FT - Livestreaming Games - B

Volume 16 | Issue 02 | february 2021
TECHNOLOGY
YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERYDAY
to
Livestreaming
Games (PART -2)
What to stream? Improve quality of audio

Creating a PC for and video In streams
console gaming and Engage your audience
streaming Configuring a chat bot
Gaming gears that you Configuring the
need Streamdeck
Beating the algorithm Configuring OBS for
like a boss your hardware
Free With Digit February 2021

fAST
tRACK
to
Livestreaming
Games
(PART -2)
powered by
Chapters
Livestreaming Games (Part - 2)
february 2021
06 What to Stream?
PAGE
The question is what can you stream to make yourself
stand apart? The options available are limitless.
18 Creating a PC for Gaming and Streaming

PAGE
This is a guide for all the gaming enthusiasts who are
looking for build the right machines for streaming.
28 Green screens and mixers

PAGE
Playing around with multiple audio and video sources can
be quite hectic without the right gear. Green screens and
mixers are what you need.
38 Beating the Algorithm Like a Boss

PAGE
Production quality is just one aspect of live streaming,
getting the algorithm on your side, is just as important.
46 Improve Quality of Audio and Video

PAGE
In this chapter, we have discussed how your streams can
have a professional audio and video quality.
Editorial Design
Credits
The people behind this book
Chief Editor Sr. Art Director

Robert Sovereign-Smith Anil VK
Managing Editor Sr. Visualiser

Mithun Mohandas Baiju NV
Contents 3
54 Engage Your Audience

PAGE
To keep your audience engaged is the key to effective
communication as it takes two to tango!
62 Configuring a Chat Bot - Nightbot

PAGE
Nightbot is an advanced chatbot for Twitch and YouTube
streams. Think of it like your man Friday.
70 Configuring the Stream Deck

PAGE
Things can get super complicated with live streaming.
Thankfully, there is one device to make all these things
easier and manageable - Elgato Stream Deck.
78 How to configure OBS for your computer

PAGE
Quick start and excellent guide to configure OBS for the
hardware in your PC
87 Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

PAGE
Live streaming can be great fun, only if you have an
audience-packed house to watch you play. Learn how to
do it!
Volume 16 | Issue 02 | february 2021
TECHNOLOGY
YOUR HANDY GUIDE TO EVERYDAY
© 9.9 Group Pvt. Ltd. to
(Formerly known as Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Private Limited) livestreaming

games (PART -2)
Published by 9.9 Group Pvt. Ltd. (Formerly known as Nine Dot Nine
Mediaworx Private Limited). No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior
Cover Design: baiju nv
written permission of the publisher.
February 2021
Free with Digit. If you have paid to buy this Fast Track from any source
other than 9.9 Group Pvt. Ltd. (Formerly known as Nine Dot Nine What to stream?
Creating a PC for
imProve quality of audio
and video in streams
Mediaworx Private Limited), please write to editor@digit.in with details

Console gaming and engage your audienCe
streaming Configuring a Chat Bot
gaming gears that you Configuring the
need streamdeCk
Beating the algorithm Configuring oBs for
Custom publishing
like a Boss your hardWare
free With Digit february 2021
If you want us to create a customised Fast Track for you in order to

demystify technology for your community, employees or students
contact editor@digit.in
4 Introduction
To the next
level
S
tarting off with live streaming is not difficult. There are plenty of
mobile apps that let you go live with the touch of a single button.
With video game live streaming, you need to use a PC or a console
as the bare minimum. Most platforms such as Facebook, Twitch
and YouTube have also tried to make it easier for gamers to go live. However,
they all come across as lacking in some manner or the other.
The FastTrack from January 2021 was for folks who are just starting
out with live streaming video games. This FastTrack is aimed at helping
you improve your streams and take it to the next level. We’ll be looking at
setting up processes to identify new games to stream and what new gadgets
and gizmos will you need for the same. As an example, we peek into the
world of table top games.
We then look at additional hardware that you can invest in for better
production quality. This is where green screens and mixers come into the
picture. And as you look towards growing your chanel, you will need to
understand what makes each platform tick. What is the secret sauce that
the big guys have figured out that the rest haven’t. We’re talking about the
algorithm. Besting the algorithm with a few simple tricks can expose your
stream to a much wider audience and accelerate your growth like no other.
And once you do grow, you will need some help to manage things. You
can certainly look towards enrolling a few interns or friends to help with
Introduction 5
the production, or you can enlist a bot that can do the work of 10 interns
and costs less than stipend of one. We’re kidding of course, you wouldn’t
pay interns, would you?
And the last thing we look at is every professional streamers best friend,
the Stream Deck. It’s not a complicated gadget and there are plenty of alter-
natives in the market. And yet, this one is used by them all. We dive into its
features and what makes it so popular.
As always, we’re open to suggestions and complaints. Please feel free
to write to editor@digit.in or hit us up on any of our social media handles.
Happy streaming!
6 What to Stream? Chapter #01
What to
Stream?
The question is what can you stream
to make yourself stand apart? The
options available are limitless.
L
ive-streaming video-games provide an alternate venue for gamers
to play their favorite games. But with its growing popularity, there
are specific issues that gamers must also be ready to face. It also
involves the whole play experience in general. With this, they no
longer need to wait for the whole game to be over. Yes, you heard it right!
With live streaming video-games, you get to experience all the excitement
and fun at any time that you want.
Now imagine yourself being the streamer. Your audience is literally
waiting for you to procure the latest video games to stream or even pick
What to Stream? 7
something else to entertain them with. Think of yourself as the content

producer at a TV channel with the responsibility of figuring out what
to stream, whom to stream it for and where to procure all the necessary
things for you to commence your stream. The possibilities are endless the
responsibility is huge.
So, let us dive deep into the adventurous world of game livestreaming
and get a know-how of what all people like to watch and how you can figure
out what your audience is into.
Live-streaming Chat
Video game live streaming is a trend where individuals broadcast them-
selves playing particular games and there’s usually a live-chat function-
ality built into the platform which allows the livestreamers to commu-
Copyright Attribution - The SportsGeek.com
Live-gaming streams
nicate with the audience and get feedback. These platforms have been
prevalent since the mid-2010s with US-based websites like Twitch and,
later on, YouTube and Facebook, to China-based websites such as Huya
Live, Douyu, Bilibili, and many others. The concept has taken the world
by storm since then.
Coming back to the chat functionality. You can set up multiple bots to
monitor the chat functionality. A lot of livestreamers use bots to moderate
the chat anyway so all you need to do is built a word density function to see
what terms are most used by your audience. Let’s say if a lot of your viewers
8 What to Stream?
start using the name of a game that’s about to release in the coming months,
then that should be a good indicator that they’re eager to watch you stream
that particular video game. Of course, you will have to sift through the chaff
to get to the meat. There will be a lot of memes and garbage coming in the
chat and identifying the right keywords requires a good bot. Doing this
manually can be quite painful.
A word cloud without all the memes
If you have some experience with programming, then you can set this up
yourself. Let’s say you’re streaming on Twitch. Simply use tmi.js (a javascript
library) to connect the Twitch IRC protocol and listen to chat messages.
Then dump all the words from the chat into a Redis server to perform live
chat word ranking and store them. You can explore the word density later
or use an GUI to visualise them. Perhaps, you can even make a word cloud
and put it up as a widget on your livestream for all the world to see.
Tabletop Game Streaming

Tabletop game streaming is an up-and-coming livestreaming topic. It has
its own niche and isn’t as mass market as the usual video game streaming
but with tabletop games, you can get a loyal audience that will stick with
you for years. Through streaming, one can easily share the game playing
experience with others and you’ll mostly end up having multiple hosts. So
people have more personalities on screen that they can relate to. If you have
not yet tried this out, why not give it a try?
What to Stream? 9
You will need slightly different hardware for livestreaming board games
since the game will be spread across a table or even multiple rooms as we
have seen in the Covid-19 pandemic era. Fortunately, there are simple apps
such as Vorpal Board which allow you to hook up your smartphones as
cameras and provides a simple widget for you to include into your lives-
treaming application. It can even scan your cards and manage them into
neat decks. Then you can throw digital dice which can be anything, from a
simple six-sided D6 to a D20. Vorpal Board doesn’t support every table top
game under the sun but with the component scanning and deck manage-
ment you should be able to make do with some table top games.
Copyright Attribution - Web DM Plays
Tabletop gaming
To figure out what to stream, simply check out the most popular table
top games out there and start from that. Keep an eye out for new launches
and always listen to what your audience is looking for.
Popular games to stream

Gaming has always drawn some sort of audience, whether it’s millions of
viewers tuning into an esports event or a few friends watching you play
on the couch. Some games are recent and trending, like the ones you can
find on this list, and others have been around for years and have a large
following. They differ in price, content and art styles, and you will find
something new that you can bring to a future gathering or Twitch stream,
more likely than not.
10 What to Stream?
1. Among Us
This whodunnit multiplayer came from modest beginnings but has sky-
rocketed in popularity, becoming a favorite fan to enjoy for gamers of
all skill levels. The premise is that your spacecraft has been invaded by
parasitic shapeshifters known as Impostors, posing as crewmates, in an
effort to take you out before you reach your destination. You are either
playing as an Impostor, attempting to kill an undetected whole crew, or
as a Crewmate, performing your duties, trying to vote the Impostors out
until it’s too late.
Among Us
This game is free on mobile devices and cheap on Steam, so it’s available to
almost all. What’s appealing about this game is that, on the outside, it seems
easy, but in fact, it takes quite a bit of strategy. Your audience may also point
out things that you might not have seen, so they have an added degree of
interactivity. At present, Among Us has one of the biggest Twitch audiences.
2. Old School Runescape

Since its release in 2013, Old School RuneScape has been one of the greatest
retro styled MMOs. Players start off with a simple basic character, but
they can become a force to be reckoned with with enough time spent bat-
tling and leveling up. This game is free, so lots of other individuals are
playing with you online and they’re all trying to have a great adventure.
So there is a fair chance that during your journey you will make friends.
What to Stream? 11
Old School Runescape
Your audience has a very significant influence on how the game is played so
they are very helpful. Players who want to stream this game will probably
have a lot of help from the audience of Old School RuneScape who tune in to
their streams. If you want to spend all your time fishing and cooking you can,
and your audience will be in it too, it is also a very enjoyable game to play.
3. Hades
This latest release is one of the top rated indie games on Twitch and is
gaining quite a bit of attention. You play, in this title influenced by Greek
mythology, as Zagreus, the son of Hades, who dreams of meeting his family
Hades
12 What to Stream?
in Olympus, but is forced by his father to remain in the Underworld. Using

guns, trinkets, and blessings from his extended family to hack and slash
his way out of his father’s realm, Zagreus chooses to abandon home and
leave the Underworld. Since it is relatively new and beautifully drawn, fans
will enjoy watching this game as a casual playthrough, as well as watching
more advanced players attempt to speed up or play the game with additional
challenges from the Pact of Punishment.
4. Valorant
After its release, this team-based, tactical first person shooter from Riot
Games has acquired quite the following. Participants, known as Agents,
play as professional warriors from the future who come from all parts of
the world and possess special skills and passive abilities.
Valorant
Agents work in teams of five and compete for many rounds as either
the defending or attacking team. Valorant was released in June 2020 and
became a popular title instantly, attracting attention away from fans of
similar games such as Overwatch and CS: GO. It is free-to-play as well,
making it friendly for new players who want a game that they can quickly
break into. For audiences who either want to learn how to get better
themselves or want to watch competitive gaming as esports enthusiasts,
there’s a valorant stream out there.
What to Stream? 13
5. Genshin Impact
With its stunning game design that has people asking how they could possibly
be able to get such a high quality game for free, this action role-playing game
is turning heads. Genshin Impact has an immense open world atmosphere of
fantasy and a fantastic war and tale to boot. With plenty of people tuning in to
Twitch to see what all the fuss is about, news about this title has spread fast.
Genshin Impact
If it’s too good to be true, as the saying goes, it probably is. In order for
players to acquire new weapons, characters and other tools, Genshin Impact
employs a gacha game monetisation scheme. Game developers do somehow
have to make their money, though. They gave us, at least, a fantastic title to
try and share with our friends.
6. League of Legends
League of Legends is an online multiplayer battle arena video game that in
2009 took the world by storm and has not dropped in popularity. Created by
Riot Games, it is considered by many to be the greatest export in the world.
The audience for this title is massive, as the League World Championship
reached a peak audience of 3.8 million people this year.
For several years, the League has been ranking high and is almost always
in the top 10 for Twitch streams, regardless of the time or day. No wonder
that the League is the obvious choice for players who want to draw a broad
and loyal audience with its sophisticated lore, exclusive champions and
14 What to Stream?
League of Legends
frequent updates to the game. Some people stream League of Legends

exclusively only and are able to make money from it, but they had to grind
to get there, so it’s mainly for the game’s extreme ones. Or if you have a great
on-screen personality, then you can give it a go as well.
Become a Successful Livestreamer

