Anyone have a Twitch.tv for streaming?

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Anyone have a twitch account? Do you do any streaming?

 

This is mine:

 

http://www.twitch.tv/sledgstone

 

I tried to get some settings right and I think I finally figured out how to stream games correctly.. I had to lower the stream resolution, FPS, etc. Heres a video of me playing some A.R.E.S.

 

http://www.twitch.tv/sledgstone/b/454563595

 

I'm going to try getting KOTOR to stream, but for some reason I can't figure it out just yet. I think I need to reboot my laptop to get it working. I'll try it tomorrow.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I'm still figuring out my optimal settings. I tried to stream some Portal 2 tonight and the video suffered huge dropped frames.. Odd.. I did figure out how to stream KOTOR. Because of how old the game is, it looks like I have to stream my entire monitor instead of just the game.. As long as I keep the game on full screen it should work. Maybe I'll do that for a while tomorrow.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I'm getting the hang of streaming. I thought my settings were great but I keep getting disconnect randomly from Twitch. I might have it fixed now tho. I'm currently streaming Limbo. I just started it and this game is brutal.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

What streaming app do you use? I just signed up and I'm thinking about starting one.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Xsplit is the easiest.. but to have twitch auto save your videos, there is one setting on xsplit that you need to change that is only available on their paid version. $15 every 3 months seems steep to me. It apparently is the best program, but I don't know about that.

 

I'm using Open Broadcaster Software. I found this tutorial to be the best for explaining:

 

http://www.maximumpc.com/how_stream_your_games_twitch_tv_2013

 

It also supports youtube streaming, but I haven't tried that yet because when I switch to stream to youtube, it wipes out all my twitch.tv settings. It took me quite a while playing A.R.E.S. and Portal 2 to figure out all the best settings. I think I have it figured out, but I keep getting disconnect problems.

 

Heres a video with a frames dropped issue.. the audio is fine, but frames drop like a bastard:

 

http://www.twitch.tv/sledgstone/b/455091680

 

This one is quite a bit better.. after I dropped the FPS down to 25:

 

http://www.twitch.tv/sledgstone/b/455320648

 

From what I've seen for streaming, its all about the quality of your consistent upload speed, not the max and also your CPU. Streaming doesn't add any extra burden to the graphics apparently.. its all about CPU.

 

You can always install xsplit just to use its testing features. Once xsplit tests your connection and computer it will give you default settings for what your best quality will be. Then use those settings in OBS and tweek them from there.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Well crap you need video capture to use it for free... bleh. oh well.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Yeah, I thought it would be more streamlined and user friendly to stream. Since I have 5mbps upload now with my internet I wanted to test it out and see how well it works. OBS is completely free and works fine once you have the settings in place. Its only 7mb and runs in a window. Xsplit is almost 40mb. I don't know why its that big.. probably because of the better looking graphical interface. Considering how OBS runs and how small the file size impact is, I'm surprised most games don't have video capture / streaming built right into the games as an option.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

http://www.twitch.tv/bigharshness

 

Hmm If I can ever get this thing running. I'm looking at ways to get around the required video capture card requirements.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Wow, I tried my first broadcast using screen region, and the frame drops were crazy. the game audio kept repeating itself. lol. Thats with xsplit using auto detect for what settings I should use.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

It takes a while to figure out the right settings. I mostly am trying out twitch since PS4 will allow streaming to it. At least the PS4 will have the streaming program auto installed on it and configured exactly for its specs.. but for PC, everyone's computers are different and it involves more fine tuning from what I've experienced.

 

You shouldn't need any video capture card unless you're planning on streaming from a PS3 or xbox 360.. the next gen system will have it all built in. I'm streaming games from steam.. you should probably try streaming a less graphic intense game than Diablo 3 just to get some settings calibrated.

 

Heres a quick tip that I didn't realize at first..

 

http://www.twitch.tv/bigharshness/

 

and

 

http://www.twitch.tv/bigharshness/profile

 

are two separate pages.. on the profile page, you can click a link at the bottom that says "Past Broadcasts".

