How to stream on Twitch and what you need

Many with people who welcome dedicating themselves to what they like the most and / or are passionate about, sharing their work with other people. Be it music, video games, painting, sculpting ... it is possible to earn a living from home by transmitting your content over the internet, with Twitch being the most popular and used platform in this regard.

If you want to know how to broadcast on Twitch and what you need to take your first steps as a streamer, in this article we will clear up your doubts, at least in the basic questions necessary to press the Broadcast button and be live before billions of potential viewers.

The number of elements that we must take into account when transmitting on Twitch can initially be overwhelming, since it is not only necessary for a computer (we can also transmit from a smartphone or tablet), but also, we also need a series of peripherals and software that allows us to send our signal to Twitch.

Don't worry, don't despair, in this article we are going to show you everything you needalong with the best software and hardware options available on the market.

What is Twitch

Twitch was born in 2011 as Justin.tv as a platform for live broadcasts to compete with YouTube. Initially it focused on video games, although over time the spectrum of available options has expanded and today we have a large number of channels and types of transmissions.

In February 2014, Justin.tv was renamed to Twitch Interactive. Soon after, the platform was acquired by Amazon for almost $ 1.000 billion. Google was interested in acquiring the platform to integrate it into YouTube, however, Amazon's offer was superior and it was the one who took the lead.

Twitch offers users the Partners program, a program that allows content creators to monetize your streams through user subscriptions, donations as well as advertising that directly manages the platform.

Video games banned on Twitch

Amazon's streaming platform does not allow to stream any game, based on two criteria:

• The official ESRB rating is Adults only.
• The game violates Community Guidelines regarding speech by sex, hatred, nudity, gratuitous mutilation or extreme violence.

List of prohibited video games on Twitch

Basic requirements to stream on Twitch

The basic requirements to broadcast through Twitch are two:

Broadband internet connection

Stream over the internet, consumes a lot of bandwidth, like streaming video platforms. If you want to offer a minimum of quality in your transmissions (streams with poor quality are not well accepted by Twitch users), you must have at least 20 MB of connection.

If you have less and do not want the quality to suffer, you can reduce the output resolution to 720 at 30 fps. Using lower resolutions will only cause rejection by users and you will not achieve your goal of creating a community on this platform.

Equipment to transmit: smartphone, tablet or computer equipment (Windows, macOS or Linux)

Although Twitch as a platform to broadcast live video games, since it was acquired by Amazon, it has been expanding your range of options and currently we have at our disposal a large number of topics where we can find a niche of users.

In addition to video games, on Twitch we can also find users playing and giving chess classes, exercise monitors that help us stay in shape, cooking classes, podcasting, music, people designing and / or drawing, IRL (In Real Live) that we can translate as in real life where users do their day-to-day tasks (delivering packages, doing a work, cooking ...) ...

If what you want is to transmit the real life around you, wherever you are, you can make use of a smartphone or tablet through the data connection of your device or connected to a Wi-Fi network if you have the opportunity.

Although there are many applications that offer us this option, the best of all is the official Twitch application, with which we can access all the content you create daily on this platform.

But if our intention is to show how we draw, what we cook, how we paint, how we create or music or how we enjoy our favorite games, the best option is through a computer, either portable or desktop, the latter being the most recommended option.

If our idea is to transmit from a computer, we need an application. If you want everything to work like silk, one of the simplest applications available on the market and that is also completely free, we find it in Twitch Studio, an application designed by the company for these purposes.

TwitchStudio, available for Windows and macOS, offers us the simplest streaming experience currently available on the market, so it is designed for beginners.

If over time, you see that this application falls short, you can opt for the free OBS Project application (available for Windows, macOS and Ubuntu), one of the most used by streamers and that it is also completely free.

Other less used but equally valid options are Streamlabs OBS (free), XSplit (paid), VMix (paid) y LightStream (paid). Except for XSplit (only available for Windows), all these applications are available for both Windows and macOS.

El hardware required to transmit from a computer, it is not a NASA equipment. If you want to broadcast via webcam while sharing your knowledge, with a mid-range equipment you will not have any problem.

However, if we want to broadcast a game that require a graphics card, if it will be necessary of a powerful team, since in addition to making the game work, it also has to deal with the transmission through Twitch.

What else do I need to stream on Twitch

In the previous section, I have shown you the two basic requirements so that anyone can start broadcasting through Twitch right now. But, if you want to give it a more professional touch to your channel and thus gain the trust of users of this platform, you should consider the following options:

Microphone and headphones

Forget about use your laptop's microphone, since, like the webcam, they leave a lot to be desired. If you want to be heard clearly and your followers hear you without problems when interacting with them, it is best to use headphones connected to the equipment.

You don't have to spend a fortune on any of the different microphones available on Amazon, at least initially, since you can use the ones they gave you without any problem. with your smartphone, or any other model that includes a microphone and headphones. This will prevent the sound from the speakers from getting into the microphone.

Webcam

Although it is not necessary, many users of this platform like to watch the streamer while playing to see their reactions. If at the moment, you want to try to see how it works, you can try with the webcam of your laptop (although the quality is really bad), or buy a cheap webcam on Amazon if you transmit from a desktop computer or use your mobile as a webcam.

Related article:

How to use your mobile as a webcam with these programs

A very important aspect that we must take into account when using a webcam is the location of the camera. It is not necessary that only the face be shown, but that the ideal approach is half-length up.

Another aspect to take into account, especially if the camera is of poor quality is the lighting: the more lighting you have in the part of your body that appears on the webcam, the higher quality you will offer and will prevent users from focusing on your image mainly to see how you are.

Video Capture

If you would like to stream games from a console, you need a video capture. At Amazon we have a large number of options, however, the ones that offer us the best results are those of Elago, although it is the most expensive manufacturer of all.

Tips to consider

Quality is everything. With this I'm not saying you have to invest a fortune on a computer to broadcast through Twitch, but you must pay special care with details as important as the quality of the video and the video.

If you are watching a movie through Netflix, you want to enjoy the best possible quality, without cuts, without pixelation and with good sound. The same thing happens with Twitch. If a transmission does not offer us a minimum acceptable quality of both video and audio, we will never retain users who come through our channel.