What delays live streaming and how latency can make it worse

Have you ever noticed when live streaming an event over the internet that it is often seconds behind live broadcast TV? This ‘streaming delay’ is typical and is caused by the complexity needed to keep an online video player buffer to allow the smoothest streaming experience.

Due to the nature of live streaming technologies some ‘streaming delay’ cannot be avoided but in some cases, it can get progressively worse. Small buffering events and player events incrementally add to delay over long sessions (like watching a full match) caused by internet latency.

The internet is a shared resource, and when there is a lot of traffic on the network, it slows down the delivery of live streaming data. This leads to higher latency, especially during peak times. During this congestion you may also observe changes in video quality (rendition changes) each will trigger additional buffering incrementally adding to the streaming delay.

Older compatible devices may experience a higher buffering experience throughout a match due to older software’s longer processing time, which can increase the latency of game play.

Here are a few tips for reducing latency and incremental delay when streaming live sport:

• Try and use a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi whether at home or at work
• Select the Live stream, “Watch from start” is a larger file that may have more frequent incremental delays
• Consider turning off, disconnecting or closing other applications and devices that are streaming at the same time on your connection in your house at the same time
• Make sure your compatible device and Optus Sport app is up to date with the latest app software and operating system (currently Optus Sport iOS app version 5.18 on iOS 17; or Optus Sport Android app version 5.13 on Android 13)

For more information on Optus Sport compatible devices, click here.

Please see the Optus Sport Support Hub for further help and support.