Getting into live streaming on Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, or Facebook is the easiest it’s ever
been.
So if you want to learn how, our tutorial series will get you set up in no time.
Let’s get right into it.
Hey what’s up everyone, it’s Derek from NerdOrDie.com and I’d like to introduce
you to our ‘How to Livestream’ series where we’re going to start by getting you
set up quickly, and right into streaming.
Then as the series moves on, we’re going to dive deeper into all that you’d need
to know to become a pro on Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, or Facebook.
In this video we’re going to assume you have no knowledge of streaming, and get you
set up as quickly as possible in Twitch.
Let’s get right into it.
If you’re brand new, then this video is for you, if not, make sure to subscribe with
notifications on, as we’ll be quickly ramping things up, and talking about tips and tricks
for your overlays and production, as well as the pros and cons of different streaming
platforms, and so much more.
Since this will likely be your first time streaming, then I want to first cover the
very basics, and get you live, so that you have a better understanding later on in the
series of what works best for you.
This video is going to cover only the basics you need to start with.
In future videos we’re going to dive deeper into the streaming world, but let’s get
you streaming before we worry about any of that.
To start, you need to first join a streaming platform.
And if you've come this far, you might have heard of Twitch.tv.
Twitch is a platform from where anybody can broadcast or view streams; from video-games,
chat shows, or even live music performances, there's a lot of variety to choose from and
to delve into, both as a viewer and creator of content.
While we mentioned other streaming platforms at the start of this video, we think Twitch
is the best place to try if you’re first starting out.
So, the first thing we're going to do is head on over to Twitch.tv and make an account.
In the top right hand corner, you will see the "Sign Up" button.
When we click that, a new window should pop up in the center of the screen.
Fill this out and hit "Sign Up".
Easy.
Upon hitting "Sign Up", you'll be sent a 6 digit code to the email you supplied.
Stick that in the field and hit "Submit".
You can also just click the "Verify" button in the email that Twitch has sent you.
Either way works fine.
Now that you've signed up, Twitch will want to figure you out a little, feel free to choose
some interests: this can be an array of categories or games, or streamers you know of already.
**Please Note that choosing streamers on this window will have you automatically follow
them upon completing your three choices, if they are one of those choices, of course.**
Now that you've got your Twitch account, you need to know how you’ll send your stream
to your channel on that account.
To do so, let's take a trip to OBSProject.com, where you can download a program called OBS
Studio: OBS Studio is a free and open source software for both video recording and live
streaming, the latter being the one we're interested in.
Depending on your platform, select from Windows, Mac or Linux at the top of the home page.
It should begin a download immediately.
Run through the installation, and on the final screen, keep "Launch OBS Studio" checked,
hit finish.
Just like Twitch, there’s other options for this step, but to start we highly recommend
keeping it simple and starting with OBS.
We’ll talk more about other streaming software in future videos.
With OBS Studio up and running, we need to connect your Twitch account to this software,
so that when you hit the “Start Streaming” button, it directs what's in your OBS Studio
feed, to your Twitch.tv channel feed.
In OBS Studio, we want to click the "Settings" button, then navigate to the "Stream" Tab
from the menu on the left.
In here, make sure "Twitch" is selected from the Service dropdown menu, then hit "Connect
Account (recommended)".
It's going to bring up a login screen where you log into your Twitch account again, and
it will send you another 6 digit code to your email.
Paste that 6 digit code in here, then hit “Authorize”.
Check "Enable Bandwidth Test Mode" and hit "Apply".
Hit "OK".
You’ll see two floating windows left and right of your OBS Studio, don’t touch those
for now, but they will come in super handy.
Now, at the top of OBS Studio, we want to set up the best output you can get from your
computer for streaming, while not interfering with your own experience of enjoying streaming.
Go to "Tools" and click " Auto-Configuration Wizard".
This basically helps set up the best settings for your stream, taking into account your
internet connection, and your computer's specifications.
Be sure that "Optimize for streaming, recording is secondary" is selected, hit "Next".
At this point, everybody will have a lot of opinions and preferences on how to approach
this, I would recommend just following the configuration wizard through as it is set
up, so it can get an accurate assessment of your computer & internet capabilities, and
then making tweaks after a few streams if needed.
