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How to Stream or Record Your Games for Broadcast Online

Eric Ravenscraft and Michael Franco
11/09/20 2:15PM 101 24

Photo: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)

These days, there is much more to social gaming than inviting your buddies over to
play Mario Kart. It’s easier than ever to share every game you play online with
hundreds of people, building one gigantic community around your exploits in your
favorite titles—whether you’re any good or not.
This guide is going to take a look at streaming and recording your games across the
biggest platforms. Our instructions will focus on Twitch, but know that plenty of
other streaming services exist that you can use as a home base for all your gaming
adventures:

· How to stream games on a PC or Mac

· How to stream games on an Xbox One

· How to stream games on a PlayStation 4

· How to record your games to show off later

· How to record your gaming on a PC or Mac

· How to record your gaming on a console

Why would I want to stream my games?

Broadcasting games to an audience of strangers might seem a bit... strange. After all,
isn’t the fun of gaming playing rather than watching someone play? But if you think
about it, people have been looking over each other’s shoulders as they game for years
—from the first pinball machines, to arcades, to the modern day, with celebrity
gamers making millions on YouTube and large online gaming tournaments being
broadcast to thousands.

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You might not be the celebrity superstar of your favorite game just yet, but sharing
your daring digital pursuits with the world is a worthwhile endeavor. Sometimes you
pull off some sweet trick or discover a hidden gem. Sometimes it’s entertaining to
watch someone else screw up. Sometimes the story is so engaging, it’s almost a
movie. Watching movies is fun, so why wouldn’t watching cinematic video games be
fun?

All those videos you’ve ever watched of people playing games online have to come
from somewhere. Broadcasting is easier than ever, and not only do you get to share
your experience with other people, but they get to see what a game is like before
purchasing it.

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Basically, if you’re enjoying playing a game, there’s no reason to think other people
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How to stream games on Twitch

Screenshot: Michael Franco

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When it comes to game broadcasting, there’s Twitch, and then there’s everyone else.
(Sorry Mixer and YouTube Gaming.) Twitch allows you to broadcast your gameplay
live, embed the stream on your web site or blog and share it to social networks. It
even comes with a built-in chat room for your viewers. If you want to share your
games online, this is your first stop.

For all of the methods in this section, you’ll need to register for a Twitch account—so
go ahead and do that here if you don’t already have one.

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How to stream games on a PC or Mac

Streaming from your computer requires special broadcast software. Twitch

recommends several selections here. XSplit Gamecaster is one of the easiest to
use. Although there is a fee to upgrade to the premium level, its free offerings are
more than adequate for most gamers. It only works on PCs, but another solid option,
Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), works on Macs as well.

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 XSplit Gamecaster (PC Only)

Screenshot: Michael Franco

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Here’s how to get started with Gamecaster:

1. Download the software and log in using your Twitch credentials. In addition to
Twitch, Gamecaster offers support for the following streaming services:
YouTube Live, Facebook Live, Mixer, Smashcast, Ustream, Dailymotion,
Niconico and LIVEhouse.in.
2. The software will automatically set itself up to stream your gameplay to Twitch.
3. Choose a template that will act as the frame for your game. Themes have Start,
Main and Intermission scenes that let you set up the screens your viewers will
see before you play, while you’re playing and when you need a break,
respectively.
4. Click “Stream” on the bottom of the screen, select Twitch and start playing your
game.

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Pressing Ctrl+Tab opens the Gamecaster HUD (heads up display) where you can set
up your chat room and control other features. Gamecaster also allows you to set up
your webcam and microphone by clicking the options in the lower left corner of the
screen.

Open Broadcaster Software (Mac, PC, Linux)

Screenshot: Michael Franco

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Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is a little more complicated, but it’s completely
free and it offers pro-level options for streaming. Once you get the hang of it, you can
use it to create some impressive streams and recordings.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed OBS, you’ll need to log in to Twitch. OBS does
not support the ability to log in to Twitch directly, so you have to obtain a “stream
key” from Twitch, which you can get here. This key changes periodically, so you may
need to update it each time you stream with OBS. Once you have it, follow these
steps:

1. In OBS, click the Settings button in the lower right corner.

2. Select “Stream” in the left-hand pane.
3. Next to “Service” select Twitch.
4. Next to “Stream Key,” enter the key you acquired from your Twitch dashboard.

5. The first time you set up OBS you may be prompted to change some video
settings, depending on your setup. These will be displayed at the bottom of the
window in red text. If any of these exist, fix them before moving on.

