Twitch is the first thing that comes to people’s minds when they hear the word ‘streaming’. It is the most popular streaming service which is expanding at a faster pace. People around the world arrive together at Twitch, looking for the content they desire. They chat, they interact. They form communities around the content of their likeness.
Meanwhile, streamers, the content creators, are specifically obliged to entertain the crowd swarming up their stream. Fans expect something new and live for content.
The primary goal of streamers is to create content; probably unique and appealing. Once they are ready with their content, the next step is to stream it; in other words, going live on the Twitch platform to broadcast their content.
Going live is not a long voyage but the catch is in the preparations the streamer has to do before thinking about streaming. Let’s make ourselves familiar with such preparation.
Create a Twitch Account
Make sure you own a Twitch a/c. It is not an issue if you don’t. Open the Twitch website on your PC or install the Twitch app on your phone and follow the tutorial to create an account. You are good to go once you are done with it.
And also don’t neglect the Two-factor authentication. Enable it on and discard the fear of losing the account from your thoughts.
Go through the Terms of Service and Community Guidelines
Saving yourselves from any sort of trouble online is as important as dodging your angry mom’s throwables. Twitch has solemnized to provide its users with the best shared social video experience so that creators and communities can co-exist in harmony.
That’s why a streamer must review the Terms of Service as well as the Community Guidelines very thoroughly to restrict himself from breaching the integrity of the community by his/her content and actions.
Just know the line of difference between what can be broadcasted on Twitch and what must not be broadcasted on Twitch.
It is also advisable to organize the ‘Moderation and Safety’ settings for ensuring further safety and a positive experience.
Customize your channel
The first impression is the best. It doesn’t cost you at all to give a stunning finish to your channel. People visiting your channel should go “Whoa!” in the first place.
Get yourselves an appealing profile picture (of course, which is related to the content you create or just your face, who cares?). Draft an impressive Bio or at least a very poetic and feel-good one. Keep your viewers engaging even before you go live.
Hone the Hardware
You can’t paint a mural masterpiece without a wall. Well, it may be possible with the metaverse but that’s not our concern. The point is: you can stream only with a device that can vitalize streaming. But, you don’t have to complicate it
Optimizing the hardware for your stream is the most essential part of the preparation. The machine must be capable of doing two things: One, to run the content you have created or just work as an aid to portray the content. Two, to run the streaming software (about which we’ll be discussing after a few paras).
Confirm that your hardware has the minimum requirements to run the streaming software. Hobby streamers may worry, that they have to spend a lot to own such hardware, but they need not. Many mid-range computers in the market can fulfil this step of preparation.
Hand-pick the streaming software
The streaming software is the paintbrush you use to paint the mural(content). It facilitates streaming and makes it more comforting for the streamer to look over the stream. It also helps to maintain the best audio quality all over the stream.
There is a bunch of streaming software out there. But the most noteworthy one is the Twitch Studio. Twitch introduced Twitch Studio as its first-party software for streaming. It is well known for its features of effortless monitoring channel activity and interacting with the community. You can set up Twitch Studio very easily and can go live in no time.
Some other streaming software includes Xsplit, Streamlabs OBS and Lightstream studio.
Other essential set-ups
Other most necessary things for streamers to consider are:
- An uninterrupted internet source
- And Video and Audio equipment
Fans’ entertainment meter is boosted only when they visually see and hear the content they came looking for. Thus perfecting the audio and video output according to the content is a prime purpose.
Choosing audio accessories can be confusing for streamers. Most of the time they are like “If I bought expensive headphones and microphones, my stream will look well and will reach more people.” The sad reality is people aren’t interested in fine-quality audio but fine-quality content. But there are certain exceptional cases. Music is one of them. A music streamer should concentrate more on the audio output and input devices because his/her content’s quality depends on the audio’s quality. Therefore, streamers should select their audio peripherals according to the content they create.
Trust me, there is no such line in Twitch’s Terms of Service that goes like “Every streamer must stream their faces as well along with the content. If not, they will be banned from the platform.” It is not compulsory to disclose your face to the viewers when your content is more than enough. Yet some streamers stream their facial expressions alongside their content and gain more exposure. However, the choice is more ‘content-driven’. If you’re planning to stream in the category of ‘Just Streaming’ or any other non-gaming category like art, you may have to consider having a camera and the aspects surrounding it like the location, lighting and positioning.
Extensions if needed
Twitch provides streamers with some extensions that may help them while streaming and enhance their experience. They can be found in the Extensions tab on the Creator Dashboard.
Give your stream a name and hit ‘Go live’
These are the final moments before all hell breaks loose. You have to customize your stream info by giving it a title and sorting it into a category.
After then, follow these steps:
- Open the streaming software
- Choose Twitch
- Log in and give authorization
- Complete the tutorial to connect audio and video devices to the stream
- Recheck once if everything is in place
- Hit ‘Go live’