When Auto-Configuration Wizard has finished testing, it will have determined the estimated
ideal settings for your computer, hit "Apply Settings", we can always adjust these settings
at a later time.
Now you’ve set up your Twitch account, and you’ve connected it to some streaming software,
but there’s nothing in your stream, except a black screen?
Let’s cover setting up your audio and video feed.
In OBS Studio, click the “Settings” button again, but this time we’re going to head
to the audio tab.
In here, you will see a few sections, the one we want to focus on is the “Devices”
section.
For “Desktop Audio” select “Default”.
Ideally this should be your Default Playback audio, from which you’re probably listening
to this guide through.
This means anything you hear will come through your default audio listening device to your
stream… so if you have your stream on another monitor to check out your chat, or just how
you look, you’ll want to mute it, or else you’ll cause an echo.
But this also means game sounds, music, or anything else playing your PC will be broadcast
as well.
In later videos we’ll go into how to separate sounds and control the mix of your audio,
but for now, don’t worry about it.
Next, we need to set up your Microphone; go to Mic/Auxiliary Audio, and select “Default”
again.
It is best to make doubly sure that both your Playback and Recording defaults are set to
working devices.
Hit “Apply” and hit “OK”.
Using “Default” simply means to use whatever audio input is set to your default mic.
You could select a specific device, for instance if your default is a webcam mic, but you have
a nice desktop mic, you can select the specific device here.
Just for now, click the top of each of these windows (Stream Information & Chat) and position
them over OBS until you see a blue box behind them, let go and they will click into place
within OBS Studio.
You can move these around to anywhere in OBS Studio, or have them floating, it’s personal
preference, but for now, we’re going to put them here, and here [Visual Refs].
Now we need some video content.
Below the main preview window, we have a Scene, and in the Scene is currently, well, nothing!
A scene is a collection of sources, and sources can be anything like your webcam, images,
videos, and much more.
Let’s click the + button below, or right click within the Sources window, and you will
see this menu.
Go to “Add” and in this sub-menu, select “Game Capture” name it whatever you want,
but for simplicity right now, I would leave it as it is.
Hit “OK”.
I wouldn’t change any settings here, but just to note, once you launch a game, and
presumably it’s in fullscreen, this source will capture it and display it in your preview
window, just like this.
Hit “OK”, then in the Sources window, hit the padlock beside the “Game Capture”
source.
What this does, is makes sure you don’t accidentally click and move the source out
of focus or slightly off screen.
This is useful for most sources once you have gotten everything exactly where you want it.
If you don’t see anything in your preview, then you will need to open up a game, and
have it running, or else it won’t be captured.
Alternatively, if you’re not looking to stream a game, and you want to stream what’s
showing on your computer, then you can add a Display capture.
Adding the source is the same, you’ll just select this different type.
This will capture anything shown on your monitor that you select.
As a newer streamer, we generally don’t recommend this, as you’ll want to build
up your awareness of what’s going on during a stream, and you don’t accidentally leak
a password or a private email.
Finally, if you have a webcam, follow the same procedure, again, only instead of selecting
a “Game Capture” source, this time, select a “Video Capture Device” source.
In here, at the top, you will see a dropdown menu to select a device, click this and select
your webcam.
Hit “OK”.
**Note: It’s worth noting that, if your webcam has audio activated on it, check the
“Audio Mixer” window, and click the speaker on your webcams meter.
This will effectively mute the audio coming from your webcam, and the only way people
will hear you is from your microphone audio transmitting.
**
To resize your webcam, you can click on the source, and drag the bounding red box down
to scale it in the preview window, then you can click and drag it to where you’d like,
lock it into place, and that’s it!
And with that, you’re ready to stream!
You can click “start streaming” and get right into things.
If you have a second monitor, you can open up your Twitch channel, or use the Twitch
creator’s dashboard, to see if things are working properly.
Since this will be your first stream, just have fun, and see if you like streaming in
general.
If you do, then make sure to subscribe with notifications on, as we’ll be covering what
you should look for next, and eventually dive deep into advance topics, setting up overlays,
and how to make your stream the best it can be.
Don’t forget to drop a like on this video if you enjoyed it, and please leave any comments
or questions below.
Thanks for watching.