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[Guide] How to livestream

Discussion in 'Gamer Creations' started by infina, Feb 1, 2013.

  1. infina

    infina MMORPG Addict Ogre Veteran

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    I wasn't sure where to post this guide. Since you create content when you're livestreaming, I think it fits in this category. Hope I wasn't wrong.


    Streaming guide​


    Welcome to my streaming guide. Setting up a stream is something that looks difficult for most people, but by just following simple steps, it can be done by anyone. Once you have all your settings taken care off, it will only take the press of 1 button to start your stream.

    Before you start following this guide, please know that streaming is pretty demanding of your pc. If your pc can barely run the game you want to stream, there is a big chance it won't be able to stream. If you're not sure if your pc is good enough, you can simply try it and maybe lower the quality settings. A bad network connection is also a possible problem for streamers.

    Important note: Most games run in fullscreen mode by default. You can often select a "windowed fullscreen" option, which will make them look exactly like when it's fullscreen, but the streaming software can capture this. Fullscreen mode will often just show a black screen when streaming.


    1. Which streaming site?
    When choosing a streaming site, you need to find the site which will give you the biggest audience for what you're doing. For the purpose of a gaming stream, I would only consider 2 options.

    1.1 Youtube.com
    I think we all know youtube. The most popular video site in the world also has a livestreaming option. Since I haven't used that one yet, I don't feel comfortable writing a guide about it. I recommend this service if you already have an active youtube channel with a following who is interested in the livestream. If you don't have an active youtube channel, I suggest you take the 2nd option which will be covered in this guide.

    1.2 Twitch.tv
    I think Twitch.tv is the biggest site for streaming games right now. Since you'll have the biggest audience with an interest for games here, this is the site I recommend in most cases. All following steps will be focused on streaming for twitch.tv


    2. Which streaming software?
    There are several programs that can be used to stream. I'll mention 3 of them, and cover 1 of them in depth during this guide.

    2.1 Xsplit
    This used to be the most popular choice. Right now it is no longer free. There is a free trial, but this has several limitations. It's good software, but I don't think it offers anything more than free software which would justify paying for it.

    2.2 FFsplit
    FFsplit is a really popular free alternative for Xsplit. It is supposed to be a bit less heavy on your computer. I have heard good comments on it, but did not try it yet. There is a video tutorial on the main site of FFsplit (FFSPLIT | Free Capture and Recording Software) if you prefer using this.

    2.3 Open Broadcaster Software
    OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is what I'm currently using, and what I'll be covering. It's a completely free program. I'll be showing the next steps using this software.

    2.4 Streaming for MAC
    If you're looking for software to stream on MAC, your options are listed here: Mac broadcasting - Jtvcommunity


    3. Installing your software
    You can download Open Broadcaster Software at Open Broadcaster Software - Download

    There are 2 versions you can choose. It's recommended to use the Stable version, and not the Test Build.


    4. Settings
    4.1 Encoding
    At Open Broadcaster Software - FAQ , you can run a test which will estimate the Encoding settings to use. This is based on how good your pc is. The options to choose from are pretty limited, so it might not be 100% accurate.

    Most of the following settings can be decided using the above estimator.

    Quality Balance: Default is 8. Increase if you have a good network connection, decrease if you have a poor one.

    Max Bitrate: Perform a speedtest (Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test) to find your upload speed. Set your Max Bitrate to a little bit underneath that. If you have a 1.50mbps upload for example, Max Bitrate is good around 1000-1100.

    Buffer Size: Set this to the same as Max Bitrate.

    Codec: AAC is fine for most people.

    Audio Bitrate: Default is 128. You can increase if you have a good network connection, decrease if you have a poor one. If you're not sure, leave at the default.


    4.2 Broadcast Settings
    Most settings can be left untouched here. Only change:

    Streaming Service: Twitch / Justin.tv

    Play Path/Stream Key (if any): Get your stream key from this link (you have to be logged in to twitch.tv) and enter it into the Stream Key box. If you give this key to anyone, they can use it to stream on your channel without the need to know your login info.


    4.3 Video
    Base Resolution: Should be fine at your native resolution. If you don't know your resolution: Right click your desktop > Screen resolution.

    Resolution Downscale: The actual resolution that gets encoded and streamed. You can also check this in the estimator. If it says "Your upload speed is sufficient for 720p / 1080p", select 1280x720 or 1920x1080 as resolution downscale.

    FPS: Default at 30. Increase if you have a good computer and network connection, decrease if you have a poor computer and/or network connection. Minimum you should use is 15.


    4.4 Audio
    The default audio settings should usually work. Only change if your stream isn't picking up your microphone.

    If needed, you can set up push-to-talk or mute/unmute hotkeys. You can also boost the volume of your mic with "Mic/Aux Boost". This might make background noise more apparent.


    4.5 Advanced
    This part isn't called advanced for no reason. Only touch settings here if you really know what you're doing.


    5. What to stream
    Now we have taken care of all these settings, but before we can test the stream and see how the quality actually looks, we need to tell the software what exactly you want to stream. Most of you will just stream your whole screen, while others will only show a part of your screen, maybe some logo's or images as an overlay. There's a lot of things you can do with your stream. I'll show you the basics of it in Open Broadcaster Software.

    5.1 Setting up scenes and sources
    Setting up scenes is a pretty simple process once you know you're way around. As mentioned earlier, a scene is just a combination of a number of sources, which are things ranging from images, windows and video devices.

    To create a scene, just right click in the white box below Scenes: and click Add Scene. Give it an appropriate name and you're ready to set up your sources. You can right-click the scene in this list to change it's position for organization purposes as well as setting a hotkey for it.