Þ Basic gaming requirements
Basic requirements for game streaming is not expensive. Here’s a simple
lister for folks looking to start out.
First and foremost, everyone must have two primary components, a good
PC and a good webcam. Without these, streaming is still possible but you
won’t be able to add much production quality! A good microphone and pair
of headphones are also needed. This is not only necessary to capture your
audio for the audience but also for ingame communication in multiplayer
video games.
Now, the question is, where can I find these components? If you haven’t
read the previous FastTrack, then you should. We’ve listed the popular
gaming gear and where you can procure each one of them. There’s always
Amazon.in at the end of the day.
Lastly, you need a good internet connection. Games are massive in size
and most platforms require 6-8 MBps minimum upload speeds for 1080p
streams. So figure out which ISP in your locality offers the best internet
plans and opt for one that has good and stable upload speeds that are greater
than the platform requirements.
What to Stream? 15
Gaming gear
Þ Tips for becoming one

Are you interested in playing video games and making money at the same
time? If you answered yes, then read on.
First off, you need to get an account on a game distribution platform.
Steam, Origin, UPlay, GOG, etc are some of the biggest ones on the planet.
You can purchase and download games from these platforms whenever
you wish to. They have a library management tool such as s desktop client
to help manage all your game purchases and installations. This is where
you’ll get the games that you want to stream.
Game distribution platforms

16 What to Stream?
Copyright Attribution - pandasecurity.com

A livestreamer
Next, you need to get involved in a community.

If you want to become one of the best game streaming celebrities, it’s
important to consider joining some gaming events. There are various
famous gaming tournaments all around the world. Joining such events
could quickly get you millions of viewers who will eagerly wait for your
daily video streams.
Then, you need to start promoting your website. It can be done by cre-
ating articles for article directories, posting on message boards, and chat-
ting in online chat rooms. Any place where there are a lot of people will do!
However, you do need to remember that this can take some time. So you
need to be patient.
Also, remember to seek out collaborations. There are multiple creators
out there looking to stream with someone and you can talk to each other
an arrive at a mutually comfortable streaming schedule. The key is just to
keep doing it. Don’t give up. If you follow through and put your time into
it, you will eventually make a career out of being a game streamer.
Where to next?
Many game developers have used live streaming of games to provide cus-
tomers with a teaser of what’s to come and what all they’re working with. So
they’re always on the lookout for more people to stream their games. Newbies
don’t usually get to charge money to do so and indie studios don’t have the
budgets to pay up. So there’s always an avenue for upcoming streamers to
What to Stream? 17
YouTube Gaming Platform
make good on such oppotunities. Check out the websites of popular game
developers and follow their social media to see if there are any opportunities.
Hopefully, this chapter has helped you figure out some of the most
popular games that you can stream and where you can seek out collabora-
tions and gigs to help grow your channel. Stay true to your community and
they’ll help you grow as well.
Chapter #02
18 Creating a PC for Console Gaming and Streaming
Creating a
PC for Console
Gaming and
Streaming
This is a guide for all the gaming
enthusiasts who are looking for build
the right machines for streaming.
Creating a PC for Console Gaming and Streaming 19
Introduction
With the Internet being a great network for all kinds of communication and
entertainment, there are now several things that people can do profession-
ally, as a pass-time, or simply because they like to. Gaming has emerged as
one of the most popular parts of such a category.
Over the last few years, gaming has become an industry in itself. Espe-
cially after YouTube became a platform for individual creators, console
gaming and streaming became popular among millennials. Other platforms
like Twitch and Mixer have also claimed their share of game streaming and
have witnessed a steep rise in viewers, thanks to top-notch gamers.
eSports has emerged too as a result of the video-gaming madness. There
are world tournaments, much like the ones held for physical sports, that
determine a particular video game’s champions. Computers of PCs were
specially designed to power the set-up and enable gamers to do this without
thinking of technological disadvantages. Naturally, these are way more
expensive than the regular computers that we use otherwise. But, they also
provide much more than the usual ones, as we shall see later in the article.
Copyrights: www.pexel.com
A typical PC Gaming setup
Vocabulary heads up
Before we dive into the article, it is essential to understand a few terms
recurring in this article. If you are a beginner, this section will be of par-
ticular importance for you. Do not skip it if you want to make the most
of the article.
• Streaming: Streaming refers to the process of reproducing and uploading
a combination of video and audio in real-time. These videos are usually
encoded to safeguard them from hackers.
• Encoding: Typically, streaming requires encoding. The term itself refers
to the activity of converting a raw file into a compressed version of itself
that can be fathomed by only the software on the other user’s end.
• Hardware encoding: Some software requires specially made hardware
devices or parts to perform encoding, while the CPU is not enough for
the process. This is known as hardware encoding. It is not so much for
the programs used than it is for the devices’ physical components in
question.
• Software encoding: Software encoding is the process of utilising the
CPU to perform the encoding process. The quality of software encoding
is high and more rigorous for the hardware.
• Bitrate: Bitrate is the size of the file that is being created and is measured
per second.
• Frames-per-second (or FPS): FPS is the number of images a computer
produces per second while performing any task. Here, the mission is
gaming. Usually, for console gaming, 60 FPS is the desired frame rate.
The term also comes up when talking about encoding while streaming.
Streaming and console gaming PC builds

In this section of the article, we talk about the different kinds of PCs that
you can assemble based on your needs as a gamer. Each PC has an inde-
pendent cost that depends on the components required to build them. Here,
they are listed according to a gamer’s level and the amount they can invest
at the moment.
Streaming build on a budget (approx. `45,000)

Building any PC for gaming is going to be expensive, but this build probably
costs the lowest. Here are the components that you need to build the same:
• AMD RX 570 graphics card or NVIDIA GTX 1650 Super
• AMD R3 3100 CPU
• Stock CPU cooler (You will get one with the CPU)
• MSI B450M Pro-M2 Max Motherboard
• 2x 8GB Dual-channel DDR4-2666 RAM
Copyrights: WCCFTECH
AMD Ryzen CPU
• E VGA SuperNOVA GM 450 as a power supply

• Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L for a case
• Windows 10 operating system
The GPU, which will chiefly be utilised for hardware encoding, these are
the best cards available for this price point. The build will be sufficient to
support games that do not require fancy graphics or high quality textures.
The ones which require higher settings can also be streamed on this PC if
played at a lower quality.
The CPU and GPU are great steals for such a gaming build as they can
easily support demanding games as a unit. If you want to upgrade later,
you can simply change specific components, and you will be good to go.
But, for a beginner or a gamer on a budget, this streaming-cum-gaming
build is perfect.
Solid streaming PC build (approx. `80,000)

A stable streaming PC is excellent for streaming games that require higher
settings for a better gaming experience and can also handle streams in a
more stable fashion. Gamers who are interested in playing more recent
video games can opt for this system.
Here are the components that you need to make this solid PC system:
• NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super or AMD RX 5600 XT graphics card
• An AMD R5 3600X CPU
• CoolerMaster HYPER 212 Black CPU Cooler
• SI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Motherboard

M
• 2x 8GB Dual-channel DDR4-2666 RAM
• A 500GB WD Blue NVMe SSD
• Corsair CV450 power supply
• Corsair 275R case
MSI GEFORCE GTX
The Ryzen 5 3600X CPU is a powerful choice for the big boys in the
gaming industry. It has six cores and twelve threads and has enough pro-
cessing power to handle AAA-video game titles. The RX 5600 XT and
1660 Super are great mid-range graphics cards which will not only help
you with better visual fidelity but you can even use then for hardware
encoding your streams. This puts less load on your CPU and shifts that to
the GPU. You will have to balance this out for different video games. There
are CPU hardware profiles in streaming software to determine how much
the CPU should handle.
Streaming build for hardcore gaming (approx. `1,30,000 )

This PC is for the hard-core gamer- probably the kind that shut themselves
in a room and play for countless hours. We don’t recommend doing this
and you should have a balanced approach to everything in life. If you tick
the box and love games that require ultra-modern systems because of their
heavy graphics demands, then this computer is the one to choose. You can
stream and play the most advanced video games at 1080p and 1440p with
this system.
Here are the components you need to assemble the beast:

• An RTX 3060 Ti graphics card
• An Intel i5-10600K CPU for a powerful gaming experience
• A Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler
• Asus Prime Z490M-Plus motherboard
• 2x 8 GB Dual-channel DDR4-3200 RAM
• A 1 TB WD Blue NVMe SSD
• Another 1 TB Crucial P1 SSD for more storage
• Corsair Vengeance 650W 80+ Silver power supply
• A Corsair SPEC-OMEGA case
The system is especially recommended with each part carefully
researched for an excellent gaming experience. This PC works well for all
gamers levels, especially those in it for the love of video games, not just for
the thrill of it. Getting an RTX 3060 Ti might be a slight challenge but it’s
way more powerful than any of the current gen mid-range and high-end
RTX 20-series cards.
Copyrights: Forbes
Intel Core i5 10th Gen

Streaming build for the professionals (approx. `2,00,000)

This is where things get tough and exciting! A professional streamer is
one who earns a living from streaming. Hence, they must have the appro-
priate system to support their careers. Undoubtedly, this PC is expensive
and influential in the same breath. It is recommended only as a course for
increasing production quality since cheaper builds can play the same games
with ease. Over here, you can make use of the cutting edge features such
ass real time ray-tracing without compromising on the stream stability.
Here are the components you need to build this monstrosity:

• NVIDIA RTX 3080 or AMD RX 6800 XT graphics card
• An Intel i9-10900K CPU to be the powerhouse of the PC
• Corsair H150i Pro RGB CPU Cooler
• ASUS ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming (Wi-Fi) motherboard
• 2x 16 GB Dual-channel DDR4-3200 RAM.
• A whopping 1TB WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD
• Additional 2TB Crucial P1 NVMe SSD
• Cooler Master MWE Gold 850W power supply
• A Corsair 750D case
Power supply
A little heads up about the Intel i9-10900K CPU- it has ten cores and
twenty threads to give you the best of both worlds, single-threaded and
multi-threaded gaming experience. Also, the RTX 3080 and RX 6800
XT are some of the best graphics cards you can buy right now. Both are
a little hard to come by since they’ve just been launched but they’re cer-
tainly worth the money. And the improvement to your gaming experience
is priceless.
Streaming build ultimate edition (approximately $5800)

This is it. This is the monster, the absolute monster that you can create
at home. There is no going above this PC and is the ultimate dream of a
hardcore, professional gamer. This is the system that makes champions
and rightfully at that. So, should you get yourself this computer for your
next birthday gift? Go ahead only if you are a professional and in it for the
long haul. Be warned, and this PC is not kind to your pocket or your gaming
career. It takes another beast to control this, and you will be a fit for each
other only if you know what you are up to in the gaming world.
Here are the components you need to build the ultimate monster of
a system:
• NVIDIA RTX 3090 or AMD RX 6900 XT graphics card
• AMD Threadripper 3960X CPU
• A Corsair H115i Pro CPU cooler that will require a TR4 Mounting Bracket
• The Asus Prime TRX40-PRO motherboard
• 4x 16GB Quad-channel DDR4-3600 RAM
• 2TB Samsung NVMe SSD
• 4TB Crucial P1 NVMe SSD additional storage
• Antec HCP1000 80+ Platinum power supply
• Cooler Master Cosmos C700M case
NVMe SSDs can really speed things up

Copyrights: www.pexel.com
A typical PC Gaming setup
Let us talk a little about the components then. The CPU is potent with
twenty-four cores and forty-eight threads! You can stop using the graphics
card for encoding and use x264 software encoding which uses the CPU
but provides the best quality. You can do this and still have unused cores
after gaming!
Let us also tell you about the cooling system. Imagine overclocking your
CPU, and massively so, while keeping it quiet and not lending one tiny dent
to your system! Additionally, the power supply recommended here is one of
Twin PC Setup
the best available in the market. The only way you can do better is to switch
to a Twin PC setup but that’s going to be a bit more expensive depending
on what quality of streams you are hoping to achieve.
Conclusion
Gaming and streaming is hardly a cheap affair, but we have tried to make
the whole thing as affordable as possible while still including the best
components for that price point. Apart from the one-PC systems discussed
above, you can also choose to assemble the two-PC system if you have some
extra cash. However, it is hardly mandatory, and the single computer expe-
rience gives you everything you need for the best streaming and console
gaming performance.
Chapter #03
Copyrights: www.pexels.com
Green screens
and mixers
Playing around with multiple audio
and video sources can be quite hectic
without the right gear. Green screens
and mixers are what you need.
Introduction
You need a professional look for your stream to stand out from the hundreds
of streamers out there. Not everybody can afford to produce YouTube videos
or live broadcasts in a professional studio. However, you don’t need to fret
because what you need is a green screen and a mixer. Add a green screen
behind the subject and plug in a mixer to make magic happen. With green
Green screens and mixers 29
screens, the aim is to differentiate the background from the foreground so

that editing it later becomes simple.
What’s a green screen?

