lower the seconds to reduce the stream delay and increase the seconds for more delay on stream.

 

Best Twitch Stream Delay Settings

If you are not sure what delay settings to keep for your stream and when to use different stream delay settings, keep reading as you will get some valuable information.

I don’t want to make you confused so keep in mind basically you have two options in Stream delay.

Either you can reduce it or increase it, depending on the streamer requirement.

If you are not getting stream sniped or if there is no trouble because of real-time then you should better reduce the stream delay. Reducing stream delay will help you to quickly communicate with viewers in the chat.

But if you feel you are getting stream sniped then you can remove this stream delay and increase the delay time. 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

WRAPPING UP

Stream delay is a great tool or an option for the streamers to get rid of stream snipers or too much delay in the stream.

Now the most important thing is how you use this feature. If you have the watching below 50 then better avoid normal latency or high delay and set it to low latency.

Hopefully, you now know how to stream delay on twitch from Streamlab and OBS. If you have some additional tips, please share your view in the comment box.

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