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At first, only professional gamers are Twitch’s biggest drawers of viewers. Nowadays, there’s a new breed of streamers that are coming to Twitch and most of them are famous Internet celebrities. These celebrities usually have hundreds of thousands or even millions of social media followers, which helps draw more viewers to Twitch.
The same goes for other streaming channels as well. There are plenty of celebrities who now use Facebook Live and YouTube Live as a platform for live streaming.
If you think about it, it’s not that really hard to become a successful streamer. Anyone with a modern game console or a gaming PC with decent specs can become a streamer. If you want to become a successful streamer and enjoy the stardom at Twitch, here are the essential things you need to have in order to start streaming.
A Decent Computer or Laptop
If you want to start streaming you need to have a decent computer or laptop that’s at least powered by an Intel Core i5-4670 processor or an FX 8350 processor from AMD to go along with 8GB of RAM and Windows 7 or a newer operating system.
That kind of spec is only for basic streaming, though. If you want to stream PC games, you’re going to need to equip your PC with a graphics card that’s powerful enough to play your games. When it comes to the graphics card, it’s recommended to buy one that’s capable of playing games at 1080p resolution in ultra settings.
Even though we prefer a gaming PC, you can also choose to use your laptop with the right specs to start streaming. If you want to know what kind of laptops are suitable for streaming, then keep reading this article.
Good Internet Connection
Of course, what will be the purpose of a powerful PC designed for gaming and streaming, if you don’t have a good internet connection? You’ll want your PC connected to the internet via Ethernet to stream at a higher quality. If you want to enjoy an uninterrupted streaming experience, avoid using wireless or Wi-Fi connections when streaming.
Be sure to test the speed of your internet connection before you start streaming. The faster your internet connection is, the better-looking your stream will be. If you want to stream in 1080p, aim to have at least 3MB to 5MB per second of upload speed.
Streaming Software
Another essential thing you need to have when you want to start streaming videos is streaming software. It’s a type of broadcasting software that allows you to broadcast what you’re doing to your audience.
OBS (Open Broadcasting Software) is the most popular streaming software right now and it’s completely free to use. There are many streaming software out there that you can use, but most of them will require you to pay a subscription to fully utilize their key features.
Regardless of which streaming software you’re going to use, setting up your stream is still the same for all of them.
Additional Hardware
You’re going to need additional hardware for you to start streaming videos. An external microphone and a camera are very important when streaming.
Audio quality is one of the most overlooked parts of streaming videos. While most streamers are contented with a basic microphone, you’re going to need a dedicated microphone if you want to be heard clearly by your viewers while streaming. You better make sure that your audio is good and clear because no one likes to watch a live stream with poor audio quality.
The same goes for the camera as well. Your viewers will want to get a good look at you while streaming. The best way to do it is to use a camera with a good 1080p video quality.
Streaming Channels
The last essential you need to have when streaming videos is a streaming channel. You’re going to need to choose which live streaming channel you want to broadcast your live stream.
There are a lot of live streaming channels you can choose from. Whether it’s Facebook Live, Periscope, Twitch, or Youtube Live, your live streams will surely be watched by your social media followers.
Conclusion
Be sure to have these 5 essential things to start live streaming. There are still plenty of other things you need for streaming videos, but those are really not necessary for you to get started.
After having these five things, you can now start learning how to acquire more viewers. But, whether you’re looking to make live streaming a profession or as a hobby, always remember to have fun. Because the more you have fun with your streams, the more viewers you’ll gather.
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