How to Stream or Record Your Games for Broadcast Online?

Game broadcasting online is something trending as online gaming is a worldwide multi-billion-dollar industry that has been rapid in its growth rate. It is estimated that more than 1 billion people around the world now stream games worldwide. Let's take a look at the proper methods to stream or record games that are popular used by gamers below.

Proper Methods to Stream or Record Your Games for Broadcast Online. Photo: Twitch Blog

Why should I stream my games?

Broadcasting games to an audience of strangers might seem a bit... strange. After all, isn’t the fun of gaming playing rather than watching someone play? You might not be the celebrity superstar of your favourite game just yet, but sharing your daring digital pursuits with the world is a worthwhile endeavour. Sometimes you pull off some sweet trick or discover a hidden gem. It is indicated by lifehacker.com that sometimes it’s entertaining to watch someone else screw up. Sometimes the story is so engaging, it’s almost a movie. Watching movies is fun, so why wouldn’t watching cinematic video games be fun?

All those videos you’ve ever watched of people playing games online have to come from somewhere. Broadcasting is easier than ever, and not only do you get to share your experience with other people, but they get to see what a game is like before purchasing it. Basically, if you’re enjoying playing a game, there’s no reason to think other people won’t enjoy watching you play it, too.

How To Record And Stream With Microsoft Mixer

Windows 10 has been making strides to be a better gaming platform. It's now easier than ever to record and stream your games and you don't have to download anything extra. To get started, press Windows key + I to open Settings and go to Gaming.

Recording

For recording settings, go to Game DVR.

By default, recordings will be saved in a Captures folder within Videos. If you want to save to a different location, use File Explorer to move the Captures folder.

The Background recording section gives the ability to automatically record as you play without you specifying it. This is great to capture unexpected moments. Just remember to set Record audio when I record a game to On, otherwise, you'll be stuck with silent clips.

Doing these steps one by one. Photo: Makeuseof.com

The video frame rate and Video quality options will help lower or boost the quality of the recording. If you have a powerful PC, set these to 60 fps and High respectively.

When in a game, press Windows key + G to open the Game bar. Here you can click the recording icon to capture immediately.

Streaming

For streaming settings, go to Broadcasting. If you don't see this option, plug in a microphone or switch it to your primary audio device.

For people to hear you on your steam, slide Record audio when I broadcast to On. For people to see you on your stream, slide Use camera when I broadcast to On.

Photo: Makeuseof.com

You can adjust the settings for each accordingly. It's best to keep Use auto echo cancellation enabled for the microphone.

Windows 10 uses Mixer as the streaming service. Launch your game and press Windows key + G to open the Game bar. Click the Broadcast button and then customize the settings: name of the stream, where your webcam is positioned, whether it should use your microphone, and more.

Your stream can be found online by going to mixer.com/username, with username being whatever your Xbox Gamertag is.

How to stream games on Twitch

When it comes to game broadcasting, there’s Twitch, and then there’s everyone else. (Sorry Mixer and YouTube Gaming.) Twitch allows you to broadcast your gameplay live, embed the stream on your web site or blog and share it to social networks. It even comes with a built-in chat room for your viewers. If you want to share your games online, this is your first stop.

Photo: Twitch help.

For all of the methods in this section, you’ll need to register for a Twitch account—so go ahead and do that here if you don’t already have one.

How To Record And Stream With NVIDIA GeForce Experience

If you have an NVIDIA card, you can use GeForce Experience to record and stream. If you don't already have it, download GeForce Experience directly from NVIDIA.

Recording

Press Alt + Z to open the Share overlay. Click Record > Settings. Here you can set the Resolution, Frame rate, and Bitrate you want your videos to record in. The higher these are, the more strain it'll put on your system and the larger file sizes the videos will be. You can alternatively use Quality preset. Click Save when done.

To edit where your videos are saved, press Alt + Z to open the overlay, click the settings cog, and go to Recordings. When in-game, press Alt + F9 to start and stop your recordings. You can also do this in the Alt + Z overlay.

Photo: Makeuseof.com

You may have heard about ShadowPlay. This is what NVIDIA call the ability to save replays of your games without needing to explicitly press record. You can do it for a certain number of minutes passed; that limit can be edited via Alt + Z > Instant Replay > Settings.

To enable ShadowPlay, press Alt + Z, click Instant Replay, and click Turn on. You can turn it off the same way, though feel free to keep it on if your system can handle it. When in-game, press Alt + F10 to save the replay.

Streaming

Press Alt + Z to open the Share overlay and click the settings cog. Click Broadcast and select Yes to enable streaming. Press Back to return to Settings.

According to the makeuseof.com, you should click Connect and select the service you want to stream to, like Twitch or YouTube, and click Log in. You will be prompted to enter your login information with that service.

Photo: Makeuseof.com

To set your stream settings, return to Settings and go to Broadcast > Customize. Here you can alter the Resolution, Frame rate, and Bitrate. Alternatively, use Quality preset. The higher you choose, the more powerful system and internet connection you'll need.

To begin streaming, open your game and press Alt + Z. Click Broadcast > Start and choose the service. Here you can set a Title, Location, and Audience for your stream. When you're ready, click Go Live.

