The stream
How much delay is there?
Less than two seconds between your suite and your client, and all viewers see the same moment. You can check it yourself on the live demo page.
What quality do clients see?
1080p, H.264, 8-bit 4:2:0 at about 8 Mbit/s, tagged Rec. 709. That is review quality: good for creative review and notes, not a replacement for a reference monitor in the room.
Is the picture color accurate?
The stream itself does not change your colors, but every viewer's display does. An iPad Pro in Reference Mode comes closest, and you can also play a room on an SDI reference monitor through OBS and a DeckLink. For final, color-critical approval, use a calibrated display.
Do you record my sessions?
No. Gradetonic never records, stores or analyses the picture or sound you stream.
Which encoder do I need?
Any encoder that streams RTMP: OBS with a capture card, or a hardware encoder such as a Blackmagic Web Presenter or Streaming Encoder, AJA HELO, Magewell Ultra Encode or Teradek.
How much upload do I need?
The stream runs at 8 Mbit/s, so plan for at least 12 Mbit/s of stable upload, preferably on a wired connection. Your encoder needs outgoing access on port 1936 (or 1935).
Your viewers
Do viewers need an account or software?
No. They open a link, type the room password, and watch in their browser. You can also send a personal invitation link that opens the room without a password.
Which browsers and devices work?
Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari on Mac and Windows, and Safari on iPad and iPhone with iOS 17 or later. There is also a free Gradetonic app for iPad and iPhone.
How many people can watch?
Up to 10 viewers per room at the same time. You see who is watching and can remove anyone.
What does a viewer need on their side?
About 10 Mbit/s of download. If they switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data or turn a VPN on or off, they reload the page.
Pricing and billing
When does a pass start?
At the first minute in which your stream is live and at least one viewer is watching. Setting up and testing don't count. The hour pass contains 60 counted viewing minutes; the day and 3-day passes run 24 and 72 hours from that first minute.
Do I need a subscription?
No. Passes start at €9 and don't renew. A room subscription (€89 a month, or €69 a month billed yearly) adds your own domain and branding and is cheaper if you stream regularly.
Can I cancel?
Monthly subscriptions can be cancelled any month and run until the end of the paid month. Yearly subscriptions run per year. Passes have nothing to cancel.
Do you refund unused time?
No, passes and subscription periods are not refunded. If streaming fails because of a problem on our side, we extend your pass or credit your next invoice.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes, with a room subscription: your rooms run on an address such as remote.yourstudio.com, with your logo and colors.
Is Gradetonic for businesses only?
Yes. Prices are in euros excluding VAT, with reverse charge for EU businesses with a valid VAT number. You pay with iDEAL, card, Bancontact or SEPA direct debit and get an invoice for every payment.
Privacy and security
Where are the servers?
In the EU: the platform and streaming servers run in Germany. One statistics service that receives viewer IP addresses is located in the United States; see the privacy policy.
How is the stream encrypted?
Every connection uses TLS encryption, the standard behind HTTPS and online banking. Your encoder sends over RTMPS, viewers receive over a secure WebSocket connection, and all pages run on HTTPS. On networks that block RTMPS, a plain RTMP address is available as a fallback, without encryption; SRT with encryption is available on request. Our server only passes the stream on in memory: it never re-encodes, records or stores it, and without a valid personal token nobody can watch it.
Can someone watch with a copied link?
Not without access. A room needs its password or a personal invitation link, and every viewer then gets a personal access token that is valid for 20 minutes and tied to their own internet connection. A copied stream address does not play on another connection.
How are passwords stored?
Never in readable form. Account and viewer passwords are stored as scrypt hashes. Account passwords need at least 12 characters and are checked against known data breaches without sending the password anywhere.
Are you TPN or ISO certified?
No, not at this moment. Instead we describe our measures openly: encrypted connections, personal and expiring access tokens, no recording or storage of your streams, servers in Germany, and a processing appendix under the GDPR.
How are rooms protected?
Every room has a viewer password or personal invitation links, all connections are encrypted, and you can remove any viewer. Viewer data is deleted after 90 days.
How is Gradetonic different from a video call?
Video calls compress the picture heavily and adjust it for faces. Gradetonic streams your output as it is, in 1080p with a fixed bitrate, and never re-encodes it on the way, so clients judge the grade, not the codec.
Another question? Email us at [email protected], or read the help articles.