How to Set Up Audio for Game Streaming
Techquickie
·Techquickie
·2018-05-06
·
971 words · ~4 min read
0:00
thanks for watching techwiki click the subscribe button then enable
0:03
notifications with the bell icon so you won't miss any future videos
0:07
so maybe the teacher never called on you when you were a kid or maybe you're that
0:11
person who's always dropping zesty jokes in a group chat that no one seems to
0:16
laugh at anyway whatever the reason you've been
0:20
searching for a platform where people might finally listen to you so you turn
0:24
to game streaming and while you might have watched our previous episode on the
0:28
kind of pc you need to stream one detail we left out was the importance of having
0:32
a proper audio setup starting of course with a microphone now odds are that if
0:37
you're looking at the streaming you probably have a webcam with a mic built
0:40
in or a gaming headset lying around now you can use these in a pinch but i
0:45
strongly recommend against it as the quality difference between a built-in
0:48
solution and a proper standalone mic will be as clear as night and day to
0:52
your viewers so one of the primary decisions you'll have to make when
0:56
shopping for a microphone will be whether you want an xlr or a usb
1:00
connection usb microphones have built-in analog to
1:03
digital converters that obviate the need for any other hardware to process
1:07
whatever you're saying into the mic this makes them simpler to set up and
1:10
more convenient but while there are some great usb options out there their
1:15
integrated dacs and apps can sometimes be lower quality or cause undesirable
1:19
electrical noise so in the same way that people who are really serious about
1:23
music might use a separate headphone app rather than relying on their
1:27
motherboard's audio jack the audio nerds on the streaming side of things are all
1:31
about that xlr xlr microphones are usually preferred in professional audio
1:36
settings they require a separate audio interface to plug it into one good idea
1:41
is a mixing board or mixer many of which can handle the conversion from analog to
1:45
digital for you but they also allow finer control over your microphone so if
1:49
you want to adjust the equalization settings monitor how loud your voice is
1:53
without getting an echo change the sensitivity or gain so that your mic
1:58
won't pick up too much background noise or hook up a second mic if you're
2:01
streaming with a friend a mixer board provides a convenient control center on
2:04
your desk that's easy to access during your stream without having to tab out of
2:09
the game many mixers can connect to your pc via usb though you can also use an analog
2:15
connection in case you'd like to let something like a sound card handle the
2:18
conversion but i wouldn't recommend it do note though that you might not notice
2:22
a huge difference in sound quality just because of microphones xlr it's just a
2:27
different type of connection and you might have to shell out some serious
2:30
coin if you want something that will blow away a usb model however even a
2:35
lower end xlr mic can give you more options down the road since you'll be
2:39
able to upgrade other parts of your audio setup without having to buy
2:42
another microphone of course the actual electronics
2:46
themselves are only part of the story to prevent unpleasant scratching or bumping
2:50
noises when you mash your keyboard a little too hard you'll want something to
2:54
stabilize your microphone such as a stand or a boom ARM with the latter
2:58
being preferred by many streamers because it can be mounted to your desk
3:01
to keep your mic super stable above you to save space while also allowing you to
3:05
move it around freely and you also won't want to forget a pop
3:09
filter which is an inexpensive disc that goes in front of your microphone to
3:13
prevent ploses the unpleasant popping sounds that can be caused by saying
3:17
words to start with b or p and finally consider what's around you
3:22
are you streaming from a rather bare room with hardwood floors or somewhere
3:26
where an air conditioner is constantly humming these things might be easy to
3:30
forget about if you're wearing headphones so try to stream from a
3:33
quieter environment with minimal echo and invest in some rugs or squishy
3:37
acoustic panels if need be it'll be hard to attract viewers if you sound like
3:41
you're streaming from the end of a sewer pipe and speaking of streaming are you a
3:45
streamer that's looking for more control over your broadcast at your fingertips
3:49
then check out the elgato stream deck an easy to use accessory with 15 totally
3:53
customizable lcd buttons that allow you to access the streaming commands you
3:57
need with just one touch it's compatible with twitch youtube xsplit and obs
4:03
map whatever you'd like to the tactile buttons anything from thanking a donor
4:07
to switching a lower third to displaying a gif the options are only limited by
4:10
your own creativity and customization is incredibly easy just drag and drop your
4:15
actions onto the buttons throw on whatever icon you'd like and you're
4:19
ready to go and you could even turn buttons into folders and create multiple
4:23
profiles if 15 buttons just isn't enough
4:26
we use stream deck with the WAN Show here at Linus media group we love it and
4:30
we think you will too so check it out today at the link in the video description okay guys thanks for
4:34
watching techwiki like dislike check our other channels leave your comments below
4:38
and your ideas for future videos and don't forget to subscribe