Essentials for Video Game Streaming

When it comes to online video game streaming, there are four essentials that you need to account for: audio, video, game capture, and lighting.

Audio

Having great quality audio for your voice when streaming is one of the most important things to get right when starting off. No one wants to listen to low-quality audio where it sounds like you're in the bottom of the ocean.

Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone

This is an exceptional USB condensor microphone that is virtually plug and play with both Windows and Mac. It has excellent audio quality featuring two sound patterns, cardioid and omnidirectional. The original Blue Yeti microphone featured two more patterns but for video game streaming, you'll probably always keep it in the cardioid pattern. We love the nano because it's virtually the same price as the original Blue Yeti but in a smaller, sleeker form factor. Streamers have been using Blue Yeti microphones for years now and for good reason.

Video

Half of the fun for viewers is watching their favorite streamer's reactions when things get intense during a game. Video is an important aspect to your future stream and one that can help bring in more viewers!

Logitech C920x Pro Stream Webcam

Even before companies started creating webcams specifically for streaming, the Logitech c920 series cameras have been the quintessential webcam for Twitch streamers. The price of this webcam is affordable and features 1080p 30fps which is perfect streaming while playing games. Though there are higher quality webcams up to 4K resolution like the Logitech Brio, the c920x is more than enough webcam for streaming purposes.

Game Capture

If you're planning on streaming using a video game console like a PS4 or Nintendo Switch, then you're going to need a capture card to send the game video to your computer. Some streamers even use two PCs in conjunction with a capture card, one for streaming and one for gaming, for better performance.

Elgato HD60s Game Capture Card

There are a handful of capture cards around but Elgato has the best and most reliable cards out there. The HD60s can stream up to1080p 60FPS from the console to PC. It also has a lag-free pass-through so you can your game on a seperate tv or monitor like you're playing normally while you keep an eye on your stream and chat on your computer. Elgato's software is pretty good for what it is but it works perfectly with OBS as well.

Lighting

Lighting is something that often gets glossed over when starting to stream video games but is something that is worth investing on the get go. You could have the best webcam in the world but if you're sitting in the dark or your light source is behind you, then you can be barely seen in your feed. Even cheap webcams with great lighting can be more workable than bad lighting with an awesome webcam.

Elgato Key Light Air

Elgato is on the list here again with their Key Light Air. This is a great customizable light is can be controlled via their app on PC, Mac, iPhone and Android. The brightness and color temperature can be changed to suit your needs and is fully adjustable. When not in use, it can also be used as a regular desk lamp!