Technology has advanced in the past few years so anyone can start streaming directly from their console. However, the tech behind streaming from a PC has expanded leaps beyond what you’ll find on any Xbox or PS4. Here’s a guide that will help you understand the functions behind streaming on the PC so you can take full advantage of all the options available.
Bitrate
The most important aspect of stream quality by far is the bitrate level. The bitrate directly affects how smooth your video feed will look. Consoles don’t offer a direct way to alter the bitrate and instead lump bitrate speeds into “quality” categories. You can alter the bitrate directly through use of either the XSplit or OBS Studio program for your PC. Ensure, however, that your internet upload speeds can handle the bitrate you’ve set. The bitrate total combines both the video and audio bitrate. If your internet service provider and your modem can’t push the combined upload speed, you’ll have to scale down the bitrate in order to accommodate your quality limitations.
Camera
The leading camera on the market for streaming is currently the Logitech C922. Recently announced at TwitchCon, this camera features a full HD resolution picture at 30 frames per second, and a 720p resolution at 60 frames per second. Plus, the camera software can remove backgrounds, emulating a green screen. That’s just one of the camera options out on the market for PCs. The PS4 camera and the ill-marketed Kinect are the only console options for camera use, unfortunately.
There’s plenty of webcams on the market right now for streaming.
Audio Equipment
Some of the console headsets out on the market aren’t really high quality. A lot of the markup on a headset is poured into the marketing and design (those LEDs don’t do much to improve the sound quality, but they sure make a set more expensive). You can make better decisions by getting higher quality equipment. A lot of the professional streamers utilize higher quality microphones and equipment that won’t work with consoles. If you’re looking to get more professional with streaming, research the equipment that fits your budget and upgrade. Streaming with consoles works, but it definitely isn’t as professional than on a computer.
Getting better streaming equipment is key to running a professional stream.
Streaming Equipment
The ultimate factor in streaming from a PC is scalability. This allows you to scale quality to your system’s ability so you get a perfect mix of performance and quality for yourself and your viewers. Our C and M series computers are built for stream setups and virtual reality with i7 processors from Intel. If you’re streaming, you need an i7 processor in order to push the video encoding required for streaming. Take a look at what we have available so you can start your professional stream career.