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When you’re done, you can move onto setting up broadcasting. Starting a stream will
require a little more setup than Gamecaster, but it’s still fairly straightforward. To
get started, follow these steps:

1. Open the game you want to stream.

2. In OBS, right-click in the “Sources” box.

3. In the Add > menu, choose “Window Capture.” (You can also use “Desktop
Capture” if you want to be able to share more than just your game window, but
for now we’ll keep it simple.) Name the source and press Enter.
4. In the drop-down menu at the top of the next dialog box, choose the window of
your game. Click OK.
5. When you’re ready to begin broadcasting, click “Start Streaming.”

You can create additional Window Capture sources for your stream, such as adding
in your webcam feed on top of your game. OBS also has a collection of plugins that
can extend the app’s functionality. While OBS is a bit more complex to use, it also
offer a lot more features and customization options than Gamecaster, so it’s up to
you which you want to use. It’s also the best option for streaming gameplay from a
Mac.

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Twitch Studio
Screenshot: Michael Franco

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If you’re an early adopter, you can give Twitch’s own new broadcasting software—
Twitch Studio—a try. Currently in Beta and only available for PCs, the program
walks you through everything you need to do to start streaming, which makes it
leagues simpler than OBS.

How to stream games on an Xbox One

Screenshot: Michael Franco

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With the Xbox One, game streaming is baked into the OS; you don’t need to install a
separate app to broadcast your gaming. By default, you’ll be sending your stream to
Microsoft’s Mixer service.

To get started, hold down the Xbox button while you’re playing (or preparing to
play) a game, select the “Broadcast” tab and then select “Start Broadcast.” A wizard
will open to help you tweak things like broadcast quality, adding extra players and
more. Pressing the B button will send you back to your game.

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If you’d rather stream to Twitch from your Xbox One, you’ll need to download the
Twitch app to your console. And before you broadcast, you’ll need to link your
account. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open the Twitch app on your Xbox One console.

2. On the left side of the app menu, select “Log in.”
3. Open twitch.tv/activate on your computer or phone.

4. Enter the six digit code on your Xbox to link your account.

Once your accounts are linked, you can start broadcasting. Simply select the “Start
Broadcast” tile to begin sharing. You’ll be given the option to enable Kinect video or
audio with your microphone. If you’re a Kinect user, you can also say “Xbox,
Broadcast” to begin a streaming session once everything is all set up.

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How to stream games on a PlayStation 4

The PlayStation 4 can also stream directly to Twitch. The PlayStation controller has
a Share button on it that you can use to start the process—but as usual, you’ll have to
link your accounts first. To do this:

1. Go to Settings > Account Management > Link with Other Services.

2. Select Twitch and sign in to your Twitch account.

Then, launch the game you want to play. To broadcast:

1. While playing the game, press the Share button.

2. Choose an online service. We’ll use Twitch, but the PS4 also supports YouTube
out of the box. Sign in to your streaming account if prompted.
3. To adjust your broadcast while streaming, you can use the “Options” button to
open the “Advanced Broadcast” menu.

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Of all the platforms, the PS4 seems the easiest to stream from, as it doesn’t require
any special downloads. You can also use the Share menu to take screenshots or
record video clips.

How to record your games to show off later

Broadcasting live can be fun, but once the stream is over, you (or your viewers) may
want to rewatch it. You can also use your recordings later to make highlight reels or
just show off something crazy you pulled off . If you’re using Twitch—as we’ve
recommended in this guide so far—there’s an easy way to make that possible:

1. Before your broadcasts, open your Twitch account on the web. In the top right
corner of the site, click your profile icon and choose “Creator Dashboard.”

2. Select the “Channel” option at the left.

3. Toggle the switch next to “Store past broadcasts” to the On position.

With this option enabled, you can choose to save broadcasts for later viewing. Twitch
will not save your broadcast indefinitely (currently, whole broadcasts will be saved
for 14 days), but you can download videos to your computer and share them on any
video platform you’d like. If you’re not already into broadcasting, this is the simplest
method to record your videos. However, if you want to save and edit them before
they go live, there are other ways.

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How to record your gaming on a PC or Mac

To record your gameplay on the PC, you can use either of the applications that we
talked about in the broadcasting section. (Mac users will want to use OSB.)

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 For XSplit Gamecaster, you’ll see a record button right next to the stream button.
If you followed the instructions above but want to save your action rather than
stream it, simply hit that option.

