How to Remove Delay in Twitch Broadcast

First Identify the Source of the Delay

Delay on Twitch is not always one problem. A viewer may see an event later due to broadcast mode, intentional delay, slow encoding, or an overloaded player buffer. So first determine where exactly the gap appears between the streamer's action and the viewer's reaction.

If a chat message appears almost immediately but the image lags behind, check the broadcast settings and OBS. If both the video and chat lag, the cause may be in the connection, encoding, or computer overload. When the delay is noticeable only for one viewer, most often the problem is in their browser, app, device, or network.

• Broadcast delay — the time from an action in front of the camera to the picture appearing for the viewer.
• Intentional delay — extra time that is enabled to protect against sniping and tips during competitive games.
• Buffering — the video reserve that the player loads during an unstable connection.
• Encoding delay — the time the computer spends processing the image before sending it to Twitch.

To check, you can ask a viewer to write in chat after a noticeable action in the game. This does not give an exact measurement, but it helps to understand whether the problem appears the same for all viewers.

Enable Low Latency Mode on Twitch

Low Latency mode reduces the time between sending the broadcast and it appearing for viewers. It does not remove the delay completely, but it helps to shorten it without changing image quality.

The setting is in the Twitch Creator Dashboard. Open Creator Dashboard, go to Settings, then select Stream. In the block related to delay or broadcast mode, find the Latency Mode parameter and select Low Latency. In the Russian version, the names may appear as "Панель автора", "Настройки", "Трансляция" and "Низкая задержка".

1. Open the Twitch Creator Dashboard.
2. Go to Settings → Stream.
3. Find the Latency Mode item.
4. Select Low Latency.
5. Confirm the change if the interface shows a save button.

Low latency mode has a feature: with an unstable internet connection, the player may interrupt playback more often. So after enabling it, check the broadcast on another device and ask viewers to refresh the page. For some of them, the old buffer will remain until the player is reloaded.

Check Stream Delay in the Twitch Dashboard

Separately from Low Latency mode, Twitch may have the intentional Stream Delay enabled. It adds waiting time to the entire broadcast and is needed primarily in competitive games, when the streamer does not want to show opponents their position in real time.

To check this parameter, open Creator Dashboard → Settings → Stream. On the page, find the Stream Delay block. Depending on the language and interface version, it may be called "Задержка трансляции" or be located among the channel settings. In some dashboard variants, the needed screen opens through Channel Settings, after which you need to go to the stream settings and find the Stream Delay item.

1. Open Creator Dashboard.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Select Stream.
4. Find the Stream Delay section.
5. Disable Enable Stream Delay or set a mode without additional delay if you do not need this function.

If the delay is used intentionally, you can only remove it completely after disabling Stream Delay. Low Latency mode does not cancel the additional time set by this parameter. After changing the settings, refresh the viewing page and check the stream again.

Check Stream Delay in OBS

The streamer may have a separate delay enabled in the broadcasting program. In OBS, open Settings, go to the Advanced section and find the Stream Delay block. If you are not using delay on purpose, uncheck Enable Stream Delay. If the function is enabled, also check the set duration.

The delay set in OBS and the delay in the Twitch dashboard work separately. When both parameters are enabled, the waiting time adds up. So changing quality, restarting the browser, or clearing the cache will not fully eliminate the cause.

• Disable Stream Delay in OBS if it is not needed for the broadcast format.
• Check Stream Delay in Twitch through Creator Dashboard → Settings → Stream.
• Do not judge the result by an old open tab — refresh the viewing page.
• If you keep the delay for protection against sniping, warn viewers that it is enabled intentionally.

Check Internet, Encoding, and Computer Load

High delay often appears not because of Twitch itself, but because of dropped frames or OBS overload. Open the program statistics during the stream and see whether there are dropped frames due to network, rendering delay, or encoder overload.

• If the number of dropped frames due to network grows, check connection stability and lower the bitrate. If possible, connect the computer to the router with a cable.
• If rendering delay appears, reduce the load on the game, scenes, filters, and additional sources in OBS.
• If the encoder cannot keep up, close unnecessary programs, reduce the load on the processor or graphics card, and review the quality settings.
• When using Wi‑Fi, do not place the router far from the computer and do not overload the network with parallel downloads, cloud synchronization, or video viewing.

Use Hardware Encoding

If OBS is currently encoding the broadcast through the processor, check the possibility of hardware encoding. In OBS, open Settings → Output, enable advanced output mode if necessary, and go to the stream settings. In the Encoder field, select an available hardware option, for example NVIDIA NVENC for NVIDIA graphics cards or AMD AMF for AMD graphics cards.

Hardware encoding moves part of the work from the processor to the graphics card and can reduce processing delay, especially when the processor is busy with the game or other tasks. It does not fix a poor internet connection, so after changing the encoder, still check the OBS statistics. If rendering delay grows or game performance drops, compare the settings and choose the option in which the program manages to process scenes without drops.

For additional connection checking, you can use Twitch Inspector and the broadcast statistics in the creator dashboard. This data helps distinguish network problems from computer overload.

What a Viewer Can Do

If the delay is only for one viewer, first refresh the broadcast page. Then select automatic quality or a lower resolution so the player does not accumulate a large buffer. Do not leave the broadcast paused: after resuming playback, it may continue with a noticeable lag.

• Open the broadcast in another browser or a private window.
• Temporarily disable VPN and extensions that change how the page works or block individual player elements.
• Restart the Twitch app if you are watching from a phone, tablet, or another device.
• Check whether a file, game, or update is downloading at the same time.
• If Wi‑Fi is used, move closer to the router or temporarily connect the device to another network.
• Open another broadcast and compare the delay. This way you can understand whether the problem is related to a specific channel.

If after these actions all broadcasts lag, the problem is most likely related to the viewer's connection, browser, or device. If the delay is noticeable for all viewers of one channel, the streamer needs to check Low Latency, Stream Delay, OBS, encoding, and network condition.

A viewer cannot disable the intentional delay set by the channel owner. In that case, refreshing the page will only reduce the local buffer, but will not remove the time added in the broadcast settings.

Short Action Plan

1. Check whether the delay is the same for all viewers.
2. In Twitch, open Creator Dashboard → Settings → Stream and enable Low Latency.
3. In the same section, find Stream Delay and disable it if additional delay is not needed.
4. In OBS, open Settings → Advanced and check Stream Delay.
5. In Settings → Output, consider hardware encoding NVENC or AMF if it is available.
6. Using OBS statistics, check the network, rendering, and encoder.
7. If the problem is only for the viewer, refresh the player, change quality, and check the browser or app.