Streaming has surged in popularity over the past few years — in part because it's interactive, which turns gaming into a globally-connected social experience. But perhaps the main reason streaming has caught on so quickly is because the entry bar seems low. If you have a gaming rig and a webcam, setting up a streaming program is a snap.
Well, not quite. The software isn't as user-friendly as you might think, and because there are endless hardware configurations — nobody is going to have the exact same setup you have, let alone someone writing a how-to — it can be difficult to figure out exactly what you need to do. Even tech-savvy users have trouble perfecting their initial setup, and the process usually involves a lot of trial-and-error.
A lot of streaming aspects aren't perfectly cut-and-dry. Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), for example, is a free, open-source streaming and recording program used by professional and amateur streamers alike. OBS isn't necessarily difficult to set up, but because it's a highly-customizable open-source platform, the configuration isn't always intuitive. Combine this with multiple hardware options, and you can definitely lose yourself for hours (or even days) tweaking settings just to find the perfect stream quality.
Not everyone wants to spend time learning the ins and outs of OBS (or another streaming program) — you might want to skip past the complicated setup and get straight into gaming. Fair enough.
If you already have a 7th Gen (or later) Intel® Core™ processor, Intel has released a brand-new tool that will walk you through OBS efficiently. Intel® Easy Streaming Wizard is a free program that streamlines the setup process so you can quickly and easily set up a hardware-optimized OBS stream for Twitch, YouTube or Mixer.
To use Intel® Easy Streaming Wizard, you'll need an Intel® Core™ processor (full list of supported processors here), Intel-integrated graphics or gaming-focused discrete graphics, 8GB RAM, and Microsoft* Windows® 10, 64-bit. You may also want to have a connected webcam and headset (or microphone/speaker setup). You will need a Twitch, YouTube, or Mixer account to connect to OBS, but you don't need to worry about that right now — you'll be able to sign up for an account during the wizard's setup.
Once your hardware is in place, all you need to do is download and run Intel Easy Streaming Wizard — the program automatically downloads and installs the latest version of OBS, configures stream settings, sets up and tunes the streaming service, and tests your Internet connection. The wizard also optimizes your processor for streaming, including encoding and bandwidth adjustment to ensure you have the smoothest, highest-quality stream your system will support (this scales with cores and threads to improve stream quality). Even if you're already familiar with setting up and configuring OBS, the wizard can make sure you're using your system to its fullest potential.
The process only takes a few minutes, and also allows you to customize some of the visual settings (the wizard offers pre-made scenes for adding a webcam feed or a logo, as well).
What's better than making sure your processor is fully-optimized for streaming and gaming? A second processor (perhaps in the form of a second, dedicated streaming PC).
You may have heard the news at TwitchCon: Intel is collaborating with streaming software developer Streamlabs to bring dedicated Personal Streaming PCs to market. These PCs will be offered by third-party hardware makers (Shuttle, Simply NUC, Zotac, and Acer all announced their own versions at TwitchCon), powered by Intel® Core™ processors, and pre-loaded with Streamlabs OBS, a free streaming program that gives streamers tools to better engage with their fans. This pre-configured software automatically imports settings to provide quality bit-rate, audio, resolution, and frames per second (FPS), which means streamers won't have to do much at all to get a professional-looking stream up and running.
Each hardware maker will offer a unique variation with different specs and price points. Simply NUC has already announced the EasyCast, a $29/month device-as-a-service that sports an Intel® Core™ i5-7300U vPro processor, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 128GB SSD, and a built-in AVermedia Video Capture card. Currently, it is $41.46 with DaaS for 24 months, but the price is subject to changes.
Packed with ports (HDMI in/out, DisplayPort, USB 2.0, USB Type-C, Line in/out, Gigabit Ethernet, etc), these compact devices will also be ideal for PC gamers who want to pick up more streaming power without having to split resources or upgrade an already-powerful processor or graphics card.
Streaming shouldn't be difficult or overly technical, but it can be — thanks to open-source software and myriad hardware configurations. The Intel® Easy Streaming Wizard and Intel® Personal Streaming PCs are just a couple of the tools that might be able to help some streamers skip the complex setup and get straight to gaming and creating other content.