Start Live Streaming to Twitch with OBS
Nothing is worse than a Twitch stream cutting out mid-sentence while your chat sits there watching. OBS is free and endlessly configurable, but it can only send video as fast as the internet connection beneath it, and one cellular signal is not a dependable pipe once you are walking around.
Speedify is a software app that joins Wi-Fi, 4G/5G cellular, Ethernet, Starlink and satellite internet connections into one steadier internet connection. Speedify needs at least two connections for that; with one, Speedify works as an encrypted VPN and cannot stop that connection from dropping. Read on for the OBS gear list and the four steps to go live IRL (in real life) on Twitch, and for how using Speedify holds your upload speeds up while you move.
Whichever encoder you land on, Speedify sits underneath it. See Speedify for Twitch.
How to Stream on Twitch with OBS: What You Need
- Audio-video source: a camera, either dedicated (like a GoPro, for example), or a computer webcam(s) or your smartphone’s camera.
- Pro Tip: for better quality audio, you can use dedicated microphones.
- Pro Tip: extra lighting could be useful in specific scenarios.
- Streaming device: a laptop or desktop computer.
- Streaming software: OBS, in this case.
- Stable Internet: use at least two Internet connections at the same time while live streaming IRL. Speedify can help with that.
- Pro Tip: Use an additional smartphone with a cellular data plan. Combine that with your main Internet connection together at once with Speedify to hit your target bitrate and keep the stream going when one connection drops.
4 Steps to Live Stream IRL to Twitch Using OBS
- Set up your streaming device and connect all available Internet sources.
As you’ll be streaming from your computer, you can combine any number and type of connections: wired Ethernet, Wi-Fi, tethered smartphones, external USB cellular adapters, etc. - Start Speedify and make sure it combines your connections.
When you open Speedify, all the active Internet sources connected should be recognized. Just choose a server to connect to.
If you don’t have a Speedify subscription yet, you can get it from the Speedify website store, the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. - Set up OBS for Twitch.
If you’re new to OBS, start with the guides in the OBS Wiki section, including the quick start guide there.
Below is also a cool video from Linus on getting started with OBS on Twitch.
- Go Live after a final check.
Audio and video should be working. Speedify should be running.
Whenever you’re ready, just start the IRL live stream and broadcast to your Twitch audience.
Those four steps are the same whatever encoder you use. OBS, Streamlabs, Ecamm Live, StreamYard and Restream all sit on top of the same upload connection, and none of them can send data that connection is not carrying. What changes is how you configure the encoder itself, which is what the sections below cover.
IRL Streaming to Twitch with Streamlabs
Streamlabs runs on both desktop and mobile, and the setup path differs between them. Streamlabs publishes a guide to streaming on Twitch, and their support centre covers the mobile and desktop apps separately. Mobile is the more common IRL choice, and it is also the one that benefits most from combining connections, because a phone walking down a street is the least stable connection in this list. If you stream to YouTube instead, here is how to IRL stream to YouTube with Streamlabs.
Going Live IRL with StreamYard
StreamYard runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install, and it can push one broadcast to Twitch and several other platforms at once. That last part cuts both ways: when the connection drops, every destination drops together. Combining connections matters more here than with a single-destination setup, because one lost signal costs you every platform you were live on. StreamYard’s support centre covers connecting Twitch as a destination.
Ecamm Live IRL Streaming on a Mac
Ecamm Live is Mac only, which rules out phone-based IRL rigs and means your connection options are the computer ones: wired Ethernet, a Wi-Fi hotspot, a tethered smartphone, or an external USB 5G/4G cellular adapter. Ecamm’s support centre covers adding Twitch as a destination.
Going Live IRL with Restream
Restream is the other multi-destination option, and the same warning applies as with StreamYard: one connection carries every platform you are broadcasting to. Set the Twitch destination up from Restream’s support centre, then let Speedify hold the connection underneath it. The same setup works for IRL streaming to Facebook with Restream.
Speedify: an Essential Element in Your OBS IRL Live Streaming Setup for Twitch
Live streaming IRL to Twitch using OBS should be about what you stream, not about whether the next street has signal. For most IRL streamers, though, the internet connection is the part that fails.
This is where Speedify helps. Speedify can combine multiple internet sources into one connection for more stable and secure live streaming, video calling, online gaming and web browsing.
Running Speedify, which prioritizes your IRL live stream over other internet traffic, cuts down on low quality and choppy video, buffering and, with two or more connections, disconnects from the streaming server.
Speedify
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