Streamers with jobs

I'm thinking of getting myself into streaming (gameplay + mic audio for now; possibly adding video later). I know OBS is often touted as the software to use, but what are the advantages of using OBS over the simplicity of the Geforce Experience native capabilities?

OBS is wonderful, but if you're unsure if say stick with GeForce until you get more confident.

Thanks Veloxi. I streamed Assassin's Creed: Odyssey DLC for almost 2.5 hours today using Geforce - looks like it worked fine, no hitches, and the recording on Twitch seems good. I did a quick mic check a bit after the 6m30s mark, and I think I need to increase my mic gain a lot; I bumped that setting in Geforce from 0% to 30%, and will test it again the next time I stream.

I also updated the OBS that I had installed from a few years ago, and poked around in the settings. It's definitely way more controllable/configurable than the simple Geforce approach, but I don't think I really need that level of complexity (yet?).

merphle wrote:

I'm thinking of getting myself into streaming (gameplay + mic audio for now; possibly adding video later). I know OBS is often touted as the software to use, but what are the advantages of using OBS over the simplicity of the Geforce Experience native capabilities?

OBS has a lot of audio features that is worth looking at too. Mic quality is very important for any content that you do. Even the best headset mic is just average and you will want to have a gate, noise reduction, compressors and such added. If you can get a decent microphone, it will improve things dramatically.

For advice on all this, I have relied on Harris Heller. He has a channel called the Alpha Gaming Channel. You may need to dig a bit but he has a few good videos on audio. If you ever want to get into video he has a lot on that too.

Yeah, I bought one of these mics, but it's still giving me volume trouble, as not-heard here (I can only baaaarely be heard). Even just using the Windows Voice Recorder app, or the Discord mic-test "echo", the recorded audio seems way quieter than it ought to be.

I took the pop screen off and it seems to be picking up sound a bit better, but something still seems wrong. Maybe I just need to get way closer to the mic and/or talk way louder? :/

Sounds like either you need phantom power or you plugged it into the line in and not the mic on your sound card. But then I see it is USB. OBS does have a gain filter that will increase it's volume for you.

Personnally, I typically decrease the game's volume in OBS. Really helps. Consider decreasing the game's volume before increasing your voice's volume. No one likes logging into a channel and having a voice blaring in your ears (especially folks with sensory issues).

That is a good point Eleima. I remember seeing a video where someone recommended looking at OBS's dB meter and make sure the game is a good 25% lower then your voice. Here is an image showing an example of this.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/eCYfThu.png)

Yeah, I decreased the game volume last night, after that DS2 stream. I don't think that's the solution though. I tried a few local-recording tests from OBS and sitting at what I would consider to be a comfortable distance from the mic, talking at a normal (for me) volume, with nothing else playing - the playback of my voice was still difficult to hear. I had to either a) speak at an uncomfortable volume, or b) get like an inch away from the mic before the recording was even approaching what I think would be acceptable. And even then, it's still quieter than virtually every other YT or Twitch stream.

Is it possible that the mic is actually not functioning correctly (and if so, how would I [dis]prove it)? Or maybe this is more of a soft skill I need to learn (voice projection).

Edit: And sorry for hogging this thread with questions. :/

No worries, that's what folks are here for. I use VoiceMeeter Banana my own self to lower the game volume, tweak gain, gate and so on, but Windows can still be so finiky even on its own.

https://www.vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter...

If you'd like help trying it out I'd be happy to show you.

I'm terrible at self-promoting.

I'm streaming today and tomorrow to support Direct Relief and their COVID-19 Response. Please come join me in Fighting COVID-19 Together. I even have some LotRO and DDO point codes to give away tomorrow.

Join me starting at noon Eastern time both days at https://twitch.tv/toanstation

Merphle, if you're still having issues, I've walked a lot of folks through mic troubleshooting since I've started organizing shows. I'd be happy to go through some stuff on discord sometime, might require webcam or camera to show pictures of hardware or screen sharing for toggling windows settings/software.

Thanks Veloxi and Amoebic. I may take you up on the offer(s). It just feels like there's no gain on the mic, and Windows isn't giving me any option to increase it. It might just be an extremely narrow mic (or has a TON of native background noise filtering which causes it to dampen my voice unless I get all up in its business).