A green screen is simply a background behind you or the subject that is
being shot. You can remove the green screen and replace it with whatever
you want during the video editing process – an image, a video, a game, or
even a colour.
It can even be made from almost anything such as boards, paper, card-
board or any flat surface – you can also buy some green paint and colour
the wall behind you. If you have a big screen TV then put a green wallpaper
on it and you could even use that as a background.
Copyrights: www.amazon.com
Typical Green Screen

You will use program such as OBS Studio, Streamlabs, XSplit,

or Elgato Game Capture for live streaming and all of these software
support swapping backgrounds using green screens or ‘Chromakey’
as they’re technically known. The key element that you need to remember
is that the background should be evenly illuminated. You can use any
colour you want as long as it does not match what’s in the foreground. As
long as it is well lit, you can swap it out using any popular video editing
or live streaming software. Here are some popular chromakeys that you
can buy.
1. Fancierstudio Chromakey Green Screen Kit

The Chromakey Green Screen Package of Fancierstudio includes 10 x 12
ft cloth chromakey backdrop, 8 x 10 ft aluminium backdrop support, and
three lights. It also contains a carrying bag, making it convenient for you
to travel to the house
of a friend.
It’s easy to set up.
Prop up the back-
drop stands. Insert
Copyrights: Amazon.com
the upper bar in the

backdrop stands and
then position it prop-
erly. Follow this up by
raising it to the desired
Fancierstudio Chromakey Green Screen Kit height. Smoothen out
the fabric and set each
light as close as possible so that the shadows are not being cast. This kit
offers a decent value for money and is an excellent choice if you are a first-
time streamer.
PROS
• upports standard for the backdrop, 2-floor lights, and case
S
• Easy to adjust
• Reasonable price
• Mobile phone.
CONS
• Easily bendable
2. Emart Collapsible Green Screen - Highest Rated

The Emart Collapsible Green Screen is a popular green screen. It is compact
and the fabric remains taut making the background uniform without any
creases. The wrinkle-resistant material also helps with reducing creases.
If retracted, it can be easily packed
and kept for storage.
PROS
• C
onveniently to set up
• Does not take up much space once
folded up
• Lightweight aluminium frame
Copyrights: www.streamerbuilds.com

CONS
• It is a bit expensive.
3. Fotodiox Collapsible
Chroma Key Panel
The Fotodiox Collapsible Chroma One of the best Green Screens
Key Panel is a double-sided, blue/ that’s trending.
green screen collapsible chroma key
pane. Having options for the colour is great since you can quickly change
the background in case the subject is too similarly coloured or if the host
has worn the wrong coloured clothing.
The panel includes a wire-frame stand. The stand is comfortable to
hold and facilitates fast and convenient set up. It does not take up a lot of
floor space and is less than a kilo in weight so you can easily put it away
in a second.
The downside is the comparatively small surface area of this green
screen. But, if you want to set up a large scene, like Dr DisRespect does in
his streams then you need a larger background.
However, if you live stream from a compact space then this one is right
up your alley.
PROS
• Easy to set up
• Fabric remains taut
• E asy to carry and lightweight

• Excellent for a limited space recording
CONS
• Too small
What is the Secret of Chroma key?

Keying is the method of isolating a single colour from an image or video and
using software to make that value clear, enabling another image to display
through the areas affected. A particular color to eliminate is marked by
color keying, or chromakeying.
You can erect a simple chromakey setup almost anywhere with just a
few basic tools. In order to shoot footage that will key cleanly, you will need
a green background, a source of bright, even lighting, and a tripod to lock
your camcorder in place.
Copyrights: www.filmpulse.com
A typical Chroma Key set used in Films.
The most obvious need is for the background itself. Fortunately, there
are many options, and many of them are inexpensive. In short, anything
that’s bright green will work, and anything that works is valid. Be sure to
avoid textured walls if you’re painting it green. Texture causes shadows
The only requirements are that your background be large enough to fill
your screen, smooth enough to take light evenly without showing wrinkles
or casting shadows, and bright enough to contrast well with your subject.
If you intend to chromakey a small product then your backdrop may be
relatively small. If you need to chromakey a full-body shot of a host or a

narrator you will need a much larger background.
It’s all in the lighting

Also, if you are playing with chromakeying for the first time, before getting
into production, you can test the process on a small scale. With an action
figure and a sheet of posterboard, you can easily create a practical miniature
table-top set. Besides that, extending a sheet of green fabric between two step
ladders or painting a small portion of the wall doesn’t require more effort.
Many people interchangeably use the words chromakeying and green-
screening, but the idea that chromakeying is not limited to the green parts
of the light spectrum.
Copyrights: Manycam.com
A typical Green Screen set for live streamers
Without adequate illumination, even a professional-quality chroma

key wall won’t key well. oIf there ever was a secret to having good keys,
then it’s all in the illumination. Using soft light, the aim is to illuminate the
background as uniformly as possible. Any lighting variation will read as
gradient coloring and will confuse your software. And lighting can be more
difficult to achieve than you would expect. Hard light sources cast narrow
and centered beams in their middle that generate circular hot spots, then
fall off quickly, gradually leaving outer portions darker. It helps to shift tiny
lights farther away so that larger, soft light beams are cast. .
Copyrights: Premiumbeat
Green screen set for full body shots
How to choose the one for you?

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself:
• How big is the green screen as compared to the background?
• How big and tall does the backdrop need to be?
• What is your budget?
• Are you going to take it down or leave it up permanently?
• Do you need to move or store it easily?
You will discover the answers, and our guide will fit the correct green
screen for you. The key areas to explore when comparing options are price,
ease of use, and portability.
Mixers
XLR microphones are mostly found in the mid-range and high-end parts
of the spectrum and they provide great quality audio. Importantly, XLR
microphones need to be powered through an audio interface that allows
you to mix the sounds in the desired intensity. Also, some of these micro-
phones need a phantom power supply which isn’t available in the 3.5mm
interface. Therefore, it is vital to have the best-quality audio interface to use
XLR microphones effectively.
Here are our picks for the best Audio Interfaces:
1. Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 (3rd Gen) USB Audio Interface

This bestselling audio interface comes with high-performance converters
Focusruite 18i8
that allow you to record and mix up to 24-bit /192 kHz. Attain more open
sounds for your recordings as the interface includes the best mic preamps.
You get a quick start tool to get you going faster, and on purchase and
registration, you can download a wide range of pro tools like a virtual key
instrument, 3-months Splice subscription, and much more.
2. Behringer U-PHORIA UM2 2x2 USB Audio Interface

This user-friendly audio interface comes with a large-diaphragm condenser
microphone and stereo headphones. It offers a sampling rate up to 48 kHz
and mic preamp with 48 V.
Your recordings, streaming, podcasts, and other tasks become easy
through the wisely-designed front panel. It has XLR/TRS mic and line
inputs and ¼” banana plugs.
Behringer UM2
3. M-Audio AIR 192|14 - 8-In 4-Out USB Audio / MIDI Interface

Ideal for professional recording and monitoring, capturing every detail and
premium component selection.
4. Behringer Xenyx X2222USB Premium 22-Input 2/2-Bus Mixer

This studio-grade audio mixer has FX processor with 16 editable presets,
eight phantom-powered mic preamps, eight compressors with ‘one-knob’
functionality and more.
5. Pyle 6-Channel Bluetooth Studio Audio Mixer

The most popular audio mixer allows you to record and connect to your
PC. It has six channels and Bluetooth for wireless streaming.
6. Ammoon 12 Channels Mixer Mic Line Audio Mixing Console

This best audio mixer has 12 channels and features to control various audio
parameters of every channel individually.
7. Alto Professional ZMX862 | Studio Quality 6 Channel Compact Audio

Mixing Desk
This product is a compact audio mixer with six channels – two XLR mic
inputs, two stereo inputs, and two aux outputs.
Copyrights: www.pexels.com
A typical live streaming set

Conclusion
While not absolutely necessary, a chromakey and audio interface are great
for improving the production quality of your live streams. You wouldn’t
usually invest in either of them as a beginner but once you do start gaining
plenty of subscribers and focus on taking your streams to the next level,
they are what you need.
Chapter #04
Image Credits: Unsplash

Beating the
Algorithm Like
a Boss
Production quality is just one
aspect of live streaming, getting the
algorithm on your side, is just as
important.
Beating the Algorithm Like a Boss 39
T
he world is adjusting to a new reality (and a new economy) in a
post-pandemic world, embellished with the charms of almost
everything that defies convention to generate more than a happy
buck. Live streaming has grown at an even faster pace to become
a source of livelihood for countless individuals. The dystopia we saw on the
silver screen and admired on our consoles since the early eighties is most
definitely upon us. And it is up to the non-decadent warriors of fibernet
connectivity to break the spell of mundane playthroughs and IRL streams
to stand apart from the crowd. All whilst ushering in a glorious era of eye-
twitching revenue, through the thumb-twitching talent. It’s time to welcome
the live-gamers into the big billionaires’ club.
If you’re reading this piece, you already identify as a rebel of the highest
order— someone who has seen through the cracks of elusive reality and into
the sea of potential that lies in the act of building a true legion (read audi-
ence) for yourself, to keep your champions champion-ing behind your back,
and to rake in the moolah through ways more than one. We’re obviously
talking about beating the platform algorithm to ensure that your streams
are shown to as many viewers as possible.
Ragnarok is upon us, gentle souls! Let this be your guide into the dark-
ness for you must emerge a winner on the other side.
Sites like the Twitch homepage provide a public list of all the trending game titles.
Boss Mode 101: The Title Matters! Choose Wisely.

When you’re trying to decide what title to play for your next live stream,
please remember that name-dropping still works in the new world of digital
glamour. If you want to start with a clear revenue target, then be sure to
select a title that’s new and popular, and definitely not the stuff of yesterday.
You want to put out a stream that doesn’t have to compete for attention
because it’s about something that has already caught the public’s attention.
This way, your channel gets discovered faster, by more people, and your
legion grows stronger by the hour.
Sites like the Twitch homepage continue to provide a public list of all
the trending game titles, updated very frequently, so you can check them
out for ideas if you’re running short. It will always be in your interest to
complete the necessary groundwork before you jump into the battleground.
It’s the art of war, to be honest. We’d advise that you go the whole nine
yards and do a little snooping around to figure out what title is doing the
rounds on popular news outlets, and if you can manage to get your hands
on something as rare as a pre-release copy, then you’re golden.
Hang around Facebook groups such as “Media Movements” to

follow updates from publicists who want to speak with early-
access/beta gamers.
The audience gets hooked to live-streaming games when gamers show discipline
and consistency in their schedule.
Boss Mode 102: Consistency = Discipline = Success.

