Notes from a Live-Streaming Newbie — How I got setup, what I learned, and more 🤓 📹
Never in my life have I streamed on Twitch, until I recently began a journey of learning programming, while sharing to the world the bits and pieces of this path.
Why I chose to stream? ✨
As a code newbie who has a personal passion for community, I want to connect with junior programmers and others who are learning the skills of software and web development.
Through producing and sharing this kind of content, I hope to support this community, too, while simultaneously garnering knowledge and feedback from experts who are more proficient in both streaming and coding than I am.
As a goofball who is a total geek, I like to both entertain and help educate, so Twitch is a great visual platform.
Finding the right tools and making them work 🛠
At first, you’ll think, “Jeez, it’s my first time streaming. I hope my mic works. I hope everything I want to show actually streams. I hope I’m able to keep my audience engaged.”
I give you kudos if in your first ever stream, you were able to display all the windows you wanted, with audio and visuals being absolutely crisp.
This wasn’t me. To be realistic, the first stream is a raw cam check and mic check anyway, so..
Here’s what my setup looks like:
- Software
- Hardware
Logitech Brio webcam — depending on if you’re using video, this is what you can aspire to. I know I may be.
Blue Microphones Yeti (THX Certified) — extremely clear audio output and actually #1 of top 10.
BenQ monitor
Apple Magic Keyboard
Apple Magic Mouse
Macbook Pro
Setup
- I fired up OBS and created a new Scene by clicking the “+” button on the bottom left. Name it however you want to!
2. Then I added a Window Capture. Under the “Source” section, click the “+” again. Click Window Capture.
Choose the window you want to display, and name it.
3. I finished up by adding the video input and the Manifold image. Your mic should automatically connect as an input once it’s connected.
Back to this menu under “Sources”, click Video Capture Device. Click “Create New” and choose the device from the selector. I’m going to select the Logitech camera.
You want to do the same for “Image”.
Click “Image”.
Browse for your image, and select!
5 issues you may run into. I know I did while doing this for the first time while streaming:
- You’ll forget to stream what you want to display from your computer.
- You’ll look kind of lost, depending on how your monitor, laptop and corresponding windows are setup — all while trying to follow along with your team’s support on Slack, the exciting Twitch chat, and of course, doing what you’re actually streaming. Nod your head in an “X” formation three times. Yeah. That’s what basically me my first time, except for almost the entire stream.
- Your mic is muted.
- Two of your mic inputs are on. *Cringe*
- Your code is not readable to the eye.
Here are my 5 solutions (My process is not perfect, though):
- Remember to click “Transition” while streaming with OBS. The Transition button in Studio Mode will display what you’re showing. Here’s a great guide.
2. Ensure the audio inputs you want to stream with are on. In my case, I muted my laptop’s microphone, and ensured the external microphone was on.
3. For display’s sake, on OBS’s settings, my main windows were Fit to Screen and the Video settings were on output resolution of 1920x1080.
4. My team’s support — they lent their eyes and ears during both prep and the stream. If you don’t have work with a team, ask a buddy if they can help! All you’ll need is someone who will hear and follow your stream — both during your stream and after, so you can refine for next time.
5. Thus, you should record yourself. It’s a refinement process, if you want to be a better streamer.
What I want to improve on, and where I’m kind of stuck 🆘
- How do I keep the audience informed and engaged throughout the stream?
- How do I improve my intro and outro?
- How do I multi-task clearly while streaming?
- How do I gain more confidence in presenting myself?
I’ve been sifting through some guides, and Reddit has some great material on mental prep.
Even Mike Delgado’s blog post about engagement is pretty handy, as it discusses the correlation of video length to audience engagement.
Generally, I plan to dive deep into r/Twitch and even this gold mine.
Do you have any advice on how to stream or prepare better?
If you have experience streaming, what was your experience like streaming the first time? I’d love to give you a shoutout on the stream and/or twitter. You can email me, too!
