Rate control set to CBR is the second non-negotiable in your OBS Advanced configuration. The setting forces the encoder to send exactly the bitrate you specified every second of the stream, regardless of scene complexity. Live ingest servers expect this behavior.

The alternative options (VBR, CQP, lossless) are useful for video-on-demand encoding but wrong for live. VBR allows the encoder to spike during complex scenes, which can briefly exceed your bandwidth and cause frame drops. CQP optimizes for visual quality at the expense of bandwidth predictability, which is the opposite of what live needs. Lossless requires bandwidth no streaming consumer connection can sustain.

The implementation: in OBS Advanced output mode, encoder settings, find the rate control dropdown, set to CBR. The bitrate field below it accepts your configured value (calibrated to your sustained upload bandwidth from Module 2 lesson 3).

CBR is the rate control every working streamer runs. Set it once. Verify with a test stream. Move on.