How I Livestream

I really enjoy livestreaming. And when I got asked if I had a post detailing my setup (thanks Chrissy LeMaire) I realized that something like that would have been extremely helpful for me when I got started doing this. So, here goes!

Oh, and before I dive into things, please keep in mind that I’m no expert on this topic, I’m simply sharing the way that I do things to help out any poor souls who want to stream, but may not be familiar with the tools required.

My livestream setup

Hardware

Lets start with hardware!

Audio

For my audio, I didn’t actually purchase anything because I already had a microphone, sound board, and headphones from a bygone era where I wanted to get into recording music. That is a whole other story that isn’t at all PowerShell related and thus, luckily for me, out of scope!

• MXL 990 microphone
• Yamaha MW10 sound board
• Sennheiser HD380 Pro headphones (with a few nibble marks from one of my beloved pooches.)
• Stedman Proscreen XL pop filter

I’m a believer in second hand products, so I bought the mic, mixer, and headphones all second hand. The mic and sound board off Craigslist and the headphones from eBay.

You’ll also notice in the picture that I have a blanket hanging on the wall directly in front of my set up, even an old moving blanket like that does wonders for high frequency reverb.

Video

I asked a friend of mine that streams somewhat professionally and she recommended the Logitech c920 which you’ll notice sitting on top of my center monitor.

Also, not shown in the picture, is a the green screen I bought. I can’t find it on Amazon any more, but it is simply a big sheet of green muslin cloth that was bundled with a couple of plastic clamps. Cost me $30 and then a couple of bucks at the local hardware store to pick up a wooden dowel to hang it from.

Computer

I’ve got a Dell Precision 5810 that I’m quite happy with and even though you are probably thinking that this is overkill for what I do, you should know that I also found it on Craigslist and got quite a good deal for it:

• Xeon E5-1620 (3.5GHz, quad core)
• 32GB RAM
• Nvidia GTX 960
• SSD storage
• 2x Dell P2314H
• 1x Dell P2417H (the vertical one)

Why does a precision have a gaming card in it? Because the Quadro that was originally in this tower didn’t have 3 DisplayPorts.

Oh, and I have the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard it is amazing and I highly recommend it. No marked keycaps for me since I type on the Dvorak layout and I’m still waiting for them to come out with a Dvorak keycap set.

Software

I use Streamlabs OBS. This was also recommended to me by my streamer friend, it is essentially a re-skinned OBS with some streaming specific features.

Setup

I want to start by running through the settings that I have configured in Streamlabs OBS:

• On the Stream tab, make sure and add your stream key.
• On the Output tab, set your video bitrate. This will be limited by your computer hardware and internet connection. I run my stream at 6000.
• On the Audio tab, make sure you have your mic selected.
• On the Video tab, make sure your Base and Output resolutions match and are the same size as your screen’s resolution, this will help keep your video clear.

To setup your output in Streamlabs OBS, you first create what they call a Scene, marked 1. in the screenshot. In my list you can see 3 scenes, one for each type of work that I do with OBS. I’m going to focus on the Main scene for the next bit.

Each scene is then comprised of a selection of ‘Sources’ marked 2.. In the example screenshot I’ve got 3 sources, my monitor which is called Left Monitor (even though it is my center monitor…), my webcam which is called Video Capture Device, and the chat box, which I’ll get into further down.

Lastly you have the Mixer marked 3.. You’ll notice that I have my DesktopAudioDevice1 turned all the way down, this is my computer audio and I’m choosing to leave that muted while I stream. My mic, however, is turned all the way up in OBS since I can control the gain and volume on my sound board.

Sources

The source that I want to focus on to demonstrate how to add them to Streamlabs OBS is the chatbox, this makes it so that if you do export your videos to YouTube (which you should and I do) the viewer will see the comments that you are responding to. So make sure that when you first launch Streamlabs OBS, you connect it to your Twitch account. Or you can connect it in your Account Settings:

Then, to add a source to Streamlabs OBS, it is just a matter of selecting the plus symbol on the top right of the sources box and selecting the source you want to add, and click Add Source.

Once you’ve added it on there, it will show up as a green box which you can position and resize as necessary.

You can do the same thing with your webcam as well, though it would be a Video Capture Device.

If you want to be cool and use a green screen, right click on your webcam and select Filters and hit the + symbol to add a Chroma Key.

You want to focus on the Similarity, Smoothness, and Key Color Spill Reduction settings to get it to remove the green screen. You’ll notice in my example that you can still see a strip of green, that is because my screen isn’t flat and is hung with some creases. I’ll fix that when streaming starts paying some bills.

Also, when you stream with a green screen, don’t forget to be careful of what you wear! Don’t want to end up with a floating head.

Other tips

• Explain what you are doing as you go along and don’t be afraid to just talk if no one is interacting with you. I often end up having a single sided conversation, but it helps me work through whatever problem I’m trying to solve.
• If you do have folks chatting with you, interact with them! It makes for a fun pair+ programming.
• Keep your dashboard or Streamlabs OBS open on a separate screen so you can view the comments as they come in.

In closing

If you like the PowerShellLive channel on Twitch, take a minute and thank Mark Kraus.

Questions?

Got questions? Ask! Comment below, find me on Twitter, or catch me live on Twitch.