The first thing they always make you watch in almost any movie about
ninjas is the struggle. And that’s when the audience gets hooked too because
discipline and consistency have very long term spillover effects.
Commit this to memory— you cannot sustain an audience if you don’t
cater to them constantly. And, just like the creative autonomy of former
bards and yesteryear jests, you too have the power to select and define
your schedule.
Simply said, don’t commit to a daily stream if you know you can’t keep
up with that schedule.
The ideal way to go about this is to give yourself a week or two to churn
out volumes, understand what frequency works best for your schedule,
and then make that schedule a part of your regular CTAs or any other
communication you use with your audience.
Promise a decent level of consistency, and then deliver on that promise,
and you’re on your path to live-streaming glory.
One of the most popular ways of keeping the conversation going is by explaining
your strategy to new audience members.
Boss Mode 103: Play The Game, Play The Man

Like every other successful art form, live-streaming a game feed is also a
conversation. And at every step, you have to keep the conversation going.
Don’t expect to sit silently as you aim for perfect headshots, and for your
audience to find something to do with that time and silence. It is upon you,
soldier, to keep the platoon engaged.
We’re not asking you to try and become someone you’re not— if you
don’t feel too out there, then you don’t have to exert yourself into becoming
one. But remember that talking and explaining yourself are not necessarily
extrovert behaviours. Applied well, they can become great tools of com-
munication and engagement.
As your years of gaming pile on, you tend to develop your style and
commentary over levels and engines and characters. Use that knowledge to
give your audience insights into who you are. This helps build your gaming
brand like nothing else.
Also, try to explain your strategy to new audience members, it’s one
of the most popular ways of keeping the conversation going, during an
otherwise visually violent screen.
Thanking all your new subscribers is an excellent way to keep up good morale in your legion.
Boss Mode 104: Be Grateful, General

Your audience is always looking up to you for entertainment and validation
about how they spend their own time. This is the core psychology behind
recurring views, subscribers, and everything else that adds to your gaming
bottom line.
An excellent way to keep up good morale in your legion is to be grateful

towards them. Learn to thank all your new subscribers. Ensure that your
words make a positive impact on a viewer’s day in a way that they won’t
get elsewhere. That, and that alone, is how you make them come back every
time for more.
Grateful gaming brands almost always perform the best as far as the
final numbers on your bank statement, are concerned.
One way to identify the right streaming platform for you is by figuring out where
your target audience spends time the most.
Boss Mode 105: Own Your Pond

There’s an explosion of live-streaming platforms and leaderboards in the
world wide web today, with Facebook Gaming, Twitch, and YouTube leading
the pack. You must be diligent in identifying the right platform for your
streaming exploits. The most important step in this process is to figure out
where your audience, that is, your key demographic, hangs out the most.
If you’re in the habit of destroying titles that others share a penchant
for on FB Gaming, then set up camp in the blue league, and establish your
consistency, brand, gratefulness, among other priorities. But if you have
been silently biding your time on YouTube, honing your craft and building
alumni for your brand, then most definitely go red.
It’s essential to pick a pond and then be the biggest fish in it because when
you’re all over the place, you don’t really have room to grow.

Make better content decisions by figuring out the correlation between your social media
numbers and the content you put out in a set time frame.
Boss Mode 106: Don’t Hate the Hashtag

Social media is a good thing, no matter how many thousands of dollars
get spent on the advertising that you carefully make your way around. We
understand how you feel about selling out or pandering to the needs of the
consumer mainstream, but you must understand this— your audience lives,
breathes and sails on social media.
For you to keep your gaming conversation going with them, for you to
be able to communicate your incentives to your legion, for you to be able
to set out your hooks for the next stream, you have to be where they are.
A consistent and witty Twitter feed goes a long way in charging up your
fans and followers to celebrate the fact that they regularly watch your con-
tent. You don’t necessarily have to turn into a social media analyst and start
measuring your engagement in terms of retweets and likes, but it doesn’t
hurt if you do that either.
If you’re smart enough to figure out a correlation between your social
media numbers for a given week and the content you put out in that same
time frame, you will find yourself much better equipped to make decisions
on what content to put out there next. It’s really the smart thing to do.
After the Algorithm

Building an audience for yourself and keeping them coming, is actually just
the tip of the iceberg. Much like the initial levels of every FPS marvel, you’re
expected to do this right. It is only after you traverse this path well, that you
get to make some of the more interesting, and rather fun choices about how
to maximise the dollars you can churn from this audience.
Read on further to dive deeper into the enigma of live-game streaming,
and see what the future holds for you.
Chapter #05
46 Improve Quality of Audio and Video In Streams
Improve Quality
of Audio and
Video In Streams
In this chapter, we have discussed
how your streams can have a
professional audio and video quality.
W
e all love watching our favourite streamers, whether it be
Shroud, ChocoTaco, Ninja, Kaymind, or Summit1g, for
their amazing skills, gameplay, content, and entertain-
ment that provides for an engaging viewing experience.
What elevates this experience is the fantastic audio and video quality that
we get while viewing their content.
Improve Quality of Audio and Video In Streams 47
These streamers have some of the best audio and video hardware and
software gear that enables them to stream video in 4K 60fps and with
studio-quality audio. If you are a streamer, even you would want your
stream to look and sound as unique as the content you consume, so that
your viewers have the same viewing experience.
This section has discussed methods to improve the stream quality to
attract viewership and put some amazing high-quality content out there.
Getting the basics right

What’s the first thought that comes to your mind when you talk about
improving your audio and video quality in streams? It’s investing in high-end
peripherals, isn’t it? But, that’s not necessarily the case. One can improve the
streaming quality with some necessary adjustments to your current setup.
Here are some such tweaks that can help improve your stream quality.
• Check your upload speed

It is a no-brainer that streaming requires a high-speed data connection,
especially with high upload speeds, to have a high-quality stream. Before
finalising an ISP, check for the upload speeds provided. ISP usually adver-
tise their download speeds, and upload speeds are less than that. Thus,
check for upload speeds as you’ll be needing more bandwidth for upload
to ensure better quality videos. A good quality stream will usually require
the following upload speeds:
• 720p - 6 Mbps (Varies as per platform)
• 1080p - 13 Mbps (Varies as per platform)
If you want to stream your content in 2K, 4K or 8K, you will require
even higher upload speeds and the supporting hardware to do so. However,
a 1080p stream will suffice for most scenarios.
• Limit your internet usage

Your computer might have different applications running in the back-
ground that might be using your network. This can reduce the bandwidth
available for your stream and reduce the output quality. Similarly, these
tasks might also hog your computer memory, which, in turn, again affect
your video capture and streaming setup’s performance, and degrade the
stream quality. Thus, before starting your stream, make sure that no
unnecessary apps are running in the background such as Skype, web
browsers, Zoom, etc.
Additionally, ensure that no additional downloading or uploading tasks

are running in the background, affecting the stream quality. If any such tasks
are going on, either wait for them to complete or pause them right away.
• Optimise your internet connection

Just having a high-speed internet is not enough. You need to make sure that
you are not encumbered locally. This can be done quickly by using a wired
ethernet connection instead of a Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi connections are unstable
and can cause issues in
your live streams. It not
only can reduce your
stream quality but also
can lead to streams get-
ting disrupted midway.
With everyone having
Image source: Pixabay.com

a Wi-Fi router at home,
congestion is at an all time
high and that affects your
connection stability.
That being said, you
can still use your Wi-Fi Ethernet cable for high speed internet connection.
connection if there aren’t
many connections to the same Wi-Fi network hogging bandwidth or if you
have clear line of sight from your PC to the Wi-Fi router.aaaaa
• Check for the streaming platform guidelines

The last necessary step is checking for the recommended guidelines of the
streaming platform. Every platform such as YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook
has its own recommended settings that stream their content seamlessly
without any lag or buffer. Thus, depending on the platform, adjust your
settings and find the sweet spot between quality and buffering to have a
smooth, uninterrupted streaming session.
The Advanced Methods of Improving your Stream Quality

• Camera equipment
Viewers want to see the streamers in addition to watching their game-
play. Having a face cam helps viewers see your expressions and builds
a connection. Thus, it is essential to have a high-quality camera for your
streams. While you can use

your smartphone, too, for this
purpose, you should invest in
professional camera equip-

ment to enhance the quality
of the stream, especially if
you are streaming in 1080p
or above.
You can opt for a webcam,
DSLRs, or mirrorless cam- High megapixel Logitech C920 web camera
eras. Here’s a list of cameras
used by some of the top streamers:
• Shroud - Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera
• Choco Taco - Logitech C920
• Kaymind - Logitech C922x Pro
• Audio equipment
As a streamer, you need to ensure that viewers get a crisp, loud, and clear
audio without background noise. Thus, you will need to have a high-
quality microphone to talk to your viewers during the stream and share
tips and tricks and provide
commentary during game-
play. The microphone place-
ment is important, too, as it
shouldn’t block the streamer’s
face while also ensuring that
it can capture the sound.
Image source: Pixabay
There are a plethora of

microphones available in
the market and usually filled
with jargons on their labels.
Thus, it can get quite tricky Best microphones for quality audio streaming
in choosing the right micro-
phone. A cardioid microphone that can pick up sounds in the range of 50
Hz to 20,000 Hz and is easy on the pocket is enough for a game streamer.
However, you can opt for bidirectional or omnidirectional microphones, if
required. Always check the audio output and apply additional audio filters
to fine tune your microphone feed. It makes a huge difference.
Here’s a list of microphones used by some of the top streamers.

• Shroud - Shure SM7B
• V3nom - Elgato Wave 3
• Summit1G - Audio-Technica AT2035
However, if you don’t have the budget to invest in such high-end micro-
phones, you can consider buying the Samson G-Track Pro, Zalman ZM
- Mic1, or Blue Snowball iCE.
• Video capture card

Although unnecessary, it is helpful to have a video capture card that can cap-
ture and record video from your gaming PC and stream it seamlessly with
your favourite streaming software over another streaming PC. This helps
take off your primary PC’s
load as having a single
setup for playing games,
capturing webcam and
game feed can add signifi-
cant load on the computer.
Video capture cards
are also highly ben-
eficial for mobile game
streamers. It can effort-
lessly capture your mobile Video capture cards for live streaming and recording.
screen and transfer the
stream to your PC, from where it can be streamed using streaming apps
such as Streamlabs OBS and Game Capture. You can have your games
streamed in HD 1080p 60 fps quality easily with a video capture card.
Elgato is a famous brand in the video capture card market. It offers
various hardware devices that can easily plug into your existing setup,
either through USB or PCI Express slots.
• Transitions and overlays

Transitions and overlays can add to the visual appeal of your stream.
Streamers need to have overlays for notifications such as new subscribers/
followers, donations, and a subscriber or viewership counter. Having over-
lays keeps the audience engaged and provides them with a way to interact
with you through super chats and offerings. You can even have a text-to-
audio setup that reads the viewer’s message for a specified donation amount
Image source: https://pixabay.com/photos/computer-laptop-technology-

keyboard-768608/
Video editing software for transitions and overlays
and upwards. Many websites provide free and paid tools for stream overlays.
Additionally, if you have the resources, you can create customised overlays
for your streams.
Similarly, it would be best if you had transitions between your game-
play video, webcam only feeds, or viewers chats and messages screen
that can increase the engagement levels and improve the stream’s quality.
Miscellaneous Steps to Improve your Stream Quality

