Whether it’s White-Ra, AngryTestie, or MoonMeander we love to tune in a watch our favorite Pro’s stream on TwitchTV. Because of this a large interest in the world of streaming has gone beyond just spectating. Followers now want to be the streamers and the guide below is the best guide I’ve found to get the streaming ball rolling. Our resident SC2 authority, Derek ‘Synapse‘ Staley happens to live with the worlds resident streaming authority ‘TheGunRun‘. He was so kind to direct this guide to me and I took the opportunity to take this guide, which was on the TeamLiquid forums, and format it so it was website friendly. If you have any interest in setting up your own stream its worth the read.

So you’ve decided to stream on TwitchTV

Since you’re reading this on TeamLiquid (not really) you’re probably interested in streaming “VIDEO GAMES.” So let’s get started!

Later on I’ll be breaking down specifics for each genre of game (PC or Console; FPS, RTS, Fighter), but first let’s get down to the basics!

The Computer

So yeah, you will need one of these. Preferably a pretty speedy one, specifically talking about processor here (AKA the CPU).

The processor is the most important component in a streaming computer. The better the processor, the more you can do. This is especially true if you’re broadcasting PC titles such as StarCraft 2 and Battlefield 3 (CPU Hogs).

Recommended Processors:

• Intel Core i7-2600KSandy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155 95WHyperthreading – Introduction of Virtual Processors (Utilized by XSplit)Minimizes in-game side effects (lag) caused by streamingTheGunrun Approved ®
• Intel Core i5-2500KSandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 95WCost effective – Significantly smaller price point than the i7-2600kSufficient for most streamers’ needsEleine’s Seal of Recommendation™
• Intel Core i7-3930K/3960XLatest generation of Intel processorsExtreme Hyperthreading usage – 6 cores/12 threadsAbsolute monsters for streaming demanding games with little to no impact on performance. Pricey so your wallet will cry.

  Trance’s Extreme Certification ©

As for the other components, get what’s “decent” these days: basically what normal people would have to run StarCraft 2 at Ultra settings.

Also for RAM, get DDR3-2133 if possible (slight advantage with encoding).

Basic XSplit Setup

This is a very basic and general guide to setting up XSplit.

You can download and register for XSplit here.

1. Adding your stream channel

• Go to Broadcast > Edit Channels
• On the right side click Add > Justin/TwitchTV
• Enter your TwitchTV username and password at the top- On the TwitchTV Website, be sure to have visited your broadcaster dashboard at least once!
• Quality – Set to 8
• Preset – Keep it at “XSplit Default.” Iif you have a very powerful CPU (inluding the recommended ones) you can try “faster” or “fast.”
• Max Bitrate – Keep this 500-600kbps below your max upload rate. (Going above 3000kbps may cause issues for viewers who do not have a sufficient Internet connection)
• VBV Buffer – The default 1:1 ratio is usually the best (same value for VBV buffer and bitrate).
• Resolution – Keep this at its default “Default Mixer Resolution.”
• Audio Encoding – 44.100 KHz Stereo with AAC LC as the codec (an audio bitrate around 96,000 is fine)
• Automatically Record Broadcast – Only to be enabled if you want XSplit to save recordings of your broadcasts locally.

2. Run location testing (very important before going live)

• Change the “Location” from “Default” to which ever is the closest region to where you are broadcasting from.
• Select “Test bandwidth” and let the test run
• If you’re green, you’re good to go! If not, modify your VBV Bitrate and/or Location until it is.
• Getting a red from this test may result in HEAVY LAG. Getting a yellow means things will run smooth overall, but some occasional hiccups might occur.

3. Click “Apply” to save settings.

4. Capture Settings

This is still very general, computers that do not have a powerful enough processor will have issues with these settings.

• ResolutionView > Resolution > 1280 x 720 (16) – HDTV (video)
• Frame RateView > Frame Rate > 30.00 fps
• XSplit Window SizeView > Scale viewpoint > 50%
• Capturing Your Desktop (this method does not support games in fullscreen only mode)(Also to be used with USB 2.0 Capture Devices)
  • Add (Bottom Left of XSplit) > Screen Region
    • Select part of the screen, click and drag the frame to capture the desired area to be streamed.
    • You may also click on your taskbar to capture the entire monitor.
    • Pressing “1” on your keyboard after selecting the Screen Region (or any object in XSplit) will maximize the size to fit the edges.

5.  Going Live

Broadcast > Justin/TwitchTV – *Insert Your TwitchTV ID Here*

6. Going Offline

Broadcast > Justin/TwitchTV – *Insert Your TwitchTV ID Here*

Note: This only works when you’re online, if you are offline you are actually Going Live