Have you ever wanted to take a moment like this...
Oh, I’m such an annoying goose!
It’s amazing!
and share it with the world more like this?
There we go! Yes!
I got you.
This is DIY in 5!
Hey everyone, it’s-a-me, Trisha Hershberger and welcome to DIYin5,
the show where we take tech and make it simple enough for the everyday user.
Today we’ll be talking about how to live stream from the Nintendo Switch,
what hardware you need, how to set up that hardware, and the basic software-know how you’ll need to get started.
If you like the tips in today’s video, feel free to subscribe to the channel
so you don’t miss out on any future tech tips.
Ok, so what’ll ya need to get started?
A Nintendo Switch!
I say this not to be super obvious but to point out that streaming will only work
from a Switch, not a Switch Lite, since the Switch Lite cannot output video or audio -
one of the few drawbacks to getting a fantastic deal on an excellent handheld portable, but I digress!
In addition to the Switch, you’ll need your game of choice, the dock that comes with the Switch,
including its power cable and 1 or 2 HDMI cables.
I like to get HDMI cables with these color markers on them to help me know which is which,
or you can take a silver sharpie and mark them yourself if you like.
You’ll also need a computer and a capture card.
This is probably the part you might be least familiar with but it does the heavy lifting
to bring your Switch audio and video into your PC and to another monitor so that you
can both see your game and share it with the world.
Razer, Elgato, AverMedia are all companies that make capture cards and you can get them
as either components you can install into your PC or external that work via USB cable,
which should come with it.
On your computer you intend to use to stream, you’ll want to download some type of
streaming software - OBS Studio is free and incredibly popular and if you want something with less
options but a bit more newbie friendly, you can try Stream Labs OBS or SLOBS or XSplit.
They all have free versions so get in there, mess around and see what you like.
Ok, we’ve covered what you need for the basics, but you may also want a computer with
a working webcam and a mic if you want to see and be heard - many laptops have these
built-in or you can buy mics and/or webcams that connect via USB.
You may also want a second monitor, so that you can see your game on a dedicated screen
other than through your broadcasting software.
And finally, if you plan to stream a wide variety of Switch games, note that the Switch
only comes with 32GB of onboard storage which fills up quickly, so you may want to invest
in a microSD card so that you aren’t constantly having to uninstall games to make room for others.
Now that we’ve got our hardware in hand, the first thing you’ll want to do is plug in
both the power cable and HDMI to your Switch dock and place your switch right inside it,
removing the joycons so you’ll have them in hand to play.
Next you’ll want to plug in power to both your PC and your capture card if it needs it
and connect the capture card to the PC either by installing it internally or via
a USB cable that should have come with it.
Note: some capture cards are powered by that USB cable and won’t require a separate power cable.
Now, you’ll want to connect the HDMI from your Switch dock to the capture card in the port that says “IN.”
After that, if you do have a separate display, you can use another HDMI to connect that display
and the port in your capture card that says “OUT.”
Ok, equipment?
Check.
Physical setup complete?
Check.
Next, you’ll want to go into your Switch settings and set it to 1080p and full RGB range.
Then you’ll want to go to your PC and download whichever streaming software you’ve decided
to go with, whether that be OBS, XSplit, etc.
You can use any of these broadcasting software options to stream to many different platforms
- Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. and all you need to do is choose which
platform you want to stream to and then find your Stream Key.
A stream key lets your broadcasting software know where to send your stream.
You can find your stream key by logging into the platform you want to stream to and it
will be shown somewhere in your profile or settings.
On Twitch it’s your creator dashboard, YouTube it’s your live control room,
and Facebook it’s within your Publishing Tools.
You may have to choose “go live” somewhere within the platform to access it.
You’ll then take this key and plug it into your broadcast software settings, where you
should be able to choose which platform you want to stream to and enter in your stream key.
Each platform, Facebook/YouTube/Twitch etc, has its own preferred settings for upload
resolution, frame rate, bit rate etc and luckily most of the popular broadcast software options
have setup wizards of some sort to auto configure this for you.
If yours doesn’t, a quick google search should give you the best settings for each platform.
Once your software is set up and you are signed into your platform of choice, you’re almost ready to go.
Head on over into your broadcast software, and feel free to set up the look of your stream
- any graphics or overlays, where and how large your gameplay will be
or your face over your gameplay if you are including that.
I could do an entire video on how to set up various scenes and sources within your broadcasting software
to suit your personal style, and if that’s something you’d like to see
gone over step by step, please, let me know and maybe we’ll do a part two to this video.
Once your stream looks the way you want in your software, all you need to do
is hit “Go Live” or “Start Streaming” and have fun.
You’ll want to make sure you can see both your broadcasting software and your platform
that you are streaming to both open on your PC so that you can monitor live chat,
check out the quality of your stream signal etc.
There’s a lot of moving parts here, but once you start streaming, it’ll become second nature.
I love streaming - it’s a total blast and you can build a community.
Like I said before, if there’s any other parts of the streaming process you’d like
us to cover in more detail, please let us here at Kingston know in the comments and we will do our best to abide.
Take care everyone and happy streaming!