I've started streaming my miniature painting journey on Twitch, and I'm amazed by how popular it has been compared to my gaming streams. Lots of new faces, lots of support, and I'm genuinely having more fun streaming than ever before.

Getting my camera to focus has been challenging. I've tried a few things, but ultimately it came down to distance and lighting. What I'm using is comparable to the Logitech C920 (Microsoft Lifecam Studio) so I was starting to get very frustrated that I couldn't mimic the clarity of the other streamers I've watched.

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/KyZesQA.jpg)

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/Oj4kzuD.png)

And the best one so far...

IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/nEfZsfJ.jpg)

I won't link the attempts where I tried attaching it to my shirt. It was not pretty!

But yeah, just wanted to post back here to say I'm having a blast. Tightened up my stream overlays with some paid stuff + a bit of fiddling on my own, approaching Twitch from a different angle, and mostly keeping my face out of the shot. Keeping the camera on the model and not me has made me feel a lot more comfortable, so I think it's a good way to learn the ins and outs of streaming while not freaking out when a larger swarm of people start watching!

Is this a good thread to ask for advice on choosing tools for streaming?

Really, I'm just trying to figure out how to play one of the Jackbox games live but remotely with some friends and family, and best I can tell I need to broadcast the game screen and have everyone log in remotely with their devices. So I think I'm looking for a private or restricted stream.

I'd be looking to run if off my PS4, which seems to connect to both Twitch and YouTube.

What's the best way to do this? Am I correct in all my assumptions?

If you're playing on the PS4, then just broadcasting directly from your console to Twitch is the easiest way to go. No worries about other software or PC settings, just push the Share button and you're good to go!

Thanks, but how do I share that stream? Sorry, I'm totally ignorant of this side of technology. Do I send a link, or an invite? Also, is there a way on Twitch to make a stream invite-only?

I poked around the settings on Twitch, but I couldn't find anything that was obviously what I wanted to accomplish.

Oh, so the link would just be whatever your channel name is. So like

twitch.tv/(your username)

There isn't a way (as far as I know) to make a stream private. You're essentially just one public access TV network that has millions upon millions of channels

Feegle wrote:

Thanks, but how do I share that stream? Sorry, I'm totally ignorant of this side of technology. Do I send a link, or an invite? Also, is there a way on Twitch to make a stream invite-only?

I poked around the settings on Twitch, but I couldn't find anything that was obviously what I wanted to accomplish.

If you wanna do this privately, setting up a Discord server and sharing your screen is the best way. Otherwise Twitch is damned public.

On a PS4 you should need a capture device to a PC to do that. Twitch would probably be the easiest, and while it isn't private as mentioned you are just one person in a sea of millions. If you want to keep it relatively hidden, choose the name of the game you see streaming to something really obscure and nobody will find it.

I combined an Elgato Wave 1 with Wave Link and the Nvidia RTX Voice. I am happy with the sound quality. I still think I mumble too much and need to speak more clearly, but the mechanical keyboard clack is cut out. Unfortunately I have had to take RTX Voice off a few times to get the mic to catch at a distance like the Human vs Dog video.

I use the Wave Link to set game audio around 85% and leave voice at 100%. I use a greenscreen that I haul in and out of the room (on photo backdrop frame) and two 'trouble lights' clamped near/on the desk and pointing at the screen.

I couldn't find a decent webcam in stock so I am using an older cellphone through IVCam and USB on a cell phone tripod. I patch everything together through Streamlabs OBS and their downsampler. I noticed even if I push 1920x1080 60FPS, twitch puts it at 720p 60FPS. If I download and edit the videos though, the download comes at 1920x1080 58.97?FPS (with lower bitrate (4.5) than Youtube suggests (12)).

I use Cyberlink Powerdirector for the editing/trimming and repackage the Twitch to Youtube Conversions with custom bitrates/FPS. I am using a free OBS configuration I found on a Youtube tutorial on how to use Streamlabs.

I started out trying to stream daily for 2 hours, but am quickly burning out. With the editing, I am putting in 5 hours a day after work. Even with that I got a whole 2 followers... so aside from paying for ads I need to find a way to promote. It looks almost impossible to promote on twitch without long streams, but the long streams make me run out of energy and the content feels watered down because I reach a point I don't want to talk. Any suggestions or questions?

