How to Broadcast Live Gameplay
So, you don’t just want to record and post videos of your gameplay but broadcast it live? That is very much possible.
I will be discussing 4 different ways to do so, each having upsides and downsides. Before I do that however, you will need to do some basic things.
First of all, you will need to know your upload bandwidth. To do this, go here and test your connection. If you are in the US, make sure you select a location on the OTHER SIDE of the country. If you are not in America, select a location in the US. From your recorded upload bandwidth, take roughly 75-80% and write it down somewhere. This is the bitrate at which you will want to set your broadcast.
Secondly, you have to know your PC’s power and select a broadcasting method accordingly.
That is it for starters, read below for the individual breakdown of each service.
ALL SERVICES LISTED BELOW ARE FREE
Xfire
This method is fairly simple. Download Xfire from here and set it up to broadcast live under Tools -> Options -> Broadcast. Even if you don’t use it for broadcasting, Xfire is a great gamer networking tool.
Set the quality to highest and decide if you want to stream audio or not. Test your stream afterwords to make sure you are not overloading your connection.
PRO
- Easy to set up and use
- Now uses Livestream instead of Dyyno
- Chat with viewers while gaming
- Very little FPS impact
- Personal broadcasting page (same URL every time you broadcast)
CON
- Does not support all games
- May cause high lag in multiplayer games
- No “On Demand” or “Auto Pilot” features avilable, unlike regular Livestream
Dyyno
This is the same technology that Xfire uses, but it is not linked to games and can thus be used with any application or game, even ones that Xfire does not support. Broadcasts are shown on the Dyyno homepage. You can download the client necessary for broadcasting here.
When you install and run the client you will get a little box with a “d” inside it. Before you do anything there, click on the wrench icon and select “Settings” to set up.
Under “Video”, I suggest having Output Resolution on “Automatic”, Frequency at 20FPS and Bandwidth Usage at 70-85%. Select your bitrate (see general section at the beginning of this post) and then head to Audio and set that up. Finally, make sure that you look at the hotkeys, because you will be using those to broadcast.
When you are finished and ready to broadcast, drag the “d” icong from the little window onto your desktop. You will see a little menu on the top right of your desktop with several options. Clicking on the “Share” icon will give you a URL which you can provide to everyone who wants to watch your broadcast. This URL will change every time you broadcast. Clicking the speech bubble will get you to your chat channel, but it is impossible to chat with viewers while playing, unless you play in a window, since it opens the chat in a browser.
Once you have that set up, just start the game and play.
PRO
- Easy to set up
- Almost no FPS drop
CON
- You can’t chat with your viewers while playing unless you play in a window.
- Only 20fps max.
- The broadcasting URL changes every time you broadcast, making it hard to let a lot of people know where you are broadcasting.
Justin.tv
Justin.tv is a great site for broadcasting games and offers a lot of community options. Once you create your account and channel you can design it however you like, then head over to the broadcasting section by clicking the huge red “BROADCAST” icon at the top of the page.
You will now be presented with the web based broadcaster. I do NOT suggest using it as it provides subpar performance, and very low resolutions, although you are welcome to try it if you wish. It has very low requirements and very little FPS impact, but usually crappy quality or framerates. What I DO suggest is that you use their bandwidth test in order to be able to select the right quality.
Now click on the “More” tab. Click on the “Flash Media Encoder” link to be forwarded to the next page. You will have a link to the FME, but here is a direct one. To download it you will need to register for a free Adobe account. It is worth it, it’s free and really, you can just use a spam e-mail for it if you never want to use it again. Next, click on the “MLE 3.0″ setup file and download it, then follow the rest of the instructions on the page to set up the encoder. Do not do anything yet though, so go ahead and close the encoder.
Now, download VH Capture, which allows you to capture your desktop in a way that programs like FME can process it. No it isn’t a virus, DL it. Once you install it, run it. Once started, on the top right you will see “Video capture source”. Make sure this says VHScrCap and not VHMultiCam. Next, set your audio source to whatever you have. Video compression is left uncompresses, as is audio. Select your framerate as 30.
Now, next to where you selected the video source there is a down arrow button. Click it and select “Video Capture”. A new window will open. Select “Capture” from the tabs. Make sure “Track Screen” is checked. Select settings. Make sure the border color is black. Framerate should be 30.
All checkboxes except “Register in ROT” should be checked. Under “Specify output size” select 720×480. Close this window and close VHCapture. Start up the FME.
Now, once you have loaded your setup file into the FME it is time to set up the broadcasting.
Under “Device” select VHScrCap. Under format select either VP6 or H.264, depending on how strong your machine is. H.264 provides better quality but eats more resources.
If you select VP6, under its settings select 3s for Keyframe Frequency, Best Quality – Lower Framerate (if it works well for you, test it by watching your own channel. Needs high upload bandwidth and a powerful PC), Lower Quality – Best Framerate (if you have a weak PC and low upload bandwidth) or something in between. This requires testing as it is individual to each connection/PC. Noise reduction should be Low or Average, Datarate Window should be Medium, CPU Usage should be Dedicated.
