The number of Twitch streamers has exploded, recently, with more people than ever looking to make connections through the service. Twitch is a social media platform that allows users to broadcast their screens — from PCs to smartphones to consoles — and share it with friends (or strangers). You may have heard that it has blown YouTube Gaming out of the water. 

If you’ve had it in the back of your head that you’ll get around to trying a stream out one day, there’s no better time than the present! This simple guide will detail everything you need to know in order to start streaming on Twitch with your PC.

The Basic Gear To Get You Started

These things will need to be gathered before you can do your first stream: 

  • Twitch account Camera (optional but common) Microphone (also optional but common) Computer Computer screen Streaming software

Things To Invest In Over Time And Improve Your Stream

If you begin to accrue followers, stream more often, and become increasingly serious about Twitch, you may consider investing in new things to improve the content you produce.

No matter what you read online, don’t invest in too much equipment before you’ve been doing it for some time and fully intend to get serious.

  • Lighting Colourful/Colour-changing lights Backdrop Improved tech (microphone, camera, etc.)

In order to stream on Twitch on a PC, you need some kind of encoder. Most beginners use a software encoder, not a hardware encoder. The encoder captures what you’re doing on-screen and shares it with the viewers.

While you can stream directly from consoles, many people prefer to use their PC for a number of reasons:

  • the use of encoder software they prefer the ability to be in direct control over the stream the lack of a hardware encoder their inability to connect the proper equipment to a console (microphone, camera, etc.) and more

There are lots of great software encoders available for free. “OBS” is a well-known one that beginners tend to appreciate. Some streamers swear by one encoder called “XSplit” but it’s generally agreed that if you can’t afford to pay for the premium version, you may as well just use other software. Others, such as “vMix” are aimed at and designed for pro streamers.

This guide will walk you through how to use a software encoder called “Twitch Studio.” This is Twitch’s first-party encoder that’s perfect for beginners to get set up in a matter of minutes.

At the moment, it’s officially in an ‘open beta’ — you can use it, but it’ll be updated and improved as Twitch continues to develop it. Twitch Studio is ideal if you’re just looking to dip your toes into the water and see how you feel since you won’t have poured a bunch of time into learning something by the time you start your first stream.

How To Stream On PC With Twitch Studio

Step 1: Download Twitch Studio

You can download Twitch Studio’s open beta at www.twitch.tv/broadcast/studio. You’ll need to be running Windows 7 or higher.

Step 2: Proceed Through The Setup

The setup for Twitch Studio is incredibly simple. It quickly walks you through:

  • the microphone you’ll be using the camera it’s accessing the pre-made scenes you can use the recommended quality settings based on your computer and internet

Be thorough when checking that these systems are all working properly because it will save you a headache down the road.

Step 3: The Main Menu And Things To Tweak Before You Stream

Once setup has finished you will be brought to the app, where there are a lot of things to discover. Spend some time familiarizing yourself with the various settings and buttons. Consider how your stream is going to run and what you want to be able to do while it’s happening.

On the left, clicking the button below ‘Main Screen Share’ allows you to choose what part of your screen will share with your viewers. You could choose to share an entire monitor or just one particular app.

Hovering over a scene on the lefthand menu will bring up a button labelled ‘Edit.’ Selecting this will allow you to tweak the scenes to your tastes with lots of customization options, including images, countdowns, Twitch alerts, and more.

Step 4: Hit The Big Red Button

Well, technically it’s the big purple button. Twitch Studio asks you to sign in with your Twitch account, so after that, you don’t have to do anything except hit ‘Stream’ to get started.

The first time, it will bring up the Stream Info menu (shown above on the left) and prompt you to provide some details about your stream. Then it will prompt you to double-check your settings (shown above on the right). The subsequent times you stream, the Stream Info menu only appears if you choose to edit it in the right-hand menu or from the main page.

NEXT: Otters Are Taking Over Twitch’s Hot Tub Stream Category