Twitch Enhanced Broadcast Adds NVIDIA HEVC Encoder Support

At TwitchCon — a global convention for the Twitch livestreaming platform—livestreamers and content creators this week can experience the latest technologies for accelerating creative workflows and improving video quality.

That includes the closed beta release of Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting support for HEVC when using the NVIDIA encoder.

Content creators can also use the NVIDIA Broadcast app, eighth-generation NVIDIA NVENC and RTX-powered optimizations in streaming and video editing apps to enhance their productions.

Plus, the September NVIDIA Studio Driver, designed to optimize creative apps, is now ready for download. Studio Drivers undergo extensive testing to ensure seamless compatibility while enhancing features, automating processes and accelerating workflows.

Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting With HEVC

The tradeoff between higher-resolution video quality and reliable streaming is a common issue livestreamers struggle with.

Higher-quality video provides more enjoyable viewing experiences but can cause streams to buffer for viewers with lower bandwidth or older devices. Streaming lower-bitrate video allows more people to watch content seamlessly but introduces artifacts that can interfere with viewing quality.

To address this issue, NVIDIA and Twitch collaborated to develop Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting. The feature adds the capability to send multiple streams — different versions of encoded video with different resolutions or bitrates — directly from NVIDIA GeForce RTX-equipped PCs or NVIDIA RTX workstations to deliver the highest-quality video a viewer’s internet connection can handle.

Twitch supports HEVC (H.265) in the Enhanced Broadcasting closed beta. With the NVIDIA encoder, Twitch streamers get 25% improved efficiency and quality over H.264.

This means that video will look as if it were being streamed with 25% more bitrate — in higher quality and with reduced artifacts or encoding errors. The feature is ideal for streaming fast-paced gameplay, enabling cleaner, sharper video with minimal lag.

Because all stream versions are generated with a dedicated hardware encoder on GeForce RTX GPUs, the rest of the system’s GPU and CPU are free to focus on running games more smoothly to maximize performance.

Learn how to get started on twitch.com.

AI-Enhanced Microphones and Webcams

Streaming is easier than ever with NVIDIA technologies.

For starters, PC performance and video quality are incredibly high quality thanks to NVIDIA’s dedicated encoder. And, NVIDIA GPUs include Tensor Cores that efficiently run AI.

Livestreamers can use AI to enhance their hardware peripherals and devices, which is especially helpful for those who haven’t had the time or resources to assemble extensive audio and video setups.

NVIDIA Broadcast transforms any home office or dorm room into a home studio — without the need to purchase specialized equipment. Its AI-powered features include Noise and Echo Removal for microphones, and Virtual Background, Auto Frame, Video Noise Removal and Eye Contact for cameras.

Livestreamers can download the Broadcast app or access its effects across popular creative apps, including Corsair iCUE, Elgato Camera Hub, OBS, Streamlabs, VTube Studio and Wave Link.

Spotlight the Highlights

GeForce RTX GPUs make it lightning-fast to edit and enhance video footage on the most popular video editing apps, from Adobe Premiere Pro to CapCut Pro.

Streamers can use AI-powered, RTX-accelerated features like Enhance Speech to remove noise and improve the quality of dialogue clips; Auto Reframe to automatically size social media videos; and Scene Edit Detection to break up long videos, like B-roll stringouts, into individual clips.

NVIDIA encoders help turbocharge the export process. For those looking for extreme performance, the GeForce RTX 4070 Ti GPU and up come equipped with dual encoders that can be used in parallel to halve export times on apps like CapCut, the most widely used video editing app on TikTok.

Clearer, Sharper Viewing Experiences With RTX Video

NVIDIA RTX Video — available exclusively for NVIDIA and GeForce RTX GPU owners — can turn any online and native video into pristine 4K high dynamic range (HDR) content with two technologies: Video Super Resolution and Video HDR.

RTX Video Super Resolution de-artifacts and upscales streamed video to remove errors that occur during encoding or transport, then runs an AI super-resolution effect. The result is cleaner, sharper video that’s ideal for streaming on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. RTX Video is available in popular web browsers including Opera, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge.

Many users have HDR displays, but there isn’t much HDR content online. RTX Video HDR addresses this by turning any standard dynamic range (SDR) video into HDR10 quality that delivers a wider range of brights and darks and makes visuals more vibrant and colorful. This feature is especially helpful when watching dark-lit scenes in video games.

RTX Video HDR requires an RTX GPU connected to an HDR10-compatible monitor or TV. For more information, see the RTX Video FAQ.

Check out TwitchCon — taking place in San Diego and online from Sept. 20-22 — for the latest streaming updates.