In addition to these methods, there are other ways to improve your video
and audio quality. Some are
discussed below.
• First, you need to bind
hotkeys on your key-
boards to efficiently and
smoothly transition
between various video

and audio modes. You
can set up hotkeys for the
most-used actions, such as
changing from your game Keybinds for seamless transitions and effortless
feed to webcam only feed control over what appears on the screen
Ring light for enhancing visual quality.
or switching between various voice changing ways with the press of a

button combination, if you use one. This ensures that you don’t waste
time going through a long process, and the transitions look seamless.
You can use dedicated devices such as the Elgato Streamdeck for this.
We’ve covered the same in a later chapter.
• Secondly, have a good light source, such as a ring light or a hair light to
improve the webcam feed and make the stream look better. Ring lights
have become hugely popular for video creators in the recent period.
However, if you have your setup with already good natural or artificial
light, you can skip this step.
• To improve the quality of your audio, you can invest in sound-absorbing
panels. These can be installed easily in your streaming room and can
help block a substantial amount of outside noise. The most significant
advantage of soundproof panels is that they are relatively cheaper and
can help absorb decent noise. However, if you live in a noisy neighbour-
hood, you might want to invest in other costlier soundproofing methods.
• Finally, you need to have a trial run to ensure that everything is working
as intended to avoid any mishaps during your stream. Many platforms
such as Facebook offer a private streaming mode where you can test
different settings and see if everything is working correctly.
Once you are convinced that everything is in place, you can go live to
your viewers. Additionally, after your stream has ended, you can go back
and check whether the stream looked and sounded how you wanted it to
be. Or else, you might need to go and tweak a few settings.
Conclusion
We hope that this section helps you in improving your streaming quality and
gaining new subscribers and followers. However, sometimes even having
a high-quality stream might not be enough. Since, there are hundreds, if
not thousands, of other streamers out there, you might likely get lost in
the ocean of streamers, which can reduce your visibility and reach. Thus,
in the next section, we have discussed ways through which you can beat
the streaming platform’s algorithm and stay on top of their recommended
and discover pages, and reach out to new viewers effortlessly, and increase
your viewership.
54 Engage Your Audience Chapter #06
Copyright: blog.contentools.com
Engage Your
Audience
To keep your audience engaged is the
key to effective communication as it
takes two to tango!
K
eeping the audience’s attention is way more complicated than
gaining their attention in the first place. There is always a group
of people who do not seem to be attentive towards the under-
lying content. Also, a one-way interaction is possibly the most
boring type of live streaming that you can do. It requires lots of discipline
and effort to passively make someone remain attentive to the conversa-
tions happening in chat. It is a little tricky for the first timers to hold on to
the audience’s attention for a particular project without interaction. We’ve
Engage Your Audience 55
seen countless studies for boardroom meetings wherein more than half the
respondents accepted that they did various activities other than listening
to the co-worker’s presentation such as-
• Falling asleep (15%)
• Checking emails and other messages (35%)
• Sending text messages (50%)
We’re pretty certain that you’ve indulged in many of these activities
while listening to your teachers during online lectures. And the moment,
the teacher calls you out, you get alert.
Livestreaming is more or less like the same. If you interact with yor audi-
ence, the engagement factor for your stream goes up and that helps you with
the platform’s algorithm. Your stream will, in turn, be shown to countless
more viewers because it is that engaging. There are many ways to accom-
plish this goal, right from live polling to asking the questions throughout
and many more. You can follow through with this article, understand the
guidelines, and make it easy for you to engage your audience.
Guide your Audience Masses

You can guide your audience using the following strategies.
1. Summaries/ previews
Shroud’s highlight reel

The preview tells the audiences what’s coming next for them and you can
guage their interest. Most streaming platforms have a feature that allows
you to send posts and notifications to your subscribers telling them your
streaming schedule or which game you are about to look for. You can even
give out personal updates to develop a better connection with them.
A summary is a crucial part of any digital content. With livestreams, you
can capture the memorable moments and edit them up to make a highlight
reel which can then be uploaded to your channel or posted on your social
media handles. It’s another form of engagement that is easy to accomplish.
2. Use transitions
Nobody likes dead air. Back in the days when DTH Services weren’t available,
certain channels used to have dead air at night. And even between shows if
one show got over a little early. It’s very annoying and can quickly lose you
your audience. Folks these days have negligible attention spans and they’ll
jump from your stream if you don’t have something running for more than
5 seconds. So always use transitions.
Copyright: Motion Array
Simple transitions make a difference
There are plenty of web sites such as Motion Array which have pre-made
templates for you to use in your livestreams. Simply modify it a little to add
a touch of personalisation and branding. And use it. Transitions show the
pieces of the whole content that one can relate to; transitions tie the things
together and improve the content’s flow. Transition in most of the content
keeps the audience going.
3. Engage and keep the audience attention

When it comes to engaging the audience masses, there are myths
and assumptions almost everywhere. Many representatives have always
been talking about the Charisma of keeping the audience’s attention.
Credibility is a great asset to gain attention, but it takes not more than a
simplified approach to hold the same. The real key to engaging the audience
is to do something out of the box. Also, it refers to the unique ideas that
you have to implement before rehearsing the same. You can break your
content structure into different pieces and make them highly engaging
for your audiences.
You can start your stream with a few personal updates while waiting
for the audience to build up for your stream. Then transition into a quick
game before interacting with the audience via chat. Here are some pointers
for ensuring better engagement.
• Use the audience’s first language - once you have actively structured
your content, make sure to get the message across using whatever lan-
Hold on to their attention

guage the audience is most comfortable with. We already have plenty

of English-streams and vernacular streams is the next big thing. You
can make the most out of your narrative by using the audience’s first
language and even have a separate English stream on the side. You’ll
need to figure out what your audience likes.
• Master the content- Robotically streaming and narrating each and
every thing you do can be a little too much. Mix things up and read the
Copyright: singlegrain.com
Keep the ball rolling
chat. If your audience does not like what you do, switch it up. A little
silence during key moments of the game is actually better. Don’t talk
over cut scenes in games. Pause if you want to, and then talk. Think of
all the things that you find irritating while talking to people and avoid
doing all that.
• Streamline the process- Your doubt can become your worst enemy, so
do not stand up to entirely represent your idea. Make sure to analyse
audience preferences and give them a feeling that they are here on your
channel for a reason.
Ways to make your content highly interactive

It can be difficult for your platform to hold the audience’s attention
throughout the length of your content. An interactive content, presenta-
tion, or a lengthy discussion is more likely to grab your audience’s atten-
tion, and there are few simple ways to get it done. This segment explores
Copyright: Restream.io
Talk to your audience
multiple effective strategies that can keep your audience involved with
your content.
Plan your audience perspective

Before working on the content, you can plan the perspective of your potential
audiences. For example, ask questions like-
• What are the exciting parts of my content?
• How much does the audience know about my content? What should
I target?
• Which group of gamers are most likely to be interested in my content?
• What is the size of your audience?
You can get this done by searching the analytics of your channel and
sifting through the data.
Use an easy to follow structure

While developing your content, focus on giving it a simple and easy to
understand audience’s structure. You can start by introducing your stream’s
schedule and then elaborate on various aspects of it in detail. Draw some
timelines and mention any live collaborations that you may have planned.
Immediately involve the audience

Your audience will come right away to your channel if you have set up
notifications and updates going out on your Twitter and Facebook pages.
Make sure to put out updates in advance as well as right when you’re about
to commence a stream.
Copyright: Qz.com
Make them see their interest in what you offer
Strategise to keep your audience engaged

Give an apparent reason for your audience to be interested in your channel
and its content. You can give them a reason for which they should keep fol-
lowing you through platform updates. Even for the audiences who do not
voluntarily participate at your channel, provide them with a reason and tell
them why they should consider the same. For instance, if you are starting a
new game then there’s potential for a whole new set of viewers to subscribe
to you. Hunt down subreddits and forums where the audience for the new
game that you’re about to stream resides. And put an update over there.
In a Nutshell
Emphasising audience attention is crucial to make an impact on your
channel. Your streams should have the potential to pull the audience
together, grab their attention, along with providing them interaction and
syncing their expectations with your content. You can get this done in
several ways and by implementing various strategies simultaneously.
The way you are planning the live stream is critical, especially in terms of
using the right games and languages that you can use while talking to your
audience. It would help if you also ensured that there is adequate time for
the interacting on topics that are not directly related to the game but stuff
that you are interested in personally. The way you deliver your content
across the digital platform essentially develops a bond with your audience.
You can make use of spoken words, memes, games that you and your
audience are eagerly waiting for, etc. All these measures will also ensure
that the audience receives positive vibes about your channel and it’s con-
tent. In simple words, do not just talk to people; instead, make sure to
frequently engage with them. Keep engaging with your audience until
you have gained their subscriptions.
Chapter #07
Copyright attribution: HappyGamer

Configuring
a Chat Bot -
Nightbot
Nightbot is an advanced chatbot for
Twitch and YouTube streams. Think
of it like your man Friday.
Configuring a Chat Bot - Nightbot 63
Introduction
Game streaming is no longer simply about playing games and streaming
them to random followers or even the public. Stream video games has
become a legitimate form of entertainment for millions of people, and scores
of viewers tune in every hour to view the latest instalment of long running
game series, played by their favourite gamers.
With the rise of YouTube and twitch as game streaming services, and
with the jump in the streaming and viewing of video games that the last
year has seen, viewers have begun to demand more from gamers. They
want greater access into their world, and a greater say in the games they
play, how they play these games, and even nitty gritties such as the music
being played during the stream.
This has fueled the rise of chatbots. Through chatbots, stream viewers
can comment and pass on recommendations to streamers in real time,
and even converse with them. Over the years, streamers have come to take
chatbots very seriously, since they allow streamers to connect with their
audience directly and live.
Among the most popular chatbots for YouTube and Twitch is the
Nightbot. Nightbot is popular as it gives both streamers and viewers a
number of privileges that other chatbots don’t. Let’s go through how you
can configure Nightbot, and in the process explore the many options it
provides you.
Setting Up Nightbot
Setting up Nightbot is a rather easy process. Currently, Nightbot is only
available on Twitch and YouTube, and hence you can only use Nightbot
through these game streaming services.
To set up Nightbot, you first need to go to the Nighbot Homepage. Here,
you will need to sign in to Nightbot, and you can only do this through the
services it is compatible with, i.e. YouTube and Twitch. You will then be
able to configure Nightbot on the service that you sign in using.
Once you have signed in, Nightbot will take you to the Nightbot Control
panel. The Nightbot Control Panel is where you can control the chatbot and
access most of the settings and statistics associated with it on your channel.
The Nightbot Dashboard shows you really detailed statistics about the
performance of Nightbot on your channel.
Once you are on the Nightbot Dashboard, you need to make Nightbot
join your channel. To do so, you need to click the Join button on the top
Copyright attribution: Nightbot

Nightbot Dashboard
right, after which a popup message will explain how you can make Nightbot
moderate your channel for both YouTube and Twitch.
Nightbot Commands and What They Do

Nightbot commands are a significant selling point of the chatbot. Not only
are the existing Nightbot commands really versatile, but Nightbot also
allows you to create your own customized commands for activities that the
existing commands do not cover.
The default commands of Nightbot allow you to control various functions
within the chat itself. Here is a list of the default commands of Nightbot.
• !commands: This allows all users of Nightbot to view a list of the com-
mands applicable to the chat. Additionally, it also helps moderators
manage the custom commands that have been introduced.
• !commercial: If your channel is currently partnering with a brand, this
command allows you to run an advertisement on the stream.
• !filters: This command allows the moderators of the chat to check and
manage the settings for the spam moderation filter.
• !game: This command helps the moderators change the game that is
currently being played on the stream, and also allows the viewers to
know what is being played.
• !marker: This helps viewers in creating a stream marker in Twitch to
which they can later return.
• ! poll: This command allows moderators to make a survey or poll in the

chat, which viewers can vote on and later view the results of.
• !regulars: This is a command exclusively for the moderators to view the
regulars list of the channel.
• !songs: This is a rather peculiar command, allowing the viewers to
recommend songs to be played in the streams as well as the moderators
to change them.
• !tags: Tags are really important for your stream to be discovered, and
this command allows moderators to change and add them.
• !title: Very similar to tags, this helps moderators in changing the stream
title and viewers in knowing it.
• !winner: Moderators can choose a user as a winner through this command.
In the Nightbot Control Panel, you can choose the Manage Default Com-
mands option if you want to disable default commands. In addition to this,
you are also allowed to change access to Default commands if you want
to extend it to users or other levels, and to mention a Cool Down period,
establishing a particular amount of time between commands on the chat.
You can also add custom commands in Nightbot. These commands are
generally created if you want to display certain text or information repeat-
edly in your chat, for example your YouTube channel or Facebook page.
Copyright attribution: Nightbot
Custom commands in Nightbot

