Experiencing a pixelated or blurry stream on Discord can be incredibly frustrating, especially when you’re trying to share an important moment or collaborate with others.
This common issue can detract from the overall experience, leaving viewers squinting at their screens and creators feeling helpless.
Discord stream pixelation can occur due to several factors, often related to bandwidth limitations, software settings, or an Outdated Graphic card driver.
In this blog post, we’ll dive into the reasons behind the dreaded Discord stream pixelation problem and provide you with actionable solutions to enhance your streaming clarity.
What Causes The Discord Stream Pixelated Issue?
There can be several reasons why the Discord stream is having pixelated issues as we have discussed below.
- Insufficient Bandwidth: If your internet connection is slow or unstable, there might not be enough bandwidth to support high-quality streaming, leading to pixelation as Discord tries to maintain the stream by lowering the quality.
- Incorrect Stream Settings: Discord allows users to adjust the quality of their streams. Setting the resolution or bitrate too high for your internet speed can cause pixelation, especially if your hardware can’t handle the selected settings.
- Overloaded CPU/GPU: If your computer’s processor or graphics card is overburdened, it may struggle to encode the video stream efficiently, resulting in a pixelated output.
- Software Conflicts: Other software running on your computer, including screen recording or video editing tools, can interfere with Discord’s streaming ability.
- Discord Server Issues: Sometimes, the problem may lie with Discord’s servers. If they are experiencing high traffic or technical difficulties, stream quality may suffer.
- Outdated Drivers or Discord App: Using outdated graphics drivers or an older version of the Discord app can lead to compatibility issues and poor stream quality.
- Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling: Certain settings like Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling, if not configured correctly, can impact stream quality on platforms like Discord.
How To Fix Discord Stream Pixelated Issue?
To fix the Discord stream pixelated issue, first verify the Internet connection, close unnecessary background applications and adjust settings related to Video settings. If it doesn’t help turn off hardware acceleration and try changing the server region to one closer to you. Finally, clearing the Discord Cache will help you to resolve the issue.
1. Check Internet Connection
Make sure that your internet connection is stable and strong. If it is not stable then that could be the reason why Discord Stream is having pixelated issues.
- Run a Speed Test: Use an online speed test tool to check your upload speed. Streaming requires a stable and fast internet connection.
- Improve Connection: If possible, switch to a wired Ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi for increased stability.
- Restart Router: Press the power button at the back of the router to “Power Off“, wait 2 minutes and “Power On” again.
2. Lower Discord Bitrate And Framerate
Lower bitrates use less data, which can be beneficial if there are many users in a voice channel, helping to reduce the overall bandwidth usage and potential strain on Discord’s servers.
Lower Framerate:
- Before streaming in a server, click on the stream preview to access ‘‘Stream Quality Settings’‘
- Select a resolution and frame rate that match your Discord Nitro level and your internet upload speed.
Lower Bitrate:
- Right-click on the voice channel you want to adjust and select ‘‘Edit Channel’‘.
- Drag the bitrate slider to the left to lower the bitrate. Discord allows for bitrates between 8kbps and 96kbps for standard servers, with higher options available for server boosts.
- Click ‘‘Save Changes’‘ to apply the new bitrate setting.
3. Update Graphics Drivers
New drivers often include optimizations for the latest games, which can increase frame rates and overall performance. Updates can resolve known issues and glitches that might affect your graphics card, leading to a more stable system.
- Visit the website and download the latest drivers for your graphics card for GPU manufacturers (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel).
- Right-click on the downloaded installer File.
- Select “Run as Administrator” and follow the on-screen instructions to update your drivers.
4. Close Unnecessary Applications
Closing unnecessary applications will optimize the performance related to memory and Graphic card utility.
- Press “Ctrl + Shift + Esc” to open the Task Manager.
- Look for high CPU/GPU usage processes that are not essential for your stream and end them to free up resources.
5. Adjust Discord’s Advanced Settings
The other Advanced DLL features and advanced settings might be the reason for the Discord stream issue. Disable it and check again.
- Click the “cog icon” near your username at the bottom of the Discord interface to access User Settings.
- Go to the ‘‘Voice & Video’‘ section at the left panel.
- Disable “Advanced DLL or experimental” features.
- Scroll down and adjust video codec settings if available.
- Toggle off ‘‘OpenH264 Video Codec provided by Cisco Systems, Inc.’‘
- Toggle on Enable “Quality of Service High Packet Priority’‘ if they’re causing issues.
6. Clear Discord Cache
Clearing cache memory will remove the temp files and improve the overall performance of the application.
- Make sure Discord is completely closed and not running in the background.
- Open the ‘‘Run’‘ dialog (Windows Key + R), “type
%appdata%/discord/Cache“, and press Enter. - Select all files in the Cache folder and delete them.
- Right-click on “Recycle Bin” to empty trash.
7. Disable Hardware Acceleration
Some streaming and screen recording software may encounter issues with capturing content when hardware acceleration is enabled.
- Open “User Settings” in Discord.
- On the left sidebar, click on ‘‘Appearance’‘.
- Scroll down and find the “Hardware Acceleration” setting, then toggle it off.
8. Use Discord’s Server Region Settings
If you are the server owner or have the necessary permissions, go to the server settings and change the region near your country. So that the server latency will increase and you will not face issues related to streaming and loading.
- Under ‘‘Server Region’‘, select a region closer to you for potentially better connection quality.