 

I looked at this video:

 

http://www.twitch.tv/bigharshness/b/455908013

 

and I see that you were streaming your entire monitor. I had this same issue before with xsplit. I chose screen region and then clicked on the game at the bottom of the screen because I had it minimized. That doesn't work.. instead xsplit thinks you are choosing the task bar itself and thus your entire monitor. You have to have the game opened in a window, then choose screen region, then that specific window. Then you'll see just that window in the stream.. then you have to drag it to fill the entire screen in xplit and you're all set. Because you were streaming the entire monitor, windows Aero (the windows feature in win 7 that allows a see thru task bar and window preview) drastically affects FPS. Xsplit and OBS both have an option right in them to disable Aero for streaming full monitors. It doesn't matter how good your computer is, Aero will screw the FPS for monitor streaming. Once you have the window of the game selected, Aero doesn't affect it.

 

I heard that looped audio! I had the same thing happen and I was so confused at first. Its because you had twitch open in your browser. lol. It was actually playing your stream. Because you didn't have it muted, you had double audio. Theres a slight delay with twitch which is why it was so noticeable.

 

And some games won't show their video on the stream unless you have them open in a window. Audio will keep playing, but if the game is minimized then the graphics aren't being processed and they won't show up in the stream. Streaming is a lot of trial and error and I've been messing with it for a couple days now. Right now I have my laptop hard wired in to see if my wireless connection was causing all my disconnect problems.

 

I did notice that OBS and xplit have a save to file option.. that way we can record the video and then upload it later. I haven't tried it yet tho. Also, it looks like twitch did auto save your xsplit broadcast.. and I thought that didn't work on the free version. I just learned something new. lol.

Edited September 3, 2013 by Sledgstone
*fixes*

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Interesting. So if I window it, select the window, and change the settings back to full screen, will it still broadcast it?

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Yes. Thats how I was streaming A.R.E.S.

 

If you had the stream game option in the paid version you can simply open the game, minimized or not, and it will select it correctly. Thats one of the main reasons why I'm using OBS instead. I open the game first, turn on OBS, go to the bottom, right click on the "Sources" section, click Add, Game Capture.. Type in a title and it lets you choose your game in a drop down menu that lists your currently open windows regardless of them being minimized, then choose "Stretch image to screen" and you're all set.

 

Some games don't work correctly tho.. like KOTOR. I tried everything with xsplit and OBS to get KOTOR to work and it will only stream correctly if I stream my entire monitor. Every other game I have tried so far works fine by streaming its window only.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Also, don't bother downloading the twitch.tv app on your phone. It sucks ass and will list your streams as web only unless you have over 50-100 viewers. Its more of a media outlet than an actual user friendly app. But if you load your twitch profile in firefox on your phone, it live streams fine. You can always test your stream that way too.. load your page on your phone, start streaming on your computer and check it to see how its playing.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

From what I've found out.. my max bit rate was way to high. Xsplit recommended 2500+ and after having my bit rate set for 1100, I was able to stream 720 at 30 FPS with no dropped frames.. When I set it for 60 FPS I had a few dropped frames, but I didn't see any noticeable improvement in quality on twitch.. probably because of the low bit rate. Oh well. I think I have my settings finalized now. Try these:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And download this small zip file to find out the best twitch server to connect to:

 

http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=326034

 

Even tho I'm on the east coast, my best connection was to their Dallas servers.

 

And I had to make sure my laptop was hard wired connected because my wireless was causing all my disconnections. If anything, I'd recommend these settings to anyone.. If my i5 laptop can stream, then any newer computers should have no problem.. Now the only question is how much my internet upload rate accounts for this. I'm at 5mbps up.. if the time comes where I drop back down to 2 up, I'd probably have to drop the bit rate even lower but leave all the settings as they are.

 

Gah.. now that I've got that done, I need to test some more games with it.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Even when I streamed at a reliable rate my D3 game still suffered and almost cost me a death. lol I'll probably wait til PS4 to stream my insane BF4 antics. When I'm in a squad of people I know, I play for the best of the squad, but when I play by myself in a squad of randoms, I tend to pad my stats and go for assignments more viciously.