To add a new command, you need to click on Add Command in the

Commands page. Here, you will be required to fill in certain information.
This includes the name of the commands, the message that you want to
display, the cool down time, the access level, and whether the command is
an alias for another.
Performing Giveaways in Nightbot

Nightbot can easily be configured if you have giveaways during your stream.
However, what is astounding is the sheer number of options that Nightbot
allows you to play with in the contest itself.
You can visit the Giveaway page on Nightbot through your Nightbot
Control Panel on which you will be able to see the list of giveaways you
have floated, the users who have applied for an are eligible for the giveaway,
and the chat window.
In the Eligibility window on the page, you will be able to see the users
who are eligible for a particular giveaway as per your criteria. These users
are automatically indicated with a blue mark in front of their name as they
become eligible for the giveaway. If you want to change the eligibility of
certain users in the list, you simply need to click on this mark to toggle the
eligibility on or off. You can also click on Reset Eligibility, which will set
all users to ineligible.
In the Giveaway Panel on Nightbot, you can select the level of users
that are eligible to participate in a certain giveaway. There are three levels
you may choose from. The first is the Active User level, in which eligibility
depends on whether a user has spoken during a given time period. The
second is the Keyword level, in which all users that have typed a certain
keyword become eligible. This is useful for a question-and-answer type
contest. The third is the Random Number level, in which you can generate
a random number among two selected numbers and the first user who
types this number wins.
The name and profile of the user who wins will be displayed, and you
can send them a direct message to inform and chat with them.
Managers
Managers are the most important users of Nightbot. This is because users
who are designated as Managers can access every capability of Nightbot,
including all levels of the Dashboard as well as the Control Panel. It is hence
important that the users that you designate as managers are few in number
and only people whom you trust. In general, avoid designating anybody
as a manager who is not directly involved in the running of the channel.
To add a Manager, you need to go to the Managers page in the Control
Panel. Here, you must click on Add Manager, where you need to enter the
nightbot User ID Code of the user you wish to add as the Manager. Then,
click Submit. You can also remove Managers through this page by clicking
the delete button in front of the manager you wish to remove.
Regulars
The regular option is a rather unique setting in Nightbot. Here, you can
reward loyal supporters as Regulars, granting them some extra access to
your Nightbot settings and also making them immune to the spam filter
on the chatbot. Channels generally have very few Regulars, since having a
lot of Regulars can often clog up your chat.
You can add and remove Regulars from Nightbot either through the
Regulars page on the Control Panel or through the regular command in
the chat. You can Add User on the Regulars page and enter the username
or YouTube channel ID of the user you wish to appoint as a Regular. On
the same page, you can also delete appointed Regulars.
AutoDJ
AutoDJ is nearly a full-fledged DJ system included in Nightbot. It allows
users to recommend songs, and also contains a music player alongside a Copyright attribution: Nightbot
Nightbot song requests

queue of upcoming songs in the stream. Using the settings in AutoDJ, you
can enable or disable the recommendations of viewers from being added to
the queue, or clear the queue itself. You can also add a song as a moderator
or manager.
There are a number of settings that AutoDJ includes. You can set the
minimum level of users who can recommend songs as well as the providers
(such as YouTube) from which songs can be requested. You can also select
your default playlist that must play if your queue is empty. You can set a
queue length under 100 and limit the included sings to a specific playlist.
You can set a maximum number of songs that can be recommended by a
particular user level and also exempt certain user levels from this limit.
There are also checks on the quality of content and the genre that can be
added to the queue.
Spam Protection
Nightbot provides great options to protect your cat from spam comments.
You can blacklist words or phrases from the chat allowing messages having
these to not be posted. You can also prevent all caps or majority caps mes-
sages on the chatbot. You can prevent chatter from posting emotes or links
in the chat window, and from including too many symbols in their messages.
Additionally, you can prevent them from repetitive messaging, or repetition
of words or phrases in the same message. Copyright attribution: Nightbot
Spam Protection in Nightbot

Conclusion
Nightbot is a very innovative chatbot that gives a number of new and unique
levels of access to both the chat moderators and the stream viewers. Through
Nightbot, viewers can experience video game streams in an all new way,
and participate in them as well. Chatbots such as Nightbot help streamers
and viewers interact in an all new way.
This chapter dealt with how you can configure Nightbot and the various
options included therein. We covered commands in Nightbot, configuring
giveaways, appointing managers and regulars, as well as setting up AutoDJ
and spam protection.
If you are a budding game streamer, Nightbot is a great option for you
to interact with the greatest number of viewers during your streams.
Chapter #08
Copyright attribution: Amazon

Configuring the
Stream Deck
Things can get super complicated
with live streaming. Thankfully,
there is one device to make all these
things easier and manageable - Elgato
Stream Deck.
Configuring the Stream Deck 71
Introduction
Created by Elgato, Stream Deck is a hardware device. It is also referred to as a
physical switcher that allows users to perform actions like pushing a button
to switch between the scenes, or change the cameras, mute themselves, or
perform any action they want. Stream Deck is not just a regular keypad
loaded with fancy buttons, but it is more like a customisable solution that
can make your videos easier and highly manageable. It is available in three
sizes, and each of them essentially has a mini keyboard. Each key of this
keyboard can be customized for showing any icon that the user is willing
to take, and they can also precede with any series of actions by pressing the
keys. The actions taken by the users are entirely targeted at the streamers
so that many integrations can work with the variant tools like control
mics, screens, and OBS. However, there are various other integrations
such as social media push, media controls, and many more. The basic and
most common utility for the Stream Deck tool refers to switching scenes
in OBS, toggling mics, playing sound, or triggering any action with other
tools such as Twitter.
Stream Deck Sizes

Stream Deck is available in three different sizes, and you can easily get
them on Amazon. If you are interested, you can explore all three sizes of
this device and learn which one you like the most.
• Stream Deck XL (32 keys)
• Stream Deck (16 keys)
• Stream Deck (6 keys)
Which size you go with totally depends on the amount of functions that
you would like to map to the Stream Deck. Also, the Stream Decks support
folders so you can pack in more shortcuts within a single folder and get
more done with a smaller size.
Before you get started with the Stream Deck, let’s look at certain terms -
• Keys - keys are the actual physical buttons present on this device.
• Actions - actions refer to the event that can occur when any key on the
Stream Deck is pressed.
• Multi-actions - multi-actions refers to macros that allows users to group
various actions all into one. it also refers to the action of triggering one
or more than one action with an individual key press
• Profiles - profiles in Stream Deck allude to the key-to-action mappings,
and each profile has its own individual mapping for the keys. And you
can have one of the keys set to allow users to switch profiles.
How can I use Stream Deck for live video streaming?

The primary reason you should use Stream Deck for live streaming is
that it makes things easy. While running any live stream, you have to pay
attention to several aspects at the same time. And you have to remember
the short-cut keys for every single application or service that you are using.
For example, your mute key might be ‘Shift+M’ and you might have a video
transition mapped to ‘Ctrl+M’. In the heat of the moment, if you press the
wrong key, you might end up with the wrong action. But with the Stream
Deck, you have a visual representation under each key. A mute button looks
like a microphone with a cross over it. And it changes when you do mute
Copyright attribution: Engadget
Stream Deck Sizes
your mic. There is little possibility of getting things wrong with a Stream
Deck. And it’s also angled in a way that everything appears clearly visible
when the Stream Deck is placed right in front of you.
With the Elgato Stream Deck, you can have a quick overview of the
actions, and you can push the button to accomplish whichever action you are
willing to take. This could be referred to as something as easy as changing
anything in a scene, switching, or triggering a countdown timer. Once you
have used the commands for a while, you will realize that you will not look
down as you can easily memorize the buttons and their location.
Key features of Stream Deck

And it’s not restricted to just live streaming applications. You can use the
Stream Deck with video editing applications, Microsoft Excel and practi-
cally any software that uses shortcut keys. Let’s look at some of the other
features of the Stream Deck.
Copyright attribution: Pocket-lint

Streaming Games of Stream Deck
• Linux Compatible: Stream Deck devices are not officially compatible

with Linux out of the box. You only get the software for Windows and
macOS. However, you can use Streamdeck-UI, an open-source package
to enable plug-and-play functionality.
• Multi-device: Users can easily connect and configure multiple Stream
Deck devices on one system
• Brightness control: Stream Deck supports controlling the bright-
ness of the device from both, the buttons on the device and from the
user interface
• Configurable button display: Each button can be configured to display
Icon Only, Text Only, or Icon + Text
• Multi-action support: Run commands, write text and press hotkey
combinations at the press of a single button on your Stream Deck.
• Folders: supports multiple pages of buttons and dynamically setting
up buttons to switch between those pages
• A uto reconnects: Stream

Deck automatically
reconnect if the device is
unplugged or replugged.
Copyright attribution: DPReview

• Import or export: Stream
Deck facilitates saving or
restoring the configuration
in the device.
The communication with
the Stream Deck device is
empowered by the Elgato STream Deck Features
Stream Deck Library (Python).
Elgato Stream Deck: Quick Start Guide

Stream Deck does not come with an array of settings or configurations, but
you can go for the general configuration. And the fact that you can share
your configurations makes it easy to get started quickly by importing con-
figurations built by other Stream Deck users.
Step 1: Connect Stream Deck

You have to connect the Stream Deck directly to your Mac or PC using a
USB port. Keep in mind you should not use a USB hub.
Step 2: Download the Stream Deck app

Download and install the Stream Deck application from the official website.
Step 3: Launch and customise Stream Deck

Launch the application and customise it on your device. For this, check out
which action you want from the panel on the right-hand-side of the screen
and drag the action and drop it on to the desired key on the left panel.
Step 4: Use custom icons

Now you can configure your actions along with personalising the custom
icon keys. Also, use 72 × 72 pixels, .png files, or .jpg files to obtain the
best results.
Step 5: Create folders

You can drag and hold any one key over the other for creating a folder.
Now tap the back key for an exit, and it will return you to your main
configuration page or home panel.
Step 6: Right-click keys for modification

You can right-click the keys to copy, reset, or delete the commands.
Step 7: Use Stream Deck stand

You can prop the Stream Deck device on the stand and adjust its legs for
obtaining desired access. Certain Stream Deck devices don’t come with an
adjustable stand. However, the angle of the stand is quite comfortable to
begin with.
Step 8: Social media and More Actions

You can integrate your social media accounts into your device to connect
with your fans. You will have to connect your social media handles to the
Stream Deck application to enable the API to use Stream Deck’s functions.
For example, Twitter allows you to Tweet and change the name.
On the bottom of the main UI, you will find a button that reads More
Actions. This opens up a whole new set of possibilities. You can pick from
several more services which can be mapped to the Elgato Stream Deck.
Only the popular ones come preinstalled on the Stream Deck. You can con-
nect your Elgato Wave Link application to connect with your Wave Link 3
microphone. Or you can use a stock market tracker API to track stocks that
you are interested in. There’s also Visual Studio 2017 and 2019 integration
aside from many other features. Elgato also provides the Stream Deck SDK
for building your own applications and connectors.
Step 9: Macros
Now that you have understood Stream Deck’s configuration, you will be
more interested in exploring its multi-actions or macros. You can use these
macros to open and close the applications, send tweets, trigger keyboard
shortcuts, change the brightness, switch profiles, colours, and perform
many other functions. Let us explore some of the possibilities with macros.
• Day-to-day actions - Control the music and lights.
• Pre-streaming actions - Putting out tweets, or posts on your social media
handles before going live. You can have a predefined tweet which reads
like this, “Hey, I’m live on Twitch. {Channel URL}”. And send it just as
you are starting your live stream.
• Video editing - There are numerous short cut keys in most video editing
applications. You could map, let’s say, an audio transition from Premiere
Pro or a Ripple Delete shortcut.
• Colour correction - Adobe Premiere Pro also has Lumetri for making
colour corrections to your videos. You can configure shortcuts for the
different LUTs and profiles.
Example Stream Deck profile for live streaming Copyright attribution: Fritz on the Web
Setting up your Stream Deck Device in Ecamm Live

