Bitrate above sustained upload is the configuration mistake that produces the widest gap between "looks fine on speed test" and "drops frames during stream." Speed tests measure peak burst bandwidth. Streams require sustained bandwidth at the configured bitrate for the entire session.

The diagnostic: take your speed test upload number, multiply by 0.75, convert to kbps. That is the maximum sustainable bitrate your connection can support without margin issues during peak-demand moments.

The fix: set your stream bitrate to or below the calculated value. If your speed test reports 10 Mbps upload, the calculation gives 7.5 Mbps sustained, which is 7,500 kbps maximum stream bitrate. Setting the bitrate higher (because "the speed test said 10 Mbps") triggers the frame drops that the speed test number misled you to believe were impossible.

The validation: a 30-minute test stream at the configured bitrate should produce zero frame drops. If drops appear, the bitrate is still too high for sustained delivery. Lower it incrementally until the test stream stays clean. Then lock the value.