ontent:
- What will you need
- How to Stream on Twitch PC (Step by Step)
- Step 1 – Download and Install OBS
- Step 2 – Automatic OBS Setup
- Step 3 – Add Your Sources
- Adding a webcam to OBS Studio
- Step 4. Start broadcasting
- Summarizing
Have you finally worked up the courage to go live and show off your gaming skills to the world? If you’re a PC gamer and want to stream your gameplay, this is the perfect guide.
We’re going to show you how to set up a simple streaming setup in 5 minutes or less. We’ll show you all the basics you need to stream your gameplay, microphone, and webcam if you choose to do so. We won’t go into the fancy stuff like transitions, alerts, etc. here. This is the simplest setting to get you streaming as fast as possible. If you need a more detailed guide, check out this guide.
What will you need
Below is a list of everything you need to start streaming.
- Computer capable of handling games and streaming
- OBS software
- Microphone
- Webcam (optional)
Yes, that’s really all you need. Streaming doesn’t have to be complicated.
How to Stream on Twitch PC (Step by Step)
Just follow the instructions below to start streaming in less than 5 minutes.
Step 1 – Download and Install OBS
The first thing you need to do is download OBS Studio. This is a free broadcast software that allows you to customize and encode the stream.
Click here to download OBS Studio
Select the operating system you are using (most likely Windows). Once downloaded, launch the application to install it on your computer.
Step 2 – Automatic OBS Setup
When you open OBS, the “Auto Setup” wizard will appear. This will install OBS with the settings that work best for your computer, allowing for a smooth stream. Follow the instructions below for the best configuration.
Select “Optimize for streaming, recording is secondary” and click “Next”.
Set the base canvas resolution to 1920×1080 (more than enough for a good stream) and set the FPS to 30. Click next.
You will now be prompted to connect your account. Select “Twitch” as the service and click “Connect Account”. You can simply log into your account and your Twitch account will now be connected to OBS.
You can also connect your stream via a stream key. If you prefer this method, check out this guide to find your Twitch broadcast key.
Once you have connected your account, click Next.
The automatic setup wizard will now analyze your computer and suggest you the best settings for your particular setup. This configurator works pretty well and will get you close to the best settings your computer can handle.
If you are satisfied with these settings, select Apply Settings.
You have now successfully set up OBS for streaming. Now we need to start adding our gameplay, microphone, and webcam.
Step 3 – Add Your Sources
Now that we have OBS set up, we can start adding sources to our stream. The first thing we want to add is our gameplay.
Game source
Go to the sources section at the bottom of OBS -> press the + button -> select Game Capture.
If you play games in full screen mode, you can set the mode to “Capture any full screen application” . This will then take over any game you are playing. If you are playing in windowed mode, select “Capture a Specific Window” and select your game from the window list.
Click OK to save your selection.
Your game will now appear inside your scene.
Scenes: A scene is a collection of different sources (eg Game Capture, webcam, overlays, etc.). You can create multiple scenes and switch between them.
Sources: Sources are the individual components that you use to create a scene.
Sound sources
We can add sound sources to a specific scene in OBS or globally. Global means that your audience will be able to hear that particular audio source no matter what scene you are showing. We’re going to set up our microphone and desktop audio as global. This means you don’t have to add them to every scene you create.
Adding a microphone and desktop sound
To set up global audio sources, go to “Settings” by clicking the settings button in the lower right corner.
In the settings panel, navigate to the “Audio” section on the left side. In this section, you will see “Global Audio Devices”.
The first thing we want to select is our Desktop Audio source. This will usually be your headphones or whatever you have chosen as your system default. Everything that is output through your default device will be heard by your audience, including game audio.
In the Desktop Audio section, select “Default” or the specific output that your audio passes through.
Next, we need to add our microphone so that our audience can hear us. To do this, go to the Mic/Auxillary Audio drop-down list and select the microphone you will be using. For me, it’s a blue yeti.
Now that you’ve selected those audio sources, you can click “Apply” in the bottom right corner.
You will now see two audio sources in the audio mixer. You can apply some filters to the microphone to greatly improve the sound quality. You can also set audio levels by dragging the sound bar to the left or right. You want to make sure your sound is balanced and that one isn’t louder than the other.
Now that we’ve set up the sound, we can add a webcam to our broadcast so our viewers can see us.
Adding a webcam to OBS Studio
Go to sources -> + -> video capture device -> give name to source -> OK
Select your webcam from the Device drop-down menu and click OK.
Your camera will now appear in your scene. Resize the camera to your liking and position it so that it doesn’t get in the way of important game elements.
Your stream is now set up and ready to go. You can add overlays and alerts to your broadcast to make it look more professional, but we won’t cover that in this article. Check out the articles below for more information:
- How to add alerts in OBS Studio
- Best Live Stream Overlays for Twitch
Step 4. Start broadcasting
Once you’ve set up your stream, you can start streaming. Just click the “Start Broadcasting” button in the bottom right corner of OBS.
When you click this button, your broadcast will instantly be streamed to your Twitch channel that we previously connected.
You can check and control your stream by going to the Twitch Creator Dashboard . You can find your creator toolbar by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner -> author toolbar.
You are now successfully streaming your gameplay, microphone, and webcam to Twitch. It’s time to start building an audience.
Summarizing
This is a quick guide to creating your first live stream on Twitch. While there are many more settings you can add to your stream, this is really all you need to get started. If your content is good enough, graphics and overlays don’t really matter. As you start expanding your audience, you will be able to invest more in the production side of your stream. Enjoy streaming.
