Although there are hundreds of online games that you can play with your friends, if you’re one of those who believe that you excel at a particular game and want the world to acknowledge your skills, streaming your game play online is a fantastic way. Here, online game streaming services like Twitch TV come in handy, which allow your friends to check out your game play and you can even end up making lots of fans and friends in the process. This is the reason why some of the most popular gaming consoles like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One already have built-in support that allows live streaming to Twitch TV. However, if you don’t own these consoles and are a PC gamer, here is the guide that will allow you to stream your desktop PC games play to Twitch TV.
Create a Twitch TV account and get the Stream Key:
The first thing you have to do to stream your gaming skills online to viewers in all parts of the world is to create a free Twitch TV account. After you’re done, click on the name of your account at the top-right corner and select the Dashboard option. Here, you’ll have to click on the Stream Key option and then the Show Key Option.
The key is the only way you can access your channel and hence make sure that you don’t share it with anybody you find online at the service.
Download the Open Broadcaster Software:
The Open Broadcaster Software, or simply OBS, is an open source video recording and streaming software that is compatible with both Twitch TV and Justin TV. Moreover, the software also allows you to stream your webpage video along with the game play, which adds a level of personalization to your stream and connects you with the world. Head over to the webpage of OBS and download the free software.
After you install it, you’ll see that it features one scene by default, which can have multiple sources, such as multiple games or webcam video.
Setting up the OBS:
The first thing you have to do after the installation is complete is to add the game’s window as the source of the first scene in the software. For this, start up the game and let it run in the background.
After this, head over the OBS and right click on the Source Box, and then click Add and then select Game Capture. Select the game window and click OK. You’ll now get a preview stream button, clicking which you’ll get to view the stream. If this doesn’t work, as it is not compatible with all games, you’ll have to make use of the Monitor Capture Mode, which in essence streams your entire desktop activity, including the game window.
Connect the Open Broadcaster Software with Twitch TV:
Once the game is streaming fine in the preview window, the next thing that you have to do is to connect the OBS with Twitch TV. For this, all you have to do is to click on the Settings Button in the OBS dashboard and click on Broadcast Settings Tab in the left-hand side of the interface.
Set the mode to Live Stream and choose the Streaming Service to Twitch / Justin.tv. After this, you will have to select the closest server to you and enter the Twitch Stream Key that you acquired in the first step. You can also make a few encoding settings to make sure that you are streaming in a format that is compatible with the streaming service you chose, which here is Twitch TV.
Finalizing:
After you’re done making the required changes, all you need to do is to click on the Start Streaming button in the OBS interface. You’ll now see a preview of your streamed game play and can fill in an appropriate tile and set the Now Playing status on the dashboard.
Summary:
Twitch TV is a highly popular video game streaming tool that is an excellent way to display your gaming prowess. Here is a complete guide that will allow you to stream your desktop PC games to the popular Twitch TV platform.
