If you want to stream, you can just connect your PC or console to the internet and press a button or two. There’s plenty of tools that will let you do that. But if you want a proper setup, things are a little more complicated.
The diagram was uploaded this morning by Twitch streamer AnneMunition, outlining the dual PC, triple monitor setup that she uses on a daily basis.
To capture footage from consoles, AnneMunition uses an Elgato HD60 Pro capture card for 1080p footage and a Magewell Pro capture card for 4K. Both consoles are plugged into a Zettaguard 4×1 4K HDMI switcher, with the output from that being fed into a 4K splitter and isolater. The audio feeds from the isolater than goes through to a Mackie 802VL24 mixer, while two other isolaters feed audio from the main streaming PC (which is equipped with a dedicated ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card) into separate channels on the mixer.
The microphone and headphones are plugged into the mixer separately, with the headphones going through a Behringer HA400 amplifier. A line out from the gaming PC sends audio to another channel on the mixer, and AnneMunition uses the AUX Send software to transmit her microphone audio to voice apps like Discord. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also separate hum destroyers and a compressor that jointly plugs into the first channel in the mixer.
So if it wasn’t patently obvious: anyone can stream, but good streaming – not just having good internet, but maintaining a high quality stream – isn’t easy. There’s a lot of equipment behind the veil and a lot of pieces of software that could go wrong, especially if you want to cover all games and all platforms.
Comments
16 responses to “How Complex Streaming Setups Can Be”
And on the other end of the spectrum, I dangle a webcam from a lamp.
Better than me putting my mum in front of Jackbox and the internet and asking, “What could go wrong?”
Pretty sure you got a lot more viewers doing that than I normally do :p
You’re talking a different kind of streaming.
Makes me wonder how many more unseen heroes like your lamp are out there, assisting streamers across the world.
It probably looks like an Indian power pole under her desk… D:
I just….. no thanks. I’m pretty certain no one wants to watch me game enough for me to go through that kind of bother.
I stream just for it. I don’t talk or really do anything. I’ve found some little enjoyment of watching my view counter go from 0 to 1.
It’s sort of amazing that someone wants to what my shitty xcom games.
To someone else this is complicated 10,000 piece puzzle, to me this is putting together a simple ikea flat pack.
like most things, if that’s your thing, you’re going to know what you know.
Yeah, this is why im tech support for family, friends of friends, and estranged acquaintances XD
feel your pain dude.
The worst part – since its become easier – and lazier – to remote in for fixes, my extended cash for site visits has dried up
On the audio side, it sounds like that setup is doing a lot of stuff in the analogue domain that could be more cheaply accomplished in the digital domain on the PC itself.
That said, if it saves her time and produces the results she wants, then perhaps it was worth it.
My brother aka Procks_ does alot of streaming on twitch and his setup isn’t complex well i think anyway i just press a few keys turn on stuff and boom streaming away. I wouldn’t bother spending alot on those fancy things you can buy for streaming i reckon just buy whatever is in your budget.
What about multistreaming with http://restream.io/?
I wonder how many people in her stream actually notice and fully appreciate that level of quality. She has hundreds of viewers – out of those, how many can tell the difference between that setup and something that may be half or even less of that?
All respect to her dedication and constant drive for her passion, but I also wonder if it’s something that she feels might get in the way of her total enjoyment in the simple act of playing the game.