Let’s talk about how to configure your Stream Deck device in Ecamm Live.
One of Stream Deck’s best aspects is that it allows users to plug and play
at their convenience. In simple words, the users can easily plug it into the
device and follow a few steps to configure it.
When you initially connect Stream Deck along with opening Ecamm
Live, you will see a message for where you would be required to click ‘Install
Now,’ and you can add this plugin to your device.
You can now scroll down the list of actions in the Stream Deck to find
the Ecamm Live session.
Smart Home Controls

The Elgato Stream Deck also allows you to connect to smart home devices
and manage them. Homey by Athom is a popular service which connects
to over 50,000 smart devices across more than 1,000 manufacturers.
The Elgato Stream Deck allows you to integrate with Homey so if you have
a smart light or a smart air-conditioner then you can control them remotely
with the Stream Deck.
Conclusion
It can be argued that the Stream Deck is an object of convenience. The
endless possibilities make it much more versatile than using it for just
live streaming. And if you can code, you can always use the SDK to build
custom functions. Over time, you might realise that the Stream Deck is less
of a luxury and more of a necessity.
Chapter #09
78 How to configure obs for your computer
Copyright attribution: HappyGamer

How to
configure obs
for your
computer
Quick start and excellent guide to configure
OBS for the hardware in your PC
INTRODUCTION:
Live video streaming is popular among gamers and influencers. Everyone
wants a high-quality video stream that is more interactive and engaging
with the switching of scenes and a perfect mix of all parameters.
How to configure obs for your computer 79
Streaming quality videos is based on the following features: the quality

of the web camera, microphone, and speed of the internet connection.
Even with the best-in-class hardware, you need a good quality broadcaster
software that is flexible and configures well with the hardware. You can
use ready made solutions with existing hardware but that won’t compen-
sate for the nuances of your hardware. Also, using ready-made solutions
can hardly make your stream stand out from the rest. Open Broadcaster
Software (OBS) allows you to customise several aspects of your stream
and is a powerful solution that can make it appear as if you’re streaming
from a professional studio. If you are using Windows, then OBS is the
most popular choice.
Streaming with OBS at first instance may be daunting but with little
understanding of the software and troubleshooting methods, you can
master it.
Setting up OBS for your hardware:

When you are loading OBS for the first time, you can see the Auto-Configu-
ration Wizard. For those who want to get started up as quickly as possible,
you can choose the auto-configuration wizard and follow the prompts.
There are many parameters in OBS that need to be configured. Important
parameters like recording, encoder, bitrate, resolution, streaming provider,
Picture 1: Autoconfiguration wizard of OBS

and more need hardware know-how for proper configuration. These settings
if configured incorrectly can bring your system to a crawl.
Figure 2: Autoconfiguration wizard setting for the video.
For the first time users, when you’re using the Wizard it will try to
read the PC’s hardware configuration and will request you to choose the
video settings and with the resolution and FPS, you can choose the current
resolution and 30 FPS as the frame rate.
After selecting the video quality, it will ask for stream information,
You can select your live streaming service from the drop list as Twitch,
Youtube, Facebook, restream, or Twitter and provide the stream key.
Stream Key:
The first thing that is required in all accounts is the generation of a stream
key. Logging in directly with your credentials is the easiest way.
If you are on Twitch. tv,
1. Login to your account.
2. In the dashboard, on the menu, look for the headers section.
3. Under the header section, click channel and click the stream key.
4. When you click the show stream key option, the key will be displayed.
5. Copy the text and enter the key into OBS.
Now OBS is configured to your channel on just that platform. Here’s
it’s configured for Twitch. You can always generate a new key by logging
into the account settings and changing the stream key regularly is a good
practice because anyone with your stream key can stream to your channel.
OBS supports live streaming on Youtube, Twitch, Facebook or any other
platform that provides a stream key. Let’s check out the settings for OBS.
Settings in OBS:
The main page of OBS looks like this. Click on settings button.
Figure 3: Main page of OBS.
Figure 4: Settings section of obs displaying general options.

We can see there are sections called scenes, sources, Audio mixer, Scene
transitions, and Controls. Under controls sections, click settings.
General :
In the general section, choose dark as the default theme. Other sections do
not need Changes.
Streaming :
In this section, you can choose your service in which you are going live. Select
one of the services included in the dropdown. Pre-defined live streaming
profiles are present for YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and Twitter. Obtain
the stream key from your login credentials and feed it here.
Output:
At the output tab, choose the advanced section. It is the output mode that is
going to determine the quality of your live streaming and your PC perfor-
mance. Advanced more provides more options to configure the recording
and streaming of the video. It is recommended to not change from simple
mode, unless you need it.
Bitrate for video and audio can be configured in the output mode as
follows. You can always go higher if your streams are stable.
• Video bitrate: 6500 kbps.
• Audio Bitrate: 128.
The maximum video bitrate for live streaming on certain platforms is
limited. If you set more than that, then the platform will not accept your
stream. These guidelines change every now and then so keep checking the
help pages of the platform to know if they’ve increased the ingest quality.
Audio:
It is based on the number of audio sources that are used in live streaming.
You can pull in multiple audio sources and layer them in different channels.
You can also change the sampling rate, and select the number of Desktop
audio devices per channel. Ideally, for recording videos and streaming at
the same time, try to keep the audio sources on different channel. So that
when you are editing your videos for highlights, you can disable unwanted
audio channels. Also, configure hotkeys for switching between push-to-
mute and push-to-talk as per your preferences. You can also do the same
under the hotkeys tab in the settings page.
Video:
Under the Video tab, choose the resolution rate for output
Choose the base canvas resolution as 1920 x 1080 and the Output reso-
lution as 1920 x 1080 or whatever you want your stream to be. Always
remember that streaming in a higher output resolution with lower bitrate
will drop your stream quality. The two parameters have to match. You can
refer to the platform guidelines to know how the optimal values.
Also, the frame rate takes up a lot of data. Doubling the frame rate from
30 FPS to 60 FPS literally doubles the upload bandwidth requirement.
Again, each platform as limits on frame rates and for most streams 30 FPS
is more than enough. You can switch to 60 when you upgrade to a better
internet plan. On YouTube, a 4K stream with 60 FPS requires a bitrate of
20,000 to 51,000 Kbps. That means you need a steady upload bandwidth
Figure 5: Streaming of output mode ( video bitrate and audio bitrate selection)
of 50 MBps and each hour will take up close to 22 GB of data. If your plan
is generous with data and bandwidth, go for it. If not, switch to something
more sensible.
Encoder:
Changing encoder settings is vital for good streaming. Encoders compress
your video to be compatible with as many devices as possible. You have
to choose the encoder depending on the expected output balancing the
compatibility, size, and quality. For a functional quality video, changing
the configuration setting is recommended.
Most software packages have an encoder as a part of the application. In
OBS, x.264 is used. If you have additional hardware such as an NVIDIA
graphics card, then you might see options for additional encoders such
as NVENC. Picking NVENC will cause OBS to use the graphics card for
encoding the video and free up your CPU for other work. However, not all
encoders provide the exact same video quality. Discrete capture cards are
usually capable of higher quality captures.
Advanced output mode:

For more options in the output mode, you can choose the advanced output
mode section. Under this section, you have to set the rate control as CBR
and keyframe interval to 2. The other setting under this section will be
related to the recording of the broadcast. The other settings you can
change are best set to “ same as stream”, indistinguishable quality, mp4,
and x264 formats.
• Recording quality: same as stream
• Recording format: mp4
• Encoder: x.264
Set up audio devices:

Audio devices are very essential to deliver good streaming. There are many
audio sources for your system like speakers, headphones, microphones, and
other devices. There are options to start, pause or stop them on your PC.
To manage these audio devices, use a voice meter. It will enable the OBS
to manage your output and disable others. If you suspect that, more than
an audio device is turned on, you can verify this under the mixer section,
for Voicemeter.
Adding video sources:

OBS will not capture any video in default mode. If you want it to start
capturing video, you need a source.
To add the videos to the source,
1. click the “+ “ button on the sources section.
2. Select your video source from the display.
There are many options to choose from the sources such as Audio input
capture, audio output capture, browser, color source, display capture, game
capture, image, slide show, media source, scene, text, VLC video source,
video capture, and window capture.
If you want to stream your games, click game capture, for sourcing
monitor, click window capture.
3. If you are ready for live streaming, click “ start streaming”.
Hotkeys:
Setting up different scenes inside the live streaming is possible with the
hotkeys. We can set up the hotkeys based on our convenience and switch
between the scenes during a live broadcast.
Streaming with OBS:

With all the necessary steps done, let us move on to the scene section.
1. Delete all the pre-programmed scenes and keep them empty.
2. Click the + button in the scene section. Name the scene.
3. Move to the sources button. Click the + button, navigate to the images
and find an image to upload it.
4. If you want to add a video clip, you can repeat the above section.
5. With desktop audio as the most powerful source, check the audio device
connected to the PC and unmute only the audio device that you are going
to use.
6. Now with one audio source and one video source in the source tab, add
the microphones and webcam to the sources.
7. Now your webcam must pop up on the OBS canvas. The microphone is
shown at the audio mixer tab under a new set of bars.
8. The completely customizable browser is available for streaming.
9. With software configured onto your hardware set up, go live streaming.
Game streaming with OBS:

Streaming PC games with OBS is quick. OBS can detect the games and
import them automatically.
When you select game capture under the source button, you are left
with a couple of options. you can select either fullscreen mode or windowed
mode by selecting the mode in the drop-down box.
Steps:
1. Click the “+” button under sources.
2. Select the game capture option.
3. select mode in the drop-down box.
4. Choose fullscreen or window from the mode.
5. start live streaming.
Stream overlay addition:

Adding an overlay to the live stream is what most streamers prefer. we can
create overlays for making streaming more professional. Adding social
media alerts for new followers, subscribers, and goals are some of them.
To add them, follow these steps:
1. Cick the “+” button under the source menu.
2. Select “ browser source”.
3. Name the source to identify from the list.

4. Paste the URL in the URL box of stream overlay.
5. Adjust the height, width, and frame rate of the overlay matching the
frame rate and output resolution.
The overlay will appear on the screen. Confirm that your social media
links are visible on the top of the stream.
Game streaming with Macbook:

On a Mac, all steps are practically the same.
Troubleshooting tips:
1. For optimising the live stream, try changing the frame rate.
2. Drop the processor load by reducing the output resolution. you can drop
from 1080 pixels to 540 pixels.
3. If streaming is still choppy, you can try changing the bitrate, encoder,
and other presets.
4. Try demo live streaming with your OBS half an hour before your original
live streaming. It will help you to spot the errors in advance.
5. It is always good to add your social media links on the live streaming
page. It will increase your socializing factor and drag more people to
your channel and business.
Conclusion:
Learning a new technique may sound like a good idea but understanding
them is a bit difficult. For enthusiasts who want to learn new things and
update themselves, a little reading on the basics and some troubleshooting
methods do the tricks. Using any software with many buttons to adjust will
be confusing at first and may require extra hands. We are even requested
to invest some money for learning them. In those cases, it is always best to
use free or open-source software. OBS is one such software that is compat-
ible with all devices.
Learning OBS is smooth and with little experimentation, there will be
no problem in navigating the platform. You can also switch from OBS to
Stream lab OBS or other broadcasting software easily once you get the hang
of all the configurable settings and terminologies.
Chapter #10
Improvise, Adapt, Overcome 87
Improvise,
Adapt,
Overcome
Live streaming can be great fun, only if
you have an audience-packed house to
watch you play. Learn how to do it!
Introduction
Live streaming for gamers is one of the most interactive ways to connect
with your audience in real-time for sure, but you have to be really good as
a gamer or do things differently to get traction from your desired audience.
After all, as a gamer, your objective is to have the biggest audience possible,
who can watch you play the game live.
You need to create an immersive and engaging feel for your audience. It
means that you need to keep improving or improvising. Then, adapt to the
new changes, and overcome the impediments to deliver a ‘wow’ feeling to
the viewer. Why will the average viewer come back to watch you play the
game, consistently? You have to be proactively working on growing your
audience by focusing on your stream’s technical aspects and working on
the non-technical factors.
As a gamer who enjoys
streaming their game live, you
will be motivated to showcase
your best gaming skills only
when you are the right people
backing you, sharing their
thoughts, and comments live to
keep you up. So, use the right
strategies to grow your live
audience. What are these? Here
in this chapter, we cover all this
and more.
Live Stream
Using Analytics to Grow
Your Audience
Every channel or platform offers analytical tools, paid and unpaid, that will
help you analyse where exactly you stand. Data is important because it tells
you how well or bad you are doing as it is important to measure the success
or the failure of your streaming sessions to help you improve.
1. YouTube analytics
The tool helps you measure if you are any close to the goals that you have
set for your channel. Remember, this is a real-time metric. The data is right
there in front of you, all you need to do is filter out the information to help
you get meaningful insights about your channel’s performance.
Metrics that help are:

