The right Twitch streaming tools can significantly improve the look and feel of your stream.
I mean, think about it, they:
- Make your stream look more professional
- Help make your stream easier to run
- Improve the overall experience for your viewers
- Help you maintain a more stable connection with the Twitch server
- Encourage your viewership numbers to grow over time
In other words, you can’t afford NOT to have these tools.
Luckily enough, most of them are free.
And they either help you get more viewers, make your stream more interactive, or both.
Right, now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at 9 Twitch streaming tools every gamer needs to have!
Best Software to Stream on Twitch
1. A Basic OBS Studio Layout
The first Twitch streaming tool you need is called Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Studio.
It’s basically a free alternative to high-end live streaming software like Wirecast and vMix, but it does come with one big caveat: It can be really difficult to learn how to use it at first.
Thankfully, there are plenty of resources out there that will help you through the learning curve.
Just Google “OBS studio tutorials”, and I’m sure you’ll find something helpful.
This free Twitch streaming tool lets you do all sorts of stuff with your stream, including:
- Switching between multiple cameras (e.g., webcam or game capture)
- Changing your Twitch.tv title, game, and other stream settings on the fly
- Sending out alerts to viewers when you go live (or creating a scheduled event)
- And much more!
Seriously, OBS Studio is one of those tools that’s definitely worth putting some time into learning how to use.
It’ll help build your Twitch streaming career from the ground up!
Best Streaming Tools for Twitch
2. An Elgato Stream Deck
Elgato is a hardware company that specializes in making video capture devices, such as webcams and screen recorders.
They also have a pretty cool product called the Elgato Stream Deck that makes your Twitch streaming life a little easier.
It’s basically an advanced “keyboard” with programmable buttons for switching between scenes, videos, etc., while you’re live on Twitch.
But what’s especially neat about the Elgato Stream Deck is its compatibility with custom HTML5 web buttons!
These are small interactive widgets that you can create in seconds, then link to various actions within your streaming software.
For example, one button could lead viewers straight to your Amazon wishlist or a specific charity.
Another button could send them over to a survey site asking for their opinion on the latest Animal Crossing game.
And yet another button might link to your Discord chat so people can get to know you a little better.
In other words, all of these custom web buttons give viewers more ways to interact with your stream apart from the basic “Like” and “Follow” buttons.
And that’s great for building viewer loyalty and encouraging them to stick around longer!
Tools for Streaming on Twitch
3. A Stream Package
You’ve probably seen all kinds of Twitch.tv overlay designs out there.
They vary in style, theme, and quality, but most of them share the same basic purpose:
To make your stream look more professional!
That’s why you need to use one when you’re broadcasting.
They’re basically a set of Twitch graphics that you put together and slap onto your streaming software (e.g., OBS Studio) in order to personalize your stream.
Overlays can come with all sorts of stuff:
- Animated alerts
- Stinger transitions
- Customized panels
- Your gaming logo
- Banners
- And so on
4. Extensions For Your Browser
When you go live, you’ll probably want to have your Twitch stream open in a second browser tab.
That way, you can watch the chat while still being able to switch between games on OBS Studio.
Well guess what?
Twitch extensions for Chrome (e.g., Chat Replay) and Firefox (e.g., Chatty) make this possible.
In fact, if you’re a veteran Twitch streamer, I’m pretty sure that you use one on a daily basis!
“What is the best streaming tool for Twitch?”
5. A Good Microphone and Headset
As long as we’re talking about broadcasting software and secondary browsers, let’s talk about sound.
Unfortunately, this is one area where a lot of new Twitch streamers fall short:
They assume that they can get away with using their built-in microphone and headset.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but if you’re serious about building an engaged audience on Twitch, then you need a dedicated microphone and headset .
Even if you’re mainly playing games and not talking (e.g., strategy games like Civilization), I still recommend having them.
That way, your viewers can hear all of the in-game sounds as well as gameplay commentary that might pop up from time to time.
Truth be told, it’s one of those Twitch streaming tools that you won’t appreciate until you actually invest in it.
“What do streamers use to stream?”
6. An External Sound Card
You could technically hook up your microphone and headset to your computer using USB.
But doing so will still present a number of problems, like echo, vocals sounding muffled, etc.
The simplest solution?
Get an external sound card.
This is basically a device that “splits” the signal so you can hear yourself talk on your microphone without it being picked up by your computer’s built-in sound card.
Plus, it lets you control what volume level each one of these devices gets!
7. A Good Lighting Setup
Remember when I said that having two monitors can be quite beneficial for your streaming career? Well, it’s true.
That is, of course, if you have great lighting!
You don’t want to go live with a dark background because that will make it harder to see what you’re doing on screen.
It can also affect how clear your face looks in the webcam!
To put it bluntly, bad lighting can hurt your stream’s overall quality.
And that is why you need to think about investing in a good lighting setup .
The most affordable one?
Get yourself some inexpensive clip lights and attach them to the back of your monitor(s).
In conclusion:
There you have it!
These are, in my opinion, 7 of the best Twitch streaming tools for gamers.
They’ll make your life easier, they’ll make you look more professional, and they’ll give viewers more ways to interact with you!
So, go ahead and try them out yourself.
And as always, have fun gaming!
-The Zombie Writing Team