If you select H-264, under its settings select “Main” for the profile, Level should be 3.1 (for standard PCs) or higher if you have a powerful PC and high upload bandwidth. This requires testing to get right, see section for VP6. Keyframe Frequency should be 3s.
For framerate, select 30, Input Size should be 720×480 (this is why we resized the input earlier). Make sure “Maintain Aspect Ratio” is UNCHECKED or it will mess up your video.
Now, remember that upload bandwidth test you did earlier? I hope you remember what it told you, because that is what you should put in the Bit Rate section if you want smooth video. Output size should be 720×480.
Set up your audio as MP3, stereo. Sample rate 44100Hz and a 48 Kbps (or more if your connection can take it).
Now you are ready, just click on the green “Start” button and you are Live!
PRO
- Steady URL
- Customizable channel, lots of community options
- Can password protect stream
- Custom resolutions possible
- Can appoint moderators to chat so you don’t have to deal with jackasses while playing
- A lot of customization possible in the encoding proccess
- Unlimited storage space for recorded broadcasts
- HD video possible (you need extremely high upload bandwidth though)
- 30fps and above possible
CON
- Requires some technical know-how to fine tune
- Fiddly to set up, especially for newcomers to broadcasting
- Extreme resource hog (FME)
- Decent FPS impact (5-20 frames depending on your PC, maybe more)
- Small ads, but you can click them away and they won’t return until you leave the channel.
Livestream.com
Livestream.com is another great broadcasting solution. It provides similar things to Justin.tv (with less comunity options), however it has its own broadcaster which is very low profile and has almost no FPS impact and can be controlled in-game.
Once you have registered for an account, log in and go to the “My Account” tab. There should be 2 things listed there. There should be a request to configure your channel and the notice that your channel is not verified. Go ahead and select to configure your channel and do so. After that, it is highly suggested to verify your channel. To do that you will have to provide a little more info about it, but nothing invasive. This allows for your broadcasts to be listed on the front page and more than 50 people can view it at once.
Now, once that is set up, go ahead and download the ProCaster. It is the Livestream.com broadcasting tool, a very good one at that. When you install and start it up, you will have several things to do. First of all, make sure only “Game” is selected under Source. Now click on “Preferences”.
Under the “Livestream” tab, go ahead and check everything. Under the “Video” tab, ignore the source, and select the output to half your screensize. Make sure that “Lock Ratio” is unchecked. Target Framerate should be 30, and Target Bitrate should be what you found out if you followed this guide from the beginning. Keyframe interval should be a 2.
Under the “Audio” tab, select your soundcard, Target Bitrate of 64, Sampling Rate of 44100, Channels should be Stereo (or Mono if you have sounds issues).
Head over to “Game” and make sure “Text Color” is Status dependent, check “Hooked Process” and any other options you want.
Select the “Hotkeys” tab. Learn these, as you will be using them from in-game. Of course you can change them to whatever you like.
When you are done setting up, click “Save”, start up your game and use the hotkey to start your broadcast.
You can also use the FME to broadcast here. Follow this guide to set it up. Just keep in mind that the 500kbps bandwidth limit is still in effect, as is the aspect ration limit. Only 4:3.
PRO
- Steady URL
- Easy to set up
- Separate broadcaster that can be controlled in-game
- Good quality
- Almost no FPS impact
CON
- No real community options (see Justin.tv)
- Limited to 500Kbps under the free plan
- Little storage space f0r recorded broadcasts
- Procaster currently has issues with audio desynch
- Ads that can be clicked away but re-open every couple of minutes.
Conclusion
What are my suggestions for broadcasting?
Use Xfire if you are the social type and like talking to your viewers while playing, or Dyyno if you want to play unsupported games, don’t mind not being able to talk to your viewers while playing and have some way of distributing your broadcasting URL relialbly and quickly.
Use Justin.tv for regular gaming and chat with viewers on a laptop or something. You can even assign moderators to your chatroom to keep the peace. ALL your broadcasts will be recorded and can be viewed by people even after you have finished broadcasting. None of your great battles will be lost! You can even create clips from your broadcasts, or let your viewers select their favorite moments. You will however need some techical know how and patience to get this one working properly, and it can cause many headaches while setting up. You will also need a pretty damn good PC to be able to broadcast at decent-high resolutions.
Use Livestream.com when you need to broadcast HUGE battles with little impact on your gaming, if Justin.tv lags for you. It does not have community features, but it can provide good video performance. Watch out for the monthly limit. It goes by fast if you broadcast regularly.
My Channels
Justin.tv – http://www.justin.tv/jinf
Livestream.com – http://www.livestream.com/jinf
And obviously the LIVE BROADCAST on this blog!
Enjoy!
