Your stream is only as good as your internet connection. Here are our recommendations and best practices for configuring your network for livestreaming to a live broadcast or streaming to a venue.
Note: Enterprises require a firewall setup for live streaming from private networks to secure sensitive data, regulate access, and ensure uninterrupted streaming services by mitigating potential cyber threats.
If you are a viewer and want to know about the recommended networks for yourself, refer to Network and browser requirements for viewing streams.
You should ideally be streaming over an Ethernet connection on a dedicated (unshared) network. Network speeds fluctuate constantly depending on numerous factors, so be sure to test your upload speed frequently.
Generally speaking, you should set your encoder's outgoing bitrate to much lower than your available upload speed to allow for network fluctuations. Keep in mind other factors can come into play when producing a stable stream such as firewalls and network congestion.
When setting up your encoder settings, we suggest the following based on the results of an upload speed test based on this site. Refer to the table below:
| Upload Speed | Resolution | Framerate | Bitrate |
| 4mbps minimum | 720p | 30 FPS | 2000kbps |
| 4.1-10mbps | 720p | 30 FPS | 2500kbps |
| 720p | 60FPS (option to enterprise accounts only) | 5000kbps (max recommended) | |
| 10.1mbps-25mbps | 1080p | 30 FPS | 4000kbps |
| 25.1mbps and above | 1080p | 30FPS | 5000kbps (max recommended) |
| 1080p | 60FPS (option to enterprise accounts only) | 9000kbps (max recommended) |
If you are streaming with a bitrate significantly less than 2000kbps, your stream may appear pixelated or experience lag.
Regardless of your network strength, you should always record your stream locally. Many software encoders offer this feature, or you can record directly onto a camera.
A note regarding bonded streaming: We often get asked if it's possible to stream over a bonded network (i.e. two or more different networks carrying the same stream). This workflow requires the ingest server to accept a signal from both networks in the bonded group. Vimeo is not currently configured this way so at this time, all streams must be sent over a single network.
There is no maximum size for input, but in output, we always transcode it to 256/128/56 kbit 48kHz, so sending a higher bitrate for audio beyond 256 kbps doesn’t help.
Firewall configuration
If you are having issues starting a stream to Vimeo via RTMP, you or your IT team may need to check to see if Firewall ports are blocked. This is common especially if you are on a corporate network (office, convention center, hotel, school. etc.)
Note about DNS lookup
Usually, DNS lookup uses UDP port 53, but it may vary depending on the configuration of your operating system, browser, or application. Please ensure that your final whitelist allows DNS resolution to work properly.
RTMP streaming with a third-party encoder
If you are using an external encoder and you see an error message immediately upon trying to start the stream, or a blank preview player and a grey Go Live button when the stream preview is enabled, this could indicate a Firewall issue.
All encoders use various internet ports to communicate with Vimeo, all of which need to be made open to incoming and outgoing communication.
Refer to the table below:
| Domain | Ports | Functionality |
| rtmp-global.cloud.vimeo.com | 443 | Streaming via RTMPS |
| rtmp-global.cloud.vimeo.com | 1935 | Streaming via RTMP (insecure, please use RTMPS if your encoder supports it ) |
Some third-party encoders may have their own requirements for working in restricted networks. Take a look at their documentation to know their requirements.
RTMP streaming with Livestreaming Studio
Refer to the table below:
| Domain | Ports | Functionality |
| rtmp-global.cloud.vimeo.com | 443 | Streaming via RTMPS |
|
livestreamstudio.net studio-sub-manager.vimeows.com |
443 | Required to launch Livestream Studio application |
| api.vimeo.com | 443 | Required to communicate with Vimeo API for managing user live streams/videos / etc |
| i.vimeocdn.com | 443 | Access to user assets (vimeo thumbnail, etc) |
|
vimeo.com f.vimeocdn.com i.vimeocdn.com studio-webcontrol.livestream.com |
443 | Login into your Vimeo account in the browser (only during the first login or on changing account) |
Notes:
- For logging into your account via SSO, you also need to whitelist SSO-related domains. Refer to your SSO provider’s documentation provided documentation for more information.
- This instruction covers only simple scenarios with logging into Livestream Studio and streaming to Vimeo, other cases (especially ones that involve network services, e.g. streaming to a destination outside of Vimeo) may require additional domains to whitelist.
Streaming with Browser Studio
Refer to the table below:
| Domain | Ports | Functionality |
| vimeo.com | 443 | Access to Browser Studio |
| api.vimeo.com | 443 | Required to communicate with Vimeo API for managing user live streams/videos/etc |
| i.vimeocdn.com | 443 | Assets for the Vimeo website |
| f.vimeocdn.com | 443 | Scripts for the Vimeo website |
|
identitytoolkit.googleapis.com *.firebaseio.com |
443 | Realtime scene switching + live interactivity tools |
|
*.agora.io *.edge.agora.io *.sd-rtn.com *.edge.sd-rtn.com |
443 | Realtime video communication |
If you are a broadcaster, to log into your account via SSO, you also need to whitelist SSO-related domains. Refer to your SSO provider’s documentation for more information.
Recommended network configuration for streaming to a venue
Refer to the table below:
| Domain | Ports | Functionality |
|
*.vimeo.com, *.vimeocdn.com *.googleapis.com *.google.com |
443 | Access to Venues website |
|
*.agora.io *.edge.agora.io *.sd-rtn.com *.edge.sd-rtn.com |
443 |
Realtime video communication |
Accessing Broadcaster Preview Page for RTMP streams
Please contact your account manager or customer support to get instructions on how to access the broadcaster preview page from a restricted network.