You’re standing in the middle of your meticulously crafted world. Your models look dynamite. Your environment is rich and dynamic. The ambiance is palpable. You’re ready to share it, get feedback, and start collaborating to take it across the finish line. 

As you begin the live stream, the wind in your character’s hair looks so real you can almost feel it. In fact, you can feel it—as the sound of your computer turning into a jet engine brings you back to reality. Immediately, you know no amount of optimizing shading, lighting, mipmaps, and LODs can save you from the inevitable pains of trying to live stream Unreal Engine without lag. 

Unfortunately, the issues inherent to streaming CPU/GPU-heavy applications are broad and plentiful, and Unreal Engine ranks near the top of the list of sometimes challenging software programs. But you have options for streaming, sharing, and collaborating on projects with your team and clients alike. 

To help you find the best solution, here are the most popular workarounds to live stream Unreal Engine without lag, ensuring a smooth editing session. 

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Pixel streaming

As Unreal Engine’s native streaming tool, pixel streaming is easily one of the most popular and accessible choices. While it offers a healthy slate of benefits, it has enough drawbacks not to consider it the top option. 

Pros

• High-quality graphics: Since rendering happens on high-performance servers, the streamed content can be as graphically intense as the hardware allows.
• ‍Device agnostic: Access it through any device with a browser and internet connection.‍
• Low latency: Barring one other option on this list, pixel streaming offers some of the lowest latency experiences available—perfect for real-time collaboration.‍
• Advanced controls: This option allows users to access the front end for live interaction, plus adjust graphics settings to match server capabilities. 
  

Cons

• High bandwidth requirement: It requires significant bandwidth for both client and servers, especially for high-frame-rate content, resulting in lower quality/higher latency.
• ‍High server costs: This option needs cloud servers with powerful GPUs capable of rendering content in real time, which can become costly for large-scale projects and high user counts.
• ‍Scalability issues: Input lag and latency can compound quickly and cause inconsistent experiences between users depending on the number of users, server instances needed, and content intensity. ‍
• Quality loss: Users can experience a loss in quality due to video compression, which can be an issue when working on fine details. 
• ‍Lack of comms: Without built-in tools for communication, you’ll still need to be on the phone or integrate a video chat app into your system to communicate with clients and team members. 
  
  

Evercast

Designed for production and development professionals whose work regularly relies on quality and accuracy, Evercast is a comprehensive, all-in-one solution. For those looking to stream their workflows in real time, Evercast can save you from juggling multiple tools or trying to utilize complex workarounds. 

Its myriad advantages place it atop our list of solutions for streaming Unreal Engine without lag. Some of its biggest differentiators are a helpful suite of collaboration tools (like annotations and recording), a 4K, 60fps, color-accurate feed, and built-in video conferencing.

Plus, it’s the solution of choice for accomplished industry pros. 

“Basically every component of our development team uses Evercast, whether they’re reviewing their work in builds or having meetings to review critical pieces of work like animations or things you can’t really capture in a screenshot.” — Parker Davis, game development director at Serenity Forge 

Pros

• All-in-one solution: Unlike pixel streaming, Evercast isn’t limited to Unreal Engine, allowing you to stream from any source—and even multiple sources simultaneously. Users can easily toggle between Unreal and any other software, media files, live camera feeds, etc., so team members and stakeholders can watch and weigh in—all in one place. ‍
• Stream Unreal’s virtual cameras: Beyond Unreal’s interface, you can stream its virtual cameras, such as scene cameras, character POVs, etc., by sending the virtual signal out via NDI to the Evercast app. You can even stream multiple cameras concurrently and switch between them for the ultimate perspective on your project’s environment. ‍
• Thoughtful tools: Instead of balancing multiple applications to run your session, Evercast has built-in tools to unify your efforts, including built-in video conferencing, session recording, and comments/annotations. This way, your collaboration is seamless and intuitive—even after the live session.
• Trust and security: Approved by all major studios worldwide and a member of the Motion Picture Association’s Trusted Partner Network (TPN) for content security, Evercast offers 24/7 threat monitoring, watermarking, multi-factor authentication, and encrypted streaming to keep proprietary content safely guarded. ‍
• Comprehensive support: Users enjoy 24/7 on-demand tech support for even the most complex workflows and setups. 
  

Cons

• Cost: Designed for high-level professionals, Evercast has a higher price point than consumer-grade tools. However, flexible pricing options are available on a project-to-project basis. 
• ‍Overkill for casual projects: While perfect for pro-level projects, the cost-to-feature ratio may be less optimal for those underutilizing its comprehensive abilities.

One late note: Evercast is an ever-evolving solution, and its integration with Unreal is only getting more advanced. So, keep an eye out for updates as the platform’s features and capabilities continue expanding. 

Learn more about Evercast here, or book a personalized demo for your next editing session.