What Is a Keyframe Interval? Settings for Live Streaming

What a keyframe is

A keyframe is a video frame that is encoded on its own, without depending on any other frame. The HLS specification calls such frames I-frames: "encoded video frames whose encoding does not depend on any other frame". The frames in between depend on neighbouring frames, which is what makes video compression efficient. The keyframe interval (also called GOP length or keyframe frequency) is the time between one keyframe and the next, usually set in seconds in an encoder such as OBS Studio.

Keyframes matter in live streaming because a viewer who joins, or a player that switches quality, needs a frame it can start decoding from. The HLS specification says a Media Segment that contains H.264 video SHOULD contain an Instantaneous Decoding Refresh (IDR) frame, and that frames before the first IDR will be downloaded but possibly discarded.

What the platforms ask for

Seconds, frames and frame rate

Some encoders ask for frames instead of seconds. The conversion is frames = seconds × frame rate. A 2-second interval is 60 frames at 30 fps (LinkedIn's own example) and 120 frames at 60 fps.

Where to set it

In OBS Studio, the setting is called Keyframe Interval, found under Settings, Output, and is entered in seconds; Kick's help page lists "Keyframe Interval 2s" for its recommended x264, NVIDIA NVENC and AMD encoder settings. Set it together with CBR rate control and a bitrate suited to the platform. Because every platform in the table accepts 2 seconds, it is a safe common value for streaming to several platforms at once; our bitrate recommender shows the figure per platform.

Symptoms and checks

• If a platform complains about the keyframe frequency or the preview stays blank, check that the interval is not above the platform's limit (4 seconds on YouTube and Facebook).
• Make sure the setting is the same in every encoder or relay that feeds the platform.
• LinkedIn also suggests the Baseline video profile if a stream fails to process, because higher profiles can introduce B-frames and timestamp issues.

Related: what is bitrate, how to multistream with OBS Studio and what is HLS.

Sources

• YouTube Help: Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions
• Twitch Help: Broadcasting Guidelines
• Meta for Developers: Live Video API reference
• Kick Help Center: How to stream on KICK.com (May 22, 2026)
• LinkedIn Help: LinkedIn Live Video encoder settings
• RFC 8216: HTTP Live Streaming (R. Pantos and W. May, August 2017; Informational)

Platform figures were checked on October 5, 2026. Platforms change their recommendations, so confirm against the current documentation before you go live.