How to stream on Facebook? - Stream from a Console

Proper Methods to Stream or Record Your Games for Broadcast Online!

Facebook supports streaming from a computer, as well as from any gaming console that has an HDMI port. If you want to stream from a gaming console, you'll need a piece of hardware called a capture card.

We recommend the Elgato HD60S or HD60Pro capture card if you want to stream from your gaming console using OBS or XSplit. HD60 capture cards will stream at 1080p.

If you're streaming from an Xbox, you can stream directly from your console using Xbox Mixer. In this case, you don't need a capture card.

Set up gaming console streaming

1. Buy a capture card. We recommend Elgato HD60S or HD60Pro.

2. Hook up the capture card to your computer.

- Elgato's Xbox One implementation guide

- Elgato's Playstation 4 implementation guide

3.Install the software.

4. Connect an HDMI cord from the console to the capture card.

5. Connect a second HDMI cord from the capture card to a monitor or TV. Now the console will send a video signal directly to your monitor or TV. This shouldn't interrupt your gameplay or cause any lag.

6. Next, follow the implementation steps. You have two options: OBS or XSplit.

- Stream with XSplit

- Stream with OBS

7. Pick Capture Card as your source.

8. Go live. You can go live from Elgato software as well.

How to stream game on Youtube?

Set Up Your Channel

YouTube Gaming has taken a few different forms over the years, but most recently it lives as an alternate tab in the usual YouTube interface. For our purposes, that means you don’t need to download any special apps to stream. If you have a YouTube account (which is tied to your Google account), then you already have everything you need, according to PCMag.

However, you’ll need to verify your account before you can get started. Head to this link while you’re logged in. You’ll be asked to enter a code sent via text message or, if you prefer, via a phone call. Enter this code and your account will be verified. In addition to enabling live streaming, this will also allow you to upload videos longer than 15 minutes, add custom thumbnails to your videos, and appeal Content ID claims if necessary.

Set Up Your Broadcast

Next, you’ll need to get your broadcast software set up. There are a few options, but we’ll be using Streamlabs OBS for this guide, as it’s one of the easier and more robust tools for streaming your games. While some features, like streaming to multiple platforms at once, is limited to the app’s Prime subscription, the free version is powerful enough to handle most of what you’ll need to do.

Once you install the app and log into your streaming account, you’ll be able to start creating scenes. A scene in Streamlabs is a specific arrangement of sources that you broadcast to your audience. By creating multiple scenes, you can save yourself the hassle of rebuilding a particular collection of sources every time you start a stream.

For example, you can have one scene for typical game streaming, one for hanging out, and a special setup if you run a fundraiser or other event. This is similar to how Discord works with multiple channels.

A typical scene can include your game and a webcam feed, but you can add subscription alerts, goal counters, overlays, and a ton more. Streamlabs uses a layer system to place elements on top of each other, and each one can be resized and moved around on the fly. If you find that your webcam feed is covering an important part of your game mid-stream, you can move or resize it.

You’ll also find a collection of audio inputs under the Mixer section. This includes things like your desktop audio and any microphones you have plugged in. If you add any elements with audio components, they’ll show up here as well. You can adjust their relative volume levels to keep your presentation clean.

For example, Streamlabs includes an Alertbox widget that pops up a notification when you get a new follow, subscription, or donation. These usually make a noise, and you can turn down the volume on these so they don’t overwhelm your stream audio.

Time to Start Streaming

Once you’ve got a scene set up to your liking, it’s time to go live. Streamlabs can broadcast to Twitch, YouTube Gaming, or Facebook Gaming. If you subscribe to Streamlabs Prime, you can broadcast to all of them at once.

To start a stream, click the green Go Live button at the bottom of the screen.

Streamlabs OBS interface with streaming game (Source: Streamlabs)

Before you actually go live, you’ll be asked to enter some basic information about the stream you’re starting. YouTube Gaming will have you enter the title of the stream and a brief description. You can also add the stream to an existing event, if you have one.

You can also link your Twitter account to automatically send a tweet notifying your followers that you’re going live. This is especially handy if you have followers on Twitter who don’t get notifications on your streaming platform of choice.

Once you go live, the chat window on the right side of Streamlabs will pop out. This will let you keep an eye on the chat while you stream and moderate any messages or annoying trolls that come through. If you have a second monitor, it’s generally a good idea to keep this app open on it while you stream so you can identify any issues and resolve them quickly when you’re live.

How to get money?

Since monetizing YouTube streams are tied to your regular YouTube account, the same requirements to activate monetization features apply. Your channel will need to be part of the YouTube Partner Program, which means you need at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours in the last 12 months, as well as pass a review from YouTube staff.

Once you reach that point, you can enable ads on your stream, including pre-roll ads that run before someone watches your stream, mid-roll ads that interrupt it, and overlay ads that show up as banners, all of which will generate revenue. If you’re a gaming channel, you can also enable channel memberships, which allow your followers to pay a monthly fee to receive perks you dole out (non-gaming channels must reach 30,000 subscribers to unlock this feature).

Here are the proper methods to stream and record your games through the top 3 popular social platforms. If you find this article interesting, don't forget to share it with your friends!