Live Streaming Co‑Streaming (连麦) Process, Performance Metrics, and Test Scenarios

Since 2016, live streaming has grown quickly, offering strong interactivity and immediacy that surpass traditional TV; users experience a heightened sense of presence through gifts and comments. The interaction model has evolved from one‑way host‑to‑audience streams to multi‑party real‑time audio‑video collaborations.

Co‑streaming (连麦) workflow:

1. The host starts a normal live broadcast, and regular viewers see the single‑host video. 2. Viewers who want to co‑stream submit a request, which appears in a co‑stream request list. 3. The host selects one or more viewers from the list, initiates a real‑time audio‑video session, and the system generates a composite picture containing both host and guests. 4. All viewers see the composite picture. 5. When co‑streaming ends, the broadcast returns to the single‑host view.

Co‑streaming quality indicators:

Low latency – the time difference between capture on the host side and playback on the viewer side; low latency is essential for smooth interaction.

Audio‑video sync – mismatches between sound and picture degrade the viewing experience.

Stutter rate – a frame interval exceeding 400‑600 ms is considered a stutter.

Picture quality – clarity depends on resolution and bitrate; higher bitrate yields clearer images at a given resolution.

Performance metrics specific to streaming SDKs:

• Video clarity is affected by bitrate, frame rate, and resolution. • Video smoothness is affected by bitrate and frame rate. • Additional considerations include traffic consumption and power usage.

User‑scenario testing:

1. Device compatibility – Android hosts accept Android/iOS guests, iOS hosts accept Android/iOS guests, and version compatibility is verified. 2. Network compatibility – test under various packet loss and bandwidth limits, across regions, carriers, and mobile data types; verify behavior during Wi‑Fi ↔ 3G/4G switches and after network loss/recovery. 3. Device model adaptation – handle different resolutions, OS versions, and hardware. 4. Interrupt handling – ensure co‑streaming continues despite phone calls, ear‑phone plug/unplug, foreground/background switches, volume changes, or screen lock. 5. Orientation testing – verify that portrait/landscape mixes do not stretch the video. 6. Viewer‑side scenarios – check latency and sync when a viewer’s view switches before, during, and after co‑streaming. 7. Playback verification – ensure that pre‑co‑stream playback works and that playback of the co‑stream segment is reliable.

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