 

BTW How do you like my "GARBAGE DAY" channel screen?

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I saw that garbage day. lmao.

 

And yeah, I'm the same way with BF3. I'll go for assignments solo, but if I'm in a good squad I'll go for my best.

 

I could imagine D3 suffering.. I'm not even going to try streaming StarCraft 2. I don't think I'll have any problem streaming games my system can easily handle.. but on some parts of the SC2 campaign, my FPS was dropping down to 15.. and thats at lowest settings. I can't even run firefox in the background with that game, let alone trying to stream it.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

 

XD

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I'll be streaming some Dust until 10pm if I get it working correctly.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

You're old school like me by not trusting in the autosave.

 

Dodge is your best friend from avoiding broken chains. However don't try to use it to dash towards an enemy for a quick attack. If you're too far you'll just turn your back on them as I had learned the hard way . But its good it turns you facing the opposite way for certain stronger enemies, you can spam the crap out of dodge to avoid all their attacks while going to town on them.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I noticed that dodge issue.. I dodged toward them and put my back right up to them. I think next time I play I'll attack an enemy, then dodge through them and continue attacking. He should auto turn around and keep attacking the same guy from behind. I need to work on my combos more. I keep hitting X one too many times and I don't get the second combo off. I think my stream worked good, but I lost the connection twice right at the end. I'll double check my settings. I got a lag at one point too.. that might have been because steam opened 3 tabs trying to sell me more stuff. lol.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

X is really the best way to go... the X X Y Y is ok, but I mainly used X and dust storm strings. Once fidget ran out of energy id hit a few more with X and unleash more fidget and dust storm... thats really for when you get more powerful though. Yeah you auto turn around every time unless you dodge backwards, you keep facing the same direction which is useful and makes sense for those sneaky ones that try to jump behind you... You can dodge so easily, but at the same time it might put your current combo in jeopardy of ending sooner than you like... Dodge is best for those big rock giants, I whale on the X button until I see there about to strike, dodge and continue whaling on X. You did way better than me on that 1st rock giant, I actually died and was revived by the revival gem I had...  I opted for attack and defense on my 1st two upgrades instead of life and attack... taking hits were way more devastating with only 60 health. lol

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I don't know if you noticed or not, but those two rock giants almost killed me 3 different times. I was spamming "mysterious wall chickens". I think I used 4 of them to stay alive.

 

I love that dust storm move. It definitely seems like the most effective attack.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Yeah I spammed the shit out of dust storm fidget and dodge to beat those two after I was killed by the single giant.... I guess that learning experience helped me. You had me on edge there when you were fighting both of them since you so easily handled the 1st one.

 

You seemed to figure it out pretty fast, but the bomb fruit give you a pretty generous distance to move them with dust storm.. I did what you did as well trying to move with them every foot... they can  be off screen to guide them.... but not so to actually pluck them. You'll find a bunch of neat puzzles with them later... generally, if they have a timer you'll need them to blow up an easily accessible wall... if they don't have a timer right off the bat they are for a puzzle or a guide in the dark... as you saw they are pretty effective weapons too when enemies are close by.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

I was worried I was going to damage myself with the bomb fruit explosion but I don't think I was getting hit by it. That first giant seemed easy for some reason. I think I got lucky with it because those two giants were a pain. I didn't even try dodging thru them. I assumed I'd have to jump over them and instead I'd get stuck in between them and get hit from behind. lol. I noticed that I was better off spamming X in front of them to get a parry off. Once they were both dazed, their hit points dropped drastically per hit compared to my normal attacks.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Another thing I noticed with Twitch since the last time I used it.. They deleted all my previous videos and turned off auto archiving (recording) by default. So my game play last night didn't get saved. I changed that setting to auto archive and I'll have to remember to permanently save the video before twitch auto deletes it after 4-7 days. I'm surprised twitch is having storage limitation issues. Considering they'll have streaming for both of the next gen consoles coming out, I'm assuming they'll get hammered by traffic. Maybe they'll start putting storage caps on accounts or prevent video saving for ps4 and xbox one.