Shadow is a live stream, unlike that of Netflix and Hulu which can buffer, and thus streaming greatly depends on the strength of your internet connection. This includes your download speed, upload speed, latency (ping), jitter, and the distance between you and the data center you are connecting to.
Lag is the noticeable delay between your inputs and the reaction of the server, which can degrade your experience with Shadow. For example, you’re moving your mouse but there is a delay on the stream when the mouse moves. This occurs when your network connection is not optimal, as Shadow reads inputs from your PC and is transmitted to Shadow and then the action is streamed to you. Having minimal latency on your network will help alleviate any lag you may experience.
As of now, you can set a Shadow stream bit rate to run between 5 Mb/s to 70 Mb/s which dictates the visual quality of the stream; just be sure you have the proper bandwidth and are aware of any data limitations you may have. Setting your bandwidth allocation higher than your max download speed can cause lag. We recommend setting your allocated bandwidth to 10 to 15 Mb/s lower than your max download speed.
To learn more on how to lower your latency, please check out our guide on how to troubleshoot your internet connection.
What are some of your best tips and tricks? We’d love to see what your best practices are. Feel free to create a new post to share with us.