Screenshot: Michael Franco

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To find your recordings, go to Settings, open the “Recording” tab and click on the
location next to “Directory.”

Screenshot: Michael Franco

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 To record your gameplay with OBS for either Mac or PC, follow these steps:

1. Select the “Settings” button in the lower-right hand corner of OBS.

2. Click “Output” option in the left-hand pane.

3. Next to “Recording path,” choose the directory where you’d like to save your
output files.

4. Choose an output quality. Note that if you choose “same as stream” you won’t
be able to pause your recording while you are gaming.

5. Click OK.

6. Open the game you want to play and add it to the Sources pane.
7. Click “Start Recording” in the lower right.

Screenshot: Michael Franco

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Your gameplay will be recorded to your hard drive while you play and will be
available for viewing or editing as soon as you click “Stop Recording.” You may need
to fiddle with your recording settings if you find that the quality of the video isn’t up
to snuff. Keep in mind you’re playing a graphics-intensive video game and recording
it on the same machine; this can be taxing on your computer, so either reduce the
graphics quality on your game, the resolution you’re recording at or both if you find
the video stutters or skips too much.

One final option for recording your gaming on a PC is to use the Game Bar in
Windows 10:

1. Open your game.

2. Open the Game Bar by pressing Windows + G on your keyboard

3. Adjust the settings as needed. You can choose the volume levels and sources for
your audio as well as activate or deactivate your microphone.

4. Click the “Record” button, start playing your game and capture the action.

How to record your gaming on a console

Way back in the ancient era of just a few years ago, recording or broadcasting
console gaming meant plugging your device into a capture card on your computer
and using an app like OBS or XSplit. If you’re using an older console like an Xbox
360 or PlayStation 3, that’s still your best bet, unfortunately.

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Recording newer consoles, however, is much easier: Our sister site Kotaku has a
lengthy guide specifically for recording console gaming, but here are the key steps
for both Xbox and PS4.

Xbox One

If you have a Kinect installed, you can start recording by saying “Xbox, start
recording.” You can also use “Xbox, record that” to start a clip that includes the last
30 seconds of gameplay (thanks to the system’s default video buffer). If you don’t
have a Kinect, follow these steps:

1. Press the Xbox button.

2. Press the X button to save the last 30 seconds of play.

3. To record longer segments, press the view button (it has two small overlapping
boxes), then “Record from now” followed by the A button.

4. Recording will start when you resume the game. When you’re done, press the
Xbox button again and then the X button.

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Note that the Xbox will store up to 10 minutes of game play, or up to an hour if you
connect an external hard drive. You can edit your clips on the Xbox using Microsoft’s
Upload Studio if you want to adjust endpoints or string multiple videos together.
Screenshot: Michael Franco

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If you want to transfer the videos to your PC, you can install the OneDrive app on
your Xbox, upload them to your storage and access them on your computer.

PlayStation 4

Sony has made recording your gameplay just as easy as broadcasting it. To record
clips, double-tap the Share button. This will immediately start recording. To stop,
double-tap it again.

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You can press the Share button once only to change recording settings if you’d like—
including the default length of clips. If you want to record more than a few minutes
of gameplay, you can set the maximum recording length as long as an hour.

If you want to record something that just happened rather than something that’s
going to happen, the PlayStation serves you even better than Xbox because the
machine is always recording your last 15 minutes of play. So if you do something epic
and want to save it, simply press and hold the Share button, and choose “Save Video
Clip” or hit the Square button. You can also use the share menu to send your clips to
social media (found in the Capture Gallery).
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Sony also has a built-in video editor called Share Factory that you can use to edit
your clips. If you want to export them to edit on a computer, you can plug a USB
stick into your PS4 and use the Capture Gallery to copy them over. From the Capture
Gallery, select Options and choose “Copy video to USB.”

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This article was originally published in 2015 by Eric Ravenscraft and updated in
April 2020 by Michael Franco. We significantly revised the article in the revision,
clarifying instructions for software/devices that have changed, rewriting portions
of the article for clarity and suggesting a few additional ways to stream and/or
record your gaming. The post was updated again on Nov. 9, 2020 to align the
content with current Lifehacker standards for the use of photos and screenshots.

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DISCUSSION

MrXax
5/08/15 11:29AM

Is there any reason a GeForce user wouldn’t want to use ShadowPlay to record video instead?

See all replies