Fail Safes and Backups

Low-latency Live streaming is inherently challenging, and as more remote streams that are added to a live production, the more likely a problem will occur.

OBS.Ninja acknowledges these risks and attempts to mitigate them when possible. Some things OBS.Ninja provides to ensure reliabily:

• BACK-UP SITE: If the main website goes down, https://backup.obs.ninja is a backup deployment of OBS.Ninja. It is fully-independent of the main service, so if the main site is down for whatever reason, the backup site should still be up.

• FIXED VERSIONS: OBS.Ninja does update the application code every few weeks, and with new code comes potentially new bugs and/or feature changes. To mitigate any surprises, past versions of the app remain hosted long after a new release. For example, version 9 can be found at https://obs.ninja/v9, with the current previous version being listed on the main site. Most new releases become bug-free within a few days of their release, thanks to prompt user bug reports.

• REDUNDANT RELAY SERVERS: There are three TURN servers (as of Nov 25th), which help support guests that are unable to connect directly via P2P. These are hosted in the USA, Canada, and Germany. They definitely are not cheap to host, yet are essential for a simplified and reliable user experience.

• DEBUGGING TOOLS: Speed-tests and Debug tools are provided, either via the Left-Click + CTRL (command) options or at https://obs.ninja/speedtest . These can be useful to diagnose problems, such as whether Packet Loss is a culprit to low-quality video, and remotely determining who is at fault.

• ACTIVE FREE SUPPORT: There is active support on the DISCORD channel https://discord.gg/sk4caKg, Reddit, and limited support via email: [email protected] If paid support is requested, there are capable users in the community who can be recommended.

• LISTED KNOWN ISSUES: On the main website, currently known issues will be listed, often with links to solutions.

As a side note, most issues are the fault of guests being connected over Wi-Fi, instead of being connected via wired Ethernet. Wi-Fi has horrible packet loss issues, and Packet Loss can kill the quality of live streams. Considering switching to Ethernet if possible, and if using OBS, perhaps consider VP9 or H264 as a codec; those codecs have less packet loss issues.

Always prep and practice ahead of live-streams, and make sure to have practiced game-plans and backup solutions for every possible outcome. It will reduce stress and ensure a calm and collected response to issues that inevitably happen. Low-latency live streaming can be challenging, even with the best of tools.