The Newbie's Guide To Video Game Streaming

Image via Complex Original

Don't think for a second that you'll be able to stream high-def video, sound and commentary over a weak connection. The first thing you'll need to know is if you have the stable bandwidth available to push all of your media to the internet. Although you don't have ESPN quality feeds, there is nothing worse than watching crappy video and audio of your favorite game. Do yourself a favor and upgrade to a faster cable connection or fiber optic set-up.

Whether you plan to stream a console or PC game, you're going to need a computer. Macs are fine but at the moment PCs have the most options and can be easier to optimize than Apple hardware.

To stream from a PC alone, you'll need a good internal capture card. Those are special add-on devices that attach to a PCs motherboard and allow you to import a signal from an outside media source. You'll install the capture card in your PC and then hook the output of your console to the card. Most cards come with software bundled to install any drivers or capture programs to get started.

Let's say that you're not comfortable opening up a PC and installing components that look like cyborg guts. There are a number of external capture devices that work as well. Happauge, AverMedia and Roxio make such devices that not only get the job done but take up little space. Set-up is as straight forward as hooking up a DVD player. Run the output of your console into the input of the capture device, then the output of the capture device to the input of your TV or monitor. One of the cool things about external capture devices is the that it does most of the work for you. In the case of the Happauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition, you can run your gameplay straight from the box to a twitch.tv or YouTube account. There may be a few extra steps for other capture devices but nothing that would make you smash it with a mallet.

Happauge HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition
Price: $160
Buy it here: amazon.com

AverMedia Gamer Live HD
Price: $180
Buy it here: amazon.com

Roxio Game Capture HD PRO
Price: $120
Buy it here: amazon.com

AverMedia Game Capture HD
Price: $120
Buy it here: amazon.com

Now that you have your hardware set up and configured, it's time to get into the more fun parts of streaming. Sending out a feed of your game is one thing but as a viewer, just watching gameplay can get boring. Adding commentary is good way to spice things up especially if you have an animated personality. There are a few ways to achieve this.

A quality gaming headset combines both headphones and a mic into one unit. Gaming gear vets Razer just released their Carcharias headset that works for Xbox and PC. A company like Razer has been doing gaming headsets for a long time so you can trust that you'll get tremendous quality out of it.

In the event you want to separate your headphone and mic set-up, Blue Microphones has a line of mics that are perfect for broadcasting to web. Best known for their Yeti mic, Blue has created some of the best sounding microphones outside of a pro recording studio.

If you have a cramped space, consider Blue's Tiki that plugs into any available USB 2.0 port. The Tiki has a cool voice activated feature that only operates when there is sound. There's no reason to worry about shutting off the mic when you run to the bathroom for a quick bio break. At only a few inches long, it's something you can plug right into a keyboard USB port and won't get in the way.

If space isn't an issue, you should go for either the Spark Digital or the recently announced Nessie mics. They crank out high quality sound for a good price.

When using external mics, there may be some additional configuring needed to mix in the audio from your voice and the console. Therefore, a program like Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder or CamTwist (on the Mac) and if you're a baller, Wirecast will be perfect to mix in media. All of these programs are supported by most streaming sites so search the documentation of your streaming site for more info.

Other advanced features of using mics is taking advantage of voice over IP services like Skype, Ventrilo, Mumble and TeamSpeak. The last three are targeted towards the gaming community and offer a more customizable experience than Skype, AIM or Yahoo Messenger.

Blue Microphones Tiki
Price: $57
Buy it here: amazon.com 

Blue Microphones Spark Digital
Price: $200
Buy it here: amazon.com 

Blue Microphones Nessie
Price: $100
Buy it here: Not yet available

A large part of growing your audience is by letting them see you. Even if you have a face for radio, allowing your new found fans to see and interact with you brings a new dimension to a stream. With programs like the aforementioned Flash Media Encoder or Xsplit, you can create a picture-in-picture display where the world can see every grimace and victory smirk bubbling inside. 

Logitech has an awesome line of affordable webcams that shoot in HD. And if you really want to nerd out, go for the FaceVision FV Touchcam N1 and V1 models. They're hailed for handling low light and giving incredible picture quality. The FV Touchcams are also certified by Skype and that co-sign means a lot as not too many webcams out there can boast it.

Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910
Price: $109
Buy it here: amazon.com

Logitech Broadcaster Wi-Fi Webcam
Price: $200
Buy it here: amazon.com

FaceVision FV Touchcam N1
Price: $120
Buy it here: facevision.com

FaceVision FV Touchcam V1
Price: $60
Buy it here: amazon.com 

Headphones aren't a big deal but they do help out a lot if you're using an external mic. Without them, you can run into problems like feedback when the speakers start blasting sound into your microphone. Don't worry too much about high-end headphone models since the primary reason is to hear how you sound and to make sure you are broadcasting audio to the net. This is another area where gaming headsets can come in handy. 

Razer Carcharias
Price: $70
Buy it here: razerzone.com (available soon) 

There are quite a few websites out in the wild, blue internets that will allow you to stream your biggest Street Fighter knock-outs. While Ustream, Livesteam and justin.tv are all mainstays, twitch.tv is the most popular for gaming. Getting onto Twitch is as simple as logging in with your Facebook credentials or signing up with a username and password.

Once signed up, you can edit your profile and make general customizations to your video player.

Picking which service is entirely up to what you're comfortable with. Twitch has tens of thousands of streams going on so if you're looking to become popular fast, it's not the way to go. A site like Spreecast is still relatively new so that would be a great place to plant your stream and build an audience.

By now you should have a good idea on how to initially set up your video gaming stream. There are tons of variations so do a little research and find out what works best for you. As far as building a fan base, it's all about being entertaining and consistent with your streams. Since video game streaming has become such an adored part of the culture, it's possible to find help and hints all over the web but here are a few reference spots to look if you run into problems.

Twitch/Justin.tv Tutorials

USA Gaming

Games Radar

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