• Subscribers
• Views received in the last 48 hours or real-time views
• Top videos, channel views
• Channel watch time
Real-Time Views
• U
nique viewers
• Average views per viewer
You also have other kinds of data like the duration the viewers are on
YouTube, demographics of the audience, impressions, click-through rate,
traffic sources, the relevant search terms that generate viewers for you,
views, video subscribers, watch time, retention of the audience, likes and
dislikes, end screen reports, top playlists, and more. You can also use third-
party tools like Google Analytics or Hootsuite to enhance your audience.
2. Facebook Analytics
Facebook live video can be used to create a loyal audience, but you need
the analytics here too, to understand if things are going well for your live
streams or not. Performance Insights help you understand the total minutes
for which the video has been viewed in the past 28 days.
Loyalty insights help assess the audience engagement, while audience
insight enables you to understand where they are coming from and who
the viewers are. Similarly, there is retention insight too.
For a live stream gamer, it is the metrics, peak live viewer metrics that
help understand peak viewing – when it happens. You can then adjust the
content of your live stream accordingly.
3. Twitch Analytics
Channel Analytics helps Twitch live streamers understand their viewers’
details and metrics, revenues, and viewer engagement.
You can understand the metrics using:

• Average viewers
• Live views
• Subscriptions
• Revenue
• Minutes watched
• Time streamed
• Followers
• Maximum viewers
• Unique viewers
• Raid viewers
• Unique chatters
• Chat messages, and more.
Mobile Video Streaming Concept
Ways to Increase Your Live Stream Audience: Non-Technical
1. Be clear about why you want to stream your game live

There are two reasons that a viewer, especially in the millennial crowd,
watches a gamer live stream.
One, because you are too good at the game – you have earned a reputation
for your game-playing skills, and your viewers want to learn the gaming
skills from you.
Second, because you want to build a community of like-minded people.
Identify, which is for you!
2. Work on your on-screen persona

For getting more audience on a live stream, you not only need to be enter-
taining and interactive, but you also cannot be sitting silently and playing
your game; you should be comfortable and confident in your skin.
You may be animated, expressive, and talkative, or you may be silent,
and an introvert; on-screen personality is about you being happy with who
you are. Your viewer should be able to feel that connection because you are
so comfortable with yourself.
3. Building relational value through participation from viewers

Tell people about yourself, your experience, your life, your schedule, your
mindsets, and so on. When you share, you will have the audiences also open
up. It makes you more realistic and connection-worthy. You must encourage
the viewers to participate in dialogues with you – you can play the game with
your viewers, which is one of the popular ways to connect with them. However,
if your audience comes to watch you play because you are a superb game
player, focus on playing the game. That will add value to their experience.
Live streaming
4. Be genuinely interested
The interest has to be in the game, such as the win or defeat matters to you.
When you show that kind of attitude, your viewers are involved too, almost
to the same extent, and cheer with you when you make winning moves.
People can see that you are trying hard to win the game. People appreciate
such authentic efforts.
5. Responding to comments and chats

It is one of the important aspects of live streaming. If you are too focused
on your game, that’s understandable. If you are not too much into the game
and still not responding, your viewers will lose interest soon. It will not
impress them, and they will realise that the streaming is of no value. Hence,
you need to respond promptly to comments.
6. Align your stream with the new features launched by YouTube,

Facebook, or Twitch
It is called smart working. The more your stream appears to be aligned
with the latest features, the faster it will work. A lot of it is because these
platforms work day and night to introduce added features to make your
work easy and fast.
7. Looks matter
Okay, this does not mean that you need to be a supermodel and dressed to
kill like a celebrity. Ensure that you are comfortable with the entire concept
of live streaming; that should show on your face. Plus, look professional –
shabby looks do not count. Ensure that your graphics are good and credible.
8. Be spontaneous
Never keep the spark going when playing live. It would help if you are
impressive and surprise your audience, which means you should be crea-
tive; try new things that your audience may not expect. Yes, it would help
if you kept playing the game; after all, your audience is here to see you
play. More than that, ensure that you have creative things happening
throughout the stream; people will want to come back to see those dif-
ferent things every time.
Pay Attention to the Technical Aspects

The technicalities are very important during live streaming. You can have
fun when the set-up is right. So, a lot of stress has to be laid on this aspect.
Typically, YouTubers or gamers record their gaming sessions and do not
live stream. They feel that the equipment required for the live stream is
more high-end and costly than recorded shows. The truth is that one needs
to be just a little smarter and get things going.
Live Streaming
1. Hardware
Gamers can choose to stream directly from their console or use a PC. Going
in with the former can come with few limitations, but if you wish to make
the stream look professional, choose the latter option. Gamers need to find
the right hardware set-up to stream while playing the game online. It is
because most of your games are hardware-intensive. Choose to speak to
an expert before you plan a streaming session.
Blogger Influencer Recording Video
2. Using a capture card

A capture card captures the game from one device and live streams it on
the current device. Whether you are playing on a console or on your PC,
you need a high-quality capture card to record the video and audio from
these devices to play on the streaming PC.
This way, your game performance will not get affected when playing
live. There are many options available – internal and external cards with
HDMI quality for capturing HD-quality recordings.
3. Display monitors
A gamer must have at least two monitors for an impressive and immersive
session in a live session. One monitor can get a bit crowded with too many
software programs running on the same PC. With two monitors, one can
be used for the game session, and the other for the technicalities related
to streaming.
4. Face cam
You get monitors with built-in webcams and lights explicitly made for
streamers, or you would need to buy an independent camera and lights.
You can choose to go ahead with 720p or 1080p. Ensure that you frame
your shots relevantly so that your face is close to the camera.
5. Lighting
Ring lights, LED panels or box lights are good to start with. However, if
budget is an issue, you can choose to go ahead with your home lights. You
can keep your set-up close to a window or the lights at home.
6. Backgrounds
For impressive backgrounds, you will need to use certain specific software
programs. However, if you wish to impress and engage your viewers better,
go in with the green screen background. It takes time to set-up and take-
down, but it is worth all the effort.
7. Microphone
It is one of the most important elements in live streaming, especially games.
For once, your audience might forgive the low video quality, but they will
not be so understanding and tolerant when it comes to low audio quality.
You can choose between headphones, desktop-microphone, or even off-
camera microphones. Gamers often use USB microphones, which are
impressive too. These are specially made for live streamers. There are
also innovative microphones, for example, the tap-to-mute button on
the top of the mike.
8. Taking care of the echo

Go in for rooms with curtains and carpets because the sound echo is better
handled by these elements than an empty, bare space. You can use sound-
proofing panels too.
9. Other hardware set-ups

It would help if you focused on hardware like gaming controllers and
keyboards, which are more of your personal choice. If you need to type a
lot during the game, go in for the quieter keyboards. There are keyboards
built for silent operations, you can invest in the same.
10. Stream deck

It is a panel of buttons that is used by gamers to switch settings during the
stream. They also help load sound effects.
There are other software tools, too, free and paid to get you started on
the stream. You can also go in for a mini fan so that you are kept cool during
hours of live streaming during summers. You can also choose from exten-
sions like Twitch extensions, available for free to make the experience more
engaging and winning for the viewer.
Legalities that You Need to Know

Live streaming is great fun, but you also need to pay attention to the coun-
try’s laws and legalities from a broader perspective. It is a good idea to first
get accustomed to the laws, rules, and regulations before planning a live
streaming session. There are music clearances, artist clearances, content
moderation, and other related issues.
Live streaming
Remember, every channel has its set of terms and clauses when it comes
to copyright issues. YouTube has a strict policy for live streams. All third-
party content that is featured on your live session is scanned. There would
Live Streaming on Smartphone
be a placeholder image placed on the stream, and you will get warnings.
You would need to stop the third-party content from continuing with the
stream or take a license from the owner to use in your stream.
Similar is the case with Facebook live streaming and on Twitch. Your
account can get suspended or shut down for violation of the TOS Agreement.
The best is for you to be extra cautious when using third-party content and/
or planning all of it in the right way.
Conclusion
Live streaming is a world of new experiences. It is intoxicating and gives
the gamer in you an indefinable kick, provided you take care to do it the
right way. Whether you are a gamer who is unsurpassable in their gaming
skills or someone who wishes to make new connections and build a strong,
loyal community when you need to live stream, do it in a manner that leaves
your audience superbly delighted and involved. The more the viewers are
drawn into your game and the session, the better the results will be for you.
If you are a pro in live streaming and wondering where your audience has
gone, you need to work on your presentation and content to get back the
viewership. Keep doing things differently and creatively to keep the online
audience absorbed in your game.
Now that you are ready to ‘Improvise, Adapt and Overcome,’ get ready
for the next chapter to add another competitive edge to your live stream
gaming session.

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Volume 16 | Issue 02 | february 2021

What to stream?  Improve quality of audio

Free With Digit February 2021

18 Creating a PC for Gaming and Streaming

28 Green screens and mixers

38 Beating the Algorithm Like a Boss

46 Improve Quality of Audio and Video

Chief Editor Sr. Art Director

Managing Editor Sr. Visualiser

54 Engage Your Audience

62 Configuring a Chat Bot - Nightbot

70 Configuring the Stream Deck

78 How to configure OBS for your computer

87 Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

Volume 16 | Issue 02 | february 2021

© 9.9 Group Pvt. Ltd. to

(Formerly known as Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Private Limited) livestreaming

written permission of the publisher.

Mediaworx Private Limited), please write to editor@digit.in with details

free With Digit february 2021

If you want us to create a customised Fast Track for you in order to

something else to entertain them with. Think of yourself as the content

Copyright Attribution - The SportsGeek.com

A word cloud without all the memes

Tabletop Game Streaming

Copyright Attribution - Web DM Plays

Popular games to stream

2. Old School Runescape

Old School Runescape

in Olympus, but is forced by his father to remain in the Underworld. Using

frequent updates to the game. Some people stream League of Legends

Become a Successful Livestreamer

Þ Tips for becoming one

Game distribution platforms

Copyright Attribution - pandasecurity.com

Next, you need to get involved in a community.

YouTube Gaming Platform

A typical PC Gaming setup

Streaming and console gaming PC builds

Streaming build on a budget (approx. `45,000)

• E VGA SuperNOVA GM 450 as a power supply

Solid streaming PC build (approx. `80,000)

• SI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Motherboard

MSI GEFORCE GTX

Streaming build for hardcore gaming (approx. `1,30,000 )

Here are the components you need to assemble the beast:

Intel Core i5 10th Gen

Streaming build for the professionals (approx. `2,00,000)

Here are the components you need to build this monstrosity:

Streaming build ultimate edition (approximately $5800)

NVMe SSDs can really speed things up

screens, the aim is to differentiate the background from the foreground so

What’s a green screen?

Typical Green Screen

You will use program such as OBS Studio, Streamlabs, XSplit,

1. Fancierstudio Chromakey Green Screen Kit

the upper bar in the

2. Emart Collapsible Green Screen - Highest Rated

• E asy to carry and lightweight

What is the Secret of Chroma key?

A typical Chroma Key set used in Films.

relatively small. If you need to chromakey a full-body shot of a host or a

It’s all in the lighting

What to stream? Improve quality of audio