In today's era of diversified consumer technology, it seems easier than ever to become a game live streamer. Game live streaming has become highly democratized, but it's not as easy as just owning a game console or PC, registering a Twitch account, and using a webcam and microphone to do it well. In addition to a webcam, microphone, and a computer or game console with appropriate processing power and graphics card, gamers who dream of live streaming will also need some other key hardware and software equipment.
First, it is crucial to choose the right live streaming software, which we have already discussed in detail in the article "How to become a Twitch anchor". Next, you have to think about how to achieve live capture through your gaming equipment.
Consoles like the PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One have their own internal capture and broadcast streaming capabilities. If you have a gaming PC, you can also stream content directly from your computer to Twitch or Facebook Gaming (the current home of Microsoft's former Mixer users). However, if you own a Nintendo Switch, or want to reduce the load on your computer's CPU, you'll need to buy a device called a "capture card."
What is a capture card?
In simple terms, a capture card is a device that captures video and audio from a game console or PC and converts the signals into digital data. This data can then be recorded and/or streamed in real time. Capture cards can be plugged directly into a PC motherboard or connected to an external device. For example, if you want to live stream gameplay from a Nintendo Switch, you'll need an external capture card to connect the Switch dock to your PC so that the PC can play the gameplay.
Internal capture cards are relatively expensive, but they are faster (lower latency) and can be connected directly to the computer motherboard, but they only work on desktop computers. In contrast, external capture cards are slightly slower, but they are highly portable and can be used on different gaming computers and consoles.
Why gamers may need a capture card
As mentioned earlier, Nintendo Switch users must connect an external capture card to their PC to live stream their games. Players with Xbox or PlayStation consoles have more options for live streaming. When playing games on Xbox, you can use Facebook Gaming, which is in partnership with Microsoft; if you don't want to use Mixer, you can also download Twitch to your Xbox or Microsoft gaming PC. The PS4 and PS5 also have similar live streaming capabilities.
However, due to the limited computing power of Xbox and Playstation, they are prone to lag or failure during live streaming. This is because compared to gaming PCs, the console has fewer computing resources to render graphics/game screens and record audio and video. So when game streamers want to add live streaming features such as chat and overlays, the console's CPU will soon be overwhelmed and have problems. External capture cards can share some of the load of the console, making graphics rendering and the overall live streaming process smoother.
Although gaming PCs have more powerful computing power and perform better in terms of live streaming functions, PC gamers may still need built-in or external capture cards to ensure that the system can smoothly handle both gaming and live streaming tasks.