    Adding sources is a similar process, but instead you right-click in the Sources: box and select which type to add. A brief overview of each one:

    Software Capture: Used for capturing a specific monitor or window. This can be any window including fullscreen windowed games, the only thing you can't capture with this is games running in fullscreen. If you're using Monitor Capture at all, make sure that Aero is disabled for best performance. You can specify only a region of a monitor or window capture.

    Add Image: Let's you add an image to the scene. Supported formats are .bmp, .dds, .jpg, .png and animated .gifs.

    Add Image Slideshow: Similar to the above, allows you to set up a list of images to cycle through at a certain inverval.

    Add Text: Display text on the screen. Choose the font, color, size, styling and other aspects. You can either specify the text itself in OBS, or have it pull the text from a file (UTF-8 or compatible)

    Add Video Capture Device: Add a camera/webcam or capture card to the stream.

    Add Game Capture: Still in it's experimental stages, this allows you to capture a game that is running fullscreen. Make sure you're not running similar applications such as FRAPS and Dxtory. Test if this works before using it. It doesn't always work for me, so I suggest you just capture your screen with "Software Capture".


    Once you've got a source in your scene, you can move it around and resize it by clicking 'Preview Stream' so you can see it and then clicking 'Edit Scene' to unlock it. You can ignore sources snapping to the window edges by holding Ctrl while dragging, and you can ignore aspect ratio while resizing by holding down Shift.


    That's all you need to know! You can create scenes with multiple sources and layer them as you see fit. Right now, the lower the source in the list, the higher it is layer wise. This may or may not be fixed in a future version.


    6. Example: My League of Legends stream setup.

    1. Right click in the white area below "Scenes:" and select Add Scene.
      [​IMG]
    2. Enter the name of your scene. This should describe what you'll be showing if you want more than 1 scene. Since I'm showing my League of Legends setup, I'll call it "League of Legends".
    3. Now I want to add my 1st monitor to the stream. To do this, right click the white area below "Sources:". Select "Add Software Capture".
      [​IMG]
    4. Now I just make sure that "Monitor Capture" is checked, and choose "Monitor: 1". By doing this, my whole screen will be shown on the stream. You can at this point check how it looks with the "Preview Stream" button.
    5. Now I want to add a bit more to the stream. My viewers can see what I see on my screen, but I want a link to GameOgre, and display the logo. We'll start with the logo. Right click the white area below "Sources:", Add Image. Give it a name, and browse for the image on your pc. Make sure you don't move the image to another place, or it won't be found anymore.
    6. The logo appears in the top left by default. To move it, select it in your "Sources" list. Make sure your Stream Preview is turned on, and click the "Edit Scene" button. A red box will appear around the image. You can move it or scale it now.
      [​IMG]
    7. Now I still want to add "GameOgre.com" as text. Right click the Sources list again, and select "Add Text". Choose your font and text size. You can use white text with a black outline to make sure your text is always visible. Enter the text at the bottom, or load it from a text file.
    8. Once again preview the stream, select your text in the source list, and click edit scene. Move the text to the desired place. If you still want to change the font size you can right click the text in the sources list and select properties, or just scale it while you're in Edit Scene mode.


    I think that example pretty much covered the basics. If you want to add some more things to your stream, but aren't sure how to do it, feel free to ask me how to do it. I'll help out where I can.
     
  2. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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    Very nice guide. Thank you for posting this.
     
  3. Admin Post
    ogreman

    ogreman Ogre In Charge Staff Member GameOgre Admin

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    Excellent Guide:). Think both Kit and Nelson also know a thing or two about Livestreaming so this is definitely a good possibility for us going forward.
     
  4. Admin Post
    ogreman

    ogreman Ogre In Charge Staff Member GameOgre Admin

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    OK, you might start seeing this sooner than later:).
     
  5. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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    Alrighty then :)
     
  6. yuri_anime

    yuri_anime Big Brute

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    I love you i mean the steaming guide :D

    thanks a lot for this :)
     
  7. Admin Post
    ogreman

    ogreman Ogre In Charge Staff Member GameOgre Admin

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    Yes, it will come in handy:).
     
  8. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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    Used your guide today, and it helped a lot. I'm having two problems thou. My first is the game is super choppy for my stream, and I'm not sure how to fix it. I've messed with a few settings and it did nothing. My other problem is that the sound gets increasingly louder over time for some unknown reason.

    Edit: Messed with some settings a little, not sure if they are the best, but this is the end result: http://www.twitch.tv/rantzr/b/402970575
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 13, 2013
  9. Aaddron

    Aaddron Moderator Staff Member GameOgre Moderator

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    Pretty good Rantzr :)
     
  10. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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    Woohoo, thanks Aaddron. Only a sample of more to come. :)
     
  11. hack10

    hack10 Ogre Star Ogre Veteran

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    u need a good internet connection :D
     
  12. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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  13. Aaddron

    Aaddron Moderator Staff Member GameOgre Moderator

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    Dat Upload Speed :eek:
     
  14. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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    How is it bad?
     
  15. Aaddron

    Aaddron Moderator Staff Member GameOgre Moderator

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    No I mean "O_O wow it's fast."
     
  16. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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    You had me scared for a second... It varies from 25-35ish thou. Lately its been 31 so yeah :crowngrin:
     
  17. Aaddron

    Aaddron Moderator Staff Member GameOgre Moderator

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    Psh drops to 25-35... I only get 3-4 at all times lol :p, upload is blah. Down is like 40's early in the day... around 25-35 rest of the day.

    [​IMG]
     
  18. yuri_anime

    yuri_anime Big Brute

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    speed test is very useful :D
     
  19. Rantzr

    Rantzr Ogre Extraordinaire Ogre Veteran

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  20. Admin Post
    ogreman

    ogreman Ogre In Charge Staff Member GameOgre Admin

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    You are probably faster than me:).
     

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