Twitch has become the most important platform related to chats, streaming and direct related to video games worldwide. That is why, whether we are new to the platform or have been broadcasting on it for a long time, we may need a transmission software with which we can stream and direct from Twitch. Have you ever wondered, do streamers use VPNs? Well, Cyber Waters will help you understand the long debate about VPNs and help you make an informed decision.
To carry out our live broadcasts from Twitch we are going to need a streaming program that suits our needs and that allows us to get the most out of our live shows.
Why use streaming software on Twitch
If we are going to use Twitch to carry out our content through direct and streaming, the transmission software is going to be a key piece for us so that all our live content is carried out with the best possible quality. Each streaming software generally comes with the same list of basic features, including streaming encoding, local recording, webcam support, and multiple sources so you can capture what you want to stream.
However, each software available in the market will have its advantages and disadvantages. Some options allow us to be used practically from the first moment we install them, while others will need to carry out certain adjustments to obtain them.
Therefore, depending on the transmission program that we choose to carry out our live sessions on Twitch, it will depend on both our preferences and our technical abilities. Therefore, to help you a little with work, today we are going to tell you what are the best options that we have available.
Best programs to make direct
Next, we are going to see what are the best programs that we can use to carry out our direct from Twitch with the best possible quality and in this way obtain the best results.
OBS Studio, the best option for experts
It is a free and open source program with which we can carry out live broadcasts and streaming , as well as recording content to upload it later. All this without watermark or time limit. Among its features, it stands out for having an audio mixer, noise suppression filters and an unlimited number of scene templates. All this makes it one of the best streaming software for Twitch.
OBS Studio has a robust feature list, not only with all the basics we need to get started, but also with plenty of built-in customization options. We’ll be able to easily add multiple scenes, and each scene can contain all sorts of sources, including your gameplay, browser capture, webcam, and anything else you want to add. However, not everything is positive, since it is a complex program especially aimed at advanced users. It also doesn’t have a dedicated support team and doesn’t include alerts, so you’ll need to use an external source to set them up and capture them in the browser.
We can download OBS Studio for free from the developer’s website .
XSplit Broadcaster, one of the most popular
It is another of the most popular programs for streaming content for Twitch. It has a Freemium version, which means that it has a free version with the most basic functions , and the most advanced ones are blocked, so we will have to pay a monthly subscription or buy a lifetime license to be able to use them.
The free version has all the basic functions that we will need for our streaming. However, you only have a maximum of four scenes. It will also insert a watermark in our transmission if we use a resolution above 720p or 30 FPS, or even when we record, so it can be very annoying. In addition, it offers us support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with priority support for premium members, something that can be decisive for many users.
In order to start using XSplit, all you have to do is download its latest version available from its website.
Streamlabs, ideal for monitoring all streaming events
It is a tool for making online broadcasts that is perfectly adapted to be used with Twitch. Similarly, this streaming software is compatible with other platforms such as Facebook or YouTube. It has a very clear interface that we can also customize with more than 1000 themes. Among its features we can highlight that it includes various customization options for text to speech, alerts, designs and widgets.
It also has a built-in chat function that can be useful for us to chat directly from the application. A great advantage of Streamlabs is its robust dashboard, which allows us to monitor not only our streaming events like follows and subscriptions, but also read our chat and quickly switch between overlay layouts. It’s a good option for streamers who want the freedom and customization of OBS Studio, but with a more user-friendly interface at the expense of some more advanced options.
Streamlabs is a free application that we can download from the developer’s website . It also has a premium version with more features for $12 per month.
Gamecaster, suitable for all types of users
We’re talking about content streaming and recording software that’s compatible with platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook. With its own startup tutorial, the program takes care of configuring and optimizing the transmission automatically according to the hardware of our PC. This means that we can have a streaming with a professional appearance, even if we do not have previous experience.
It has a wide variety of themes and endless customization possibilities. We can configure our direct to our liking including personalized alerts. We will also be able to see the messages on the screen, monitor our transmission events and control our live sessions from the same application. However, finer control over important things like selective recording and audio is missing.
We can download Gamecaster from its official website .
Twitch Studio, ideal for beginners
This app is part of Twitch’s response to the needs of new streamers and content creators. At the moment, it is in beta and is being specially developed to be easy to configure , with guided customization and detection of things that we should usually configure ourselves. That is why it is aimed at all types of users, mainly those who have just arrived on the platform.
Twitch Studio will take care of simplifying the task of setting up your stream like what bitrate to use, and it will do it for you automatically. It will also help new streamers to add each of the different sources that they will use during the broadcast such as webcam, microphone or video source. In addition, it has its own alert system. It is true that it has fewer customization options than other software, but if what we want is a quick configuration to start using it quickly, it can be a good option.
We can download Twitch Studio for free from its official website .
Lightstream Studio, the most effective online option
To be able to broadcast both live and recorded on Twitch or other platforms such as YouTube or Facebook, we can opt for an online application such as Lightstream Studio. This is characterized by running directly from our browser. With it we will be able to show what we are playing, without having to know how to control technicalities such as codecs or bitrates, while recording through our microphone and through our webcam.
It is possible to customize our background with templates, share the screen with other users and add elements to the recordings such as images or logos. Its main disadvantage is that it has some limits for the free version, since we can only broadcast at 720p and 30 FPS. Additionally, streams are also limited to a maximum of three hours in length.
It has a Freemium version, with a limited free version, as well as different types of subscriptions and price levels. If we want to test all its functions beforehand, we can access a 7-day trial version from its website.
Which is the best option?
As we have been able to verify, we have a good range of options to choose a software that helps us get the most out of our live broadcasts or streaming on Twitch. The use between one or the other may vary depending on our requirements and the capabilities we have to know how to configure each of the sections of the program to obtain the best possible experience.
When choosing an option, OBS Studio would be the most suitable for advanced users, since it is both the most complex to configure and the one that, possibly, offers us the best final result. All this added to the fact that it is an open source and free application, so not only will we not have to pay a euro, but through its extensive community it will gradually improve and add new features.
For the most inexperienced users, the Twitch Studio option may possibly be the most interesting since it has a good auto-configuration system, which will make it unnecessary to have previous experience to be able to use it. It is also free, so it can become a safe bet, despite the fact that it does not have as many functions as other available options.
