How to Stream on Twitch: The Dallas Edition

Twitch, a globally renowned streaming platform is now rolling with an average of 3.8 million streamers and a whopping 1.4 million concurrent viewers. These aren’t small figures and the popularity of Twitch is only expected to grow.

You could be a hardcore gamer or an Esports enthusiast living in downtown Dallas who never missed out any Dallas Fuel highlights but you don’t have to be a fan forever. Your passion for the game can take a lucrative turn but only if you learn how to stream your gaming shenanigans on Twitch.

To your surprise, you don’t have to be tech-savvy to set up your Twitch account. Compared to YouTube it might not be easy to set up your streaming gear, but it’s not too time-consuming either.

Here’s how you should start streamlining things to get started on Twitch as a streamer:

Create a Twitch Account

Surely, this one is a no-brainer but there are intricacies involved in creating a Twitch account that many new users tend to ignore. Before you click on the Sign-Up link, make sure you have thoroughly gone through Twitch’s community guidelines. As a gaming-centric streaming platform, Twitch is quite strict with its policies and ensures no instances of dubious or hateful content are ever observed on this platform. Twitch also keeps updating its guidelines so despite being a regular Twitch user, do occasionally check for updates.

Choose a Streaming Software

Now on to the main concern – the streaming software. There are many software programs one can choose from so you aren’t short on options:

XSplit

Live streaming on Twitch with XSplit is smooth but it doesn’t come free. XSplit is a paid software and is equipped with an array of features that allow customization. Streamers can choose to add overlays, chat widgets, and animations to keep viewers engaged.

Here’s the XSplit Broadcaster user manual.

Streamlabs OBS

We kept the free version second on the list because the taboos revolving around free streaming software do not tend to take into account the value they hold. If you’ve just entered the Twitch streaming scene and are short on equipment, there’s no better selection than Streamlabs OBS. Your FPS quality is guaranteed not to face a glitch, no drop in streaming whatsoever, and you can even customize your streaming window with multiple widgets or animations.

Here’s Streamlabs’ official set-up guide.

High-speed internet

Living in Dallas, you aren’t deprived of high-speed internet connectivity, rather you have an array of ISPs to choose from. To play a multiplayer online game such as a MOBA or RPG, all you require is a minimum of 6 Mbps but for streaming, you do need upload speed power. A good upload speed falls somewhere between 3 and 5 Mbps especially if you are broadcasting in HD or 4K. With uploading power any less than 3 Mbps, your FPS rate is bound to the dropdown.

As a Dallasite gamer, fiber broadband speeds for your household would sound a little too uncanny and expensive – simply because it’s common for fiber speeds to ascend to nearly 1,000 Mbps - whereas lower speeds can suffice in terms of powering up your streaming system.

One option that you have in Dallas is Spectrum Internet, which is a better selection in terms of reliable speed, affordability, and perks such as unlimited data. Charter Spectrum Dallas TX covers 100% of the city so you could be living anywhere in the D Town and Spectrum connectivity still wouldn’t fail to hail.

Choose A Gaming System

You don’t have to be a PC gamer to stream on Twitch. That notion is merely the consequence of stereotyping. The gaming platforms which Twitch supports include PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Console gaming limits your gaming repository and you might only have a few games to stream. As a novice streamer, it’s not recommended to limit your gaming scope to a handful of games. Test out multiple genres and observe which game sits well with your audience.

If you’ve chosen PC for gaming, know that there are games that require more FPS power i.e. first-person multiplayer shooting games like Call of Duty, Counter-Strike and Overwatch. So, what you would ultimately require, is a boosted GPU that doesn’t glitch out or cause jitter in the FPS quality. Your internet connection takes care of the low ping levels while a quality GPU enhances FPS levels. When setting up your PC all you therefore require is an Nvidia RTX graphic card that would help in encoding the relevant broadcasting software (Streamlabs OBS or XSplit).  

Stream from Your Phone

While this might be a rare selection, you can choose to stream from your smartphone. Game genres such as Battle Royale and MMORPGs have sustained popularity as mobile games for a while now. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is one prime example of it. What started as a PC game was brought to mobile by Tencent Gaming. Now the mobile version has a separate player-base.

Your most-played mobile game doesn’t have to be PUBG. Despite whatever game you choose, know that it’s possible to stream to Twitch from your phone and it’s not a hassle either. Twitch’s official app is available on both Android and iOS app stores. Once downloaded, choose the game you want to play, log in to your Twitch account and then pick a broadcaster for streaming. Streamlabs OBS or any other console/PC broadcaster isn’t compatible with smartphones. BitStream is a reliable app, which is basically a screen sharer rather than a broadcaster but works the same way. You can enable the BitStream app on your smartphone and in turn, your smartphone interface will be shared.  

Set up external equipment

Your streaming efforts will not bear fruit unless you set up external equipment such as a webcam, a quality mic, and some copyright-free music tunes.

Know the difference between live-streaming and game walkthroughs you find on YouTube. These walkthroughs don’t have any commentary and extend to an hour or so. Twitch streaming is different. The key here is to attract the attention of potential subscribers, keep them engaged, increase your viewer-base and leverage the monetary aspects that come with Twitch streaming.

In such a scenario, improvised streaming equipment can cost you the repute you enjoy on the platform. Make sure you get a mic that cancels out any unwanted noise and doesn’t echo whenever you speak. No matter how good a player you are, both echo and noise can compel a viewer to switch tabs to another streamer.

A webcam might be secondary to some but using one can help you in setting up your gamer persona. Popular gaming personalities such as Ninja are known for doing the same. The key takeaway here is to keep your audience engaged by showcasing your personality, reading out messages your viewers leave via Twitch Chat and addressing the viewers. That way your potential fans would recognize you more than an XYZ streamer that they once came across.

To conclude

Streaming on Twitch can be fun, lucrative and can potentially shape your career as a pro streamer. Every gamer that is or has been a part of professional Esports leagues once started as a streamer. If that’s not the motivation already, gear up for your Twitch streaming journey now – experiment with new streaming forms and game walkthroughs that no one has ventured into yet!

You can head to Spectrum sales support or call at 1-855-423-0918 if your current internet connection induces in-game lag or causes fluctuation in the FPS levels necessary for streaming.

FAQs

Is it easy to create a Twitch account?

Creating a Twitch account is rather simple, but do read their policies and guidelines as they are particularly strict about them.

What platforms can I stream Twitch on?

XSplit and Streamlabs OBS are two of the best platforms for Twitch.

How much internet speed is needed to stream a multiplayer game on Twitch?

You need a minimum of 6 Mbps of internet speed to be able to stream a multiplayer game on Twitch.

Which gaming platforms are supported on Twitch?

Twitch supports gaming platforms such as PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.