I was hoping the dogfood catch would draw some curiosity (and I honestly find it funny and don't mind it, having dogs since the day I was born I am desensitized). I did find out yesterday Streamlabs has an issue with cutscenes in games and downsampling. It was super jittery. I am downsizing 4k to HD and have to find out what will fix that.

I tried to do my first streaming, just a test run, and to me it looked like it was streaming on twitch but when I went to Twitch it says I don’t have any videos and haven’t done any streams. can anyone recommend a good tutorial for getting started with streaming on twitch?

There are a lot on youtube. It really depends what you are doing. On consoles it is a different process then on PC. On PC there are a few different tools (OBS, SLOBS, Xsplit). I use OBS on the PC. Message me on discord and I can help you though it.

jrralls wrote:

I tried to do my first streaming, just a test run, and to me it looked like it was streaming on twitch but when I went to Twitch it says I don’t have any videos and haven’t done any streams. can anyone recommend a good tutorial for getting started with streaming on twitch?

Your question is a bit too vague. You say that it was streaming. Can you confirm that with the stream summary? You may have been emailed one, otherwise it'll be available in your creator dashboard. That will confirm that you were stream online with a bunch of data specifying time running, number of visitors, people who followed, subscribed, etc.
As you say you were online, I'm wondering if this isn't a simple issue of saving videos. Storing past broadcasts (and having them online to be viewed when you're offline) isn't automatic. That's an option that needs to be turned off or on in your channel preferences. If it's turned off (which seems likely), it isn't storing broadcasts, and therefore, quite logically, now are available to be viewed, hence the "0 new videos".

jrralls wrote:

I tried to do my first streaming, just a test run, and to me it looked like it was streaming on twitch but when I went to Twitch it says I don’t have any videos and haven’t done any streams. can anyone recommend a good tutorial for getting started with streaming on twitch?

In addition to the above questions, what software are you using to stream?

Overlay questions :

-Do you use them ?
-Do you enjoy them ?
-Do you create them yourself ?
-Anyone could refer me to a "easy" site for that ? Easy, which mean I could learn from it, how to program alert, and will tell you what's it's doing ? - Not just : "Do this *doesn't show or explain anything* - Voila !"...

Or if someone wanna speak over discord or something ?

Thanks for any help.

I made my own in React, but didn't get as far as I wanted. I wanted to create a more unique experience but is a lot more work. StreamLabs is a big one that people use which works with SLOBS (their custom build of OBS). StreamElements is the other big one. They have premade overlays that you can use, and even tools to build custom ones.

own3d.tv also has some for sale at a reasonable cost (go to the alpha gaming channel on youtube to get a code for a discount, he also has some good videos on streaming) which look nice and are somewhat customizable.

Generally, minimal is better. A simple camera border, maybe some small notifications when important things happen on the stream.

kazar wrote:

I made my own in React, but didn't get as far as I wanted. I wanted to create a more unique experience but is a lot more work. StreamLabs is a big one that people use which works with SLOBS (their custom build of OBS). StreamElements is the other big one. They have premade overlays that you can use, and even tools to build custom ones.

own3d.tv also has some for sale at a reasonable cost (go to the alpha gaming channel on youtube to get a code for a discount, he also has some good videos on streaming) which look nice and are somewhat customizable.

Generally, minimal is better. A simple camera border, maybe some small notifications when important things happen on the stream.

Yeah, I follow Harris on Youtube as well. Got some ideas from him. He does explain well, the general concept from what I saw, but I wanted more depth... Maybe that's too much asking at this step.

Manach wrote:

Overlay questions :

-Do you use them ?
-Do you enjoy them ?
-Do you create them yourself ?
-Anyone could refer me to a "easy" site for that ? Easy, which mean I could learn from it, how to program alert, and will tell you what's it's doing ? - Not just : "Do this *doesn't show or explain anything* - Voila !"...

Or if someone wanna speak over discord or something ?

Thanks for any help.

I do have overlays. They're very simple, and I paid someone else to make them. I like them very much.

I bought one of these mics a while ago. Any recommendations on a cheapish stand for it. It will sit on a desk between me and a laptop.

IMAGE(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/hywAAOSwZ2BfWaq4/s-l400.jpg)

Edit: I think I just found my answer. This seems like a good deal, is it a RIP-off?

https://www.rockvilleaudio.com/rdtsr...