1. Intro
Streaming is a modern way to show off your gaming skills(or just have fun and share it with others). Doing this requires a decent computer, and a decent internet connection. The better this two things, the higher quality of your stream.
Of course the game you are playing has a big word to say in terms of the required processing power of your computer, but in my opinion this configuration would be minimum:
- Dual core processor 2.5ghz +
- 4gb of Ram
- Dedicated GPU, capable of running your chosen game flawless on your favorite detail settings
- Internet performance: 1mbit/s download and upload minimum.
Of course the game you are playing has a big word to say in terms of the required processing power of your computer, but in my opinion this configuration would be minimum:
- Dual core processor 2.5ghz +
- 4gb of Ram
- Dedicated GPU, capable of running your chosen game flawless on your favorite detail settings
- Internet performance: 1mbit/s download and upload minimum.
2. Software requirements Again, I prefer the open-source route. You do not to pay anything(except your electricity and your ISP - ha!) to be able to stream something on twitch.
What do you need: - an account at http://www.twitch.tv/. - it's free! - download OBS (open-broadcasting-software) - also free! - install OBS. On to the next chapter! 3. Setting up OBS So you've installed OBS. Before opening it, you need to get your "stream key" from Twitch. Logging in to your Twitch account, and going to the Broadcast page, you can see the key over there. You need this key, so your OBS installation can stream to your Twitch account.
Knowing this, you can now open OBS and this is what you will see: Now we go to settings>settings, and select Broadcast Settings. Over here you can make the changes as you can see in the picture below:
The video tab:
The Encoding tab:
For now, this will do. You will need to play with these until you are satisfied with the quality/speed of your stream. This is the main screen where we will preview our stream and change basic settings:
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4. Observe your stream After starting your game(or whatever you wish to stream) and clicking the "Start Streaming" button in OBS, on your Twitch account, under "Channel" or "Dashboard", you can see your live stream. If you do, great going! Observe how it works, and adjust settings for a better stream!
NOTE: you must restart your stream in order to apply new settings(like audio/video bitrate, resolution etc.). 5. Conclusion As you first start streaming, observe the box in the last picture from chapter 3, and make sure it's mostly green. Also look for dropped frames, try to keep these in under 10/minute. If you cannot achieve this, lower the settings(bitrate,resolution,even streamed game details, etc.).
NOTE: ask a friend to watch your stream, ask him how the quality is, the speed of the stream and the overall viewing experience. This could help get a good opinion on how well your settings suit your computer and your internet connection. I hope you successfully set up your stream and I wish you lots of fun! |