Two phones on the same network share the same bad moment.
Two connections on different networks rarely have their worst moment at the same time. That is the whole idea: Bond spreads your stream across the phones around you, and the mix of networks matters more than the count.
Try it: cut a connection.
Your stream goes out over several connections at once. If one drops, it keeps going on the others.
Tap a connection to drop it, and watch the stream carry on.
Why one network is not enough.
Streams drop on the move because upload collapses in crowds and between masts. Two phones on the same network usually share the same mast, so when that cell is crowded both slow down together. A second network is a second mast and a second set of bad moments — which rarely line up with the first.
The mix matters more than the count: adding more connections does not add to what you use, because the same stream is split between them. At 8 Mbps that is about 4.3 GB an hour, divided between however many connections carry it. Protected means two or more connections on different networks are carrying you.
What each part does.
| Part | What it does | How it is sold |
|---|---|---|
| Bond | The phones around you lend their connections and Lumbus rejoins the stream. One word tells you where you stand. | In every plan |
| Studio | Keeps every platform connected and puts up Be right back when every connection goes. | From $49 a month |
Technical detailsThe four words
- The four words
- Protected: Two or more connections on different networks are carrying you. Single: One connection, or several on the same network. Add a phone on another network. Weak: Your connections together carry less than your stream needs. Quality drops; the stream stays up. Lost: Nothing is carrying your stream. Studio shows viewers Be right back until a connection returns.
Questions
- How does Bond work?
Each phone you add runs the Lumbus Live app and lends its connection. Your stream is split across all of them and put back together by Lumbus before it goes out: to your studio, or straight to your platforms.
The full answerHide the full answer
Each phone you add scans a code from your screen, keeps the Lumbus Live app open and lends its connection. Your stream is split across every connection and put back together by Lumbus before it goes out — to your studio, or straight to your platforms — so one weak network never ends the stream. One word tells you where you stand: Protected (two or more connections on different networks), Single, Weak or Lost.
- Do the phones around me need a plan?
They use their own data plans, shared between them, so each one carries only a part of your stream. How much depends on your picture quality; the next answer gives a figure.
- How much data does a stream use?
It depends on the picture quality you stream at. As a guide, plan on about 4.3 GB an hour for high-quality HD, shared across the connections you add.
The full answerHide the full answer
Plan on your video bitrate plus about 20% for Bond’s own overhead: that is what your connections carry between them. At 8 Mbps that is about 4.3 GB an hour, so 100 GB lasts around 23 hours; a poor network pushes it towards 5 GB an hour. Adding more phones does not add to the total — the same stream is divided between them.
Keep reading
- Why your IRL stream keeps droppingStreams drop on the move because upload collapses in crowds and between masts. The fixes in order, from a lower bitrate to a studio that holds your broadcast.
- SRT bondingSRT bonding sends one stream over several connections at once, so one weak network can’t take you off air. How Bond does it with the phones around you.
- IRL streaming backpackAn IRL backpack is an encoder box, modems, a battery and a bag. With Lumbus your phone is the encoder and the phones around you are the connection.
- IRL streaming setupAn IRL streaming setup: your phone as the encoder, the phones around you as the connection, and what to add for a camera or a laptop.
Seven days of Studio Pro, free.
Every Studio plan starts on Studio Pro, free for seven days: unlimited phones beside you, the full production room, every Pro feature. Card upfront; cancel before the trial ends and pay nothing.
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