Maidens of the Kaleidoscope

~Beyond the Border~ => Akyu's Arcade => Topic started by: Helepolis on April 26, 2013, 08:29:41 PM

Title: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: Helepolis on April 26, 2013, 08:29:41 PM

I keep receiving PMs on IRC/MotK and seeing discussions around. So I decided to rewrite a tutorial for streaming. I am sure majority of the people are well aware of the tools and setup, therefore this tutorial is logically for the clueless people. In this tutorial, I will demonstrate a very simple method for streaming using free software.

I won't be using ANY extra recording software like SCFH or Dxtory. I will cover that in the next section. This is for the true dummies among us.

Requirements

---------------------------------	--------------------
Stream account	http://twitch.tv (Best site I experienced so far)
Streaming software	Download OBS (http://obsproject.com/download) (Open Broadcaster Software)

Even if OBS is pretty lightweight, a decent computer. Like quadcore i3/i5 and memory. Specs are always iffy.

Decent internet connection. For low quality 1 Mbps up. Decent quality 3 Mbps and high quality you should have higher than 5 Mbps

※ Step 1 - Installing and setup
I assume you did the boring part such as downloading and registering an account and installing OBS. We will immediately follow up with some setup and pre-configure. Currently, 64bit OBS seems to be bit weird. Suggesting to use 32bit for now in this tutorial.
You need to run the game before setting up. I will be using Touhou 8.

Run the OBS 32bit!
In scenes, right click → Add Scene → Give it a name (optional)
Next column: right click → Add Window → Name it (optional)
This window should pop up

[attach=1]

You can select to display the outer window, but logically we want the inner here.
Now comes the slightly tricky and annoying part.

※ Step 2 - Linking your OBS to Twitch (streaming to your channel)
Remaining task is to show what you're playing to the viewers at your channel. Simple.

Hit the 'Settings' button or use the top menu (both are the same thing)
Go to 'Encoding'

Ok, this is a bit tricky to explain and purely based on experience. First test out your upload speed at speedtest.net and test to a local area. Then set the following bitrate and buffer values.

Max Bitrate & Buffer size table! (put these both similar, since we're keeping it easy)
< 0,5 Mbps → Difficult, but try at 320
~1 Mbps → 640~512
3+ Mbps → 2048

Roughly you should put it at ~60-70% of your speedtest to avoid major lagging. Remember, the lower the bitrate the more blocky/pixelated quality you will get with high motion games (not entirely true but just keep it in mind). This is why streaming decent quality requires decent computer and internet connection.
Next is Broadcast Settings. Make sure everything is similar here.

[attach=2]

Now all we need is your stream key. http://twitch.tv/broadcast (http://twitch.tv/broadcast) you can hit the "show key" to view it.
Copy this key and paste it in the Play Path/Stream Key box. You're done here.

CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION! THIS KEY IS STRICTLY PRIVATE. DON'T GIVE IT AWAY TO ANYBODY.

If you do, it means people can abuse it to stream bad things to your channel. Last thing you want are very bad R-18 Touhou danmaku battles, right? So keep it secure!

Right, now you can switch over to the video section.
Since Touhou 8 runs at 640x480, you can decide to put that.
Audio section you may adjust what you want to transmit to your stream (speakers mostly). Some people like to talk, so for the microphone select your device (or sound device if you use those old plug microphones)

[attach=3]

※ Step 3 - Showing off the Charisma
We're pretty much done. You can save this profile in 'General' section if you decide to use multiple. Time to test this out. Touhou running? Good.

Hit the preview stream button to see whether Touhou is appearing. This will be 1:1 live without delay. If it works, stop preview.
Browse to your own channel on Twitch. Which is mostly 'twitch.tv/YourAccountName' (i.e. http://www.twitch.tv/helepolish)
Hit Start Streaming to launch.

[attach=4]

You should be able to see the auto play demo of Touhou 8 running. All that there is left remaining is some personal tweaking like volume settings and audio settings. I am sure these are pretty straight forward.

Tutorial is still being edited, so apologies for any mistakes in advance. Also trying to shape it as clear as possible.

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: Helepolis on April 26, 2013, 08:30:07 PM

< Reserved for some advanced stuff later >

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: Quad City QBs on April 26, 2013, 09:54:22 PM

Interesting... I might try out Twitch/OBS because Livestream Procaster is pretty rough on th' ol' computer. Do you think my sad little computer could even stream Civ 5 with a setup like this?

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: Helepolis on April 26, 2013, 10:23:10 PM

Depends on your specs Mauller, post some info and perhaps we can see.

I've tried several software and found OBS (Thanks to K's advice on IRC) to be most lightweight and user friendly. It runs at 11-20cpu% for me, compared to Procaster (80-100) and Xsplit (70-90). I've bad experience with FLME (Flash media encoder) because the audio channels are effort. I prefer multi-device so I want to be able to adjust those.

Twitch.tv + OBS + SCFH or OBS alone works pretty well. I personally use Dxtory + OBS (Paid for a license, it is also pretty neat.)

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: Validon98 on April 26, 2013, 10:25:47 PM

The problem for me is that OBS doesn't work with my laptop. At all. So I use FFSplit instead. Still free, and it allows me to record videos right to my computer instead of having to stream them. It's my alternative to not only OBS, but also Fraps or any other recording software (because it can let me record audio directly from my computer, unlike a lot of other recording devices).

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: helvetica on April 26, 2013, 10:35:10 PM

I've been sticking to FFSplit + dxtory myself, but I'm weird and I like doing things the hard way :v

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: BT on April 26, 2013, 10:40:35 PM

Ummnh (http://i.imgur.com/XJlyhLt.png)

Maybe next phantasm.

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: I have no name on April 27, 2013, 12:01:33 AM

I know someone with .4 up who managed to stream, you just have to use a low bitrate.
(I personally have 4 up but use < 20% of it when streaming)

Title: Re: ※ How to stream charismatically [ Streaming setup tutorial ]
Post by: BT on May 01, 2013, 10:44:58 AM

Low bitrate and low FPS? I'm trying to experiment with that bit - I saw 15 FPS being suggested somewhere but that's icky and yucky. If I set it as, say, 25 FPS, what % should my bitrate be at? Is there a good way of estimating this?