Streaming and Recording Guide/Research

Smashbro29 · January 24

FunkyP, post: 7934413, member: 10065 wrote:

you can put the quality anywhere between 1-3 and it'll still be sharp, 1 will give you a huge file though.

Thanks boss. Got like 3 hours of footage that might have been garbage.

sying · January 25

m.macmall.com/home#/p/dpno+9212760/7535957

Elgato Game capture HD on "sale" for 159. Good luck!

Chavelo · January 25

So, right now I'm working on a streaming/recording PC machine that I'm building from old parts. Strictly only for that purpose. No gaming, Win 7 stripped to the core services it needs, and no other program running in the background except perhaps for Chrome. What kind of settings (resolution, FPS) do you guys think I can achieve with this hardware?

Elgato Game Capture HD
E8400 Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz
9600GT Video Card
6GB RAM
Seagate 7200 RPM 250GB HDD for Bootup

Smashbro29 · January 25

You guys hear about the Live Gamer Portable? Why does it seem like everything Avermedia makes can do 1080p at 60FPS besides the ordinary Live Gamer? I'd kill for that functionality. I figured the card that went into a PCI slot would be more efficient than anything USB.

http://www.selectbutton.com/news/live-gamer-portable/

Sixfortyfive · January 25

Chavelo, post: 7936081, member: 19101 wrote:

So, right now I'm working on a streaming/recording PC machine that I'm building from old parts. Strictly only for that purpose. No gaming, Win 7 stripped to the core services it needs, and no other program running in the background except perhaps for Chrome. What kind of settings (resolution, FPS) do you guys think I can achieve with this hardware?

Elgato Game Capture HD
E8400 Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz
9600GT Video Card
6GB RAM
Seagate 7200 RPM 250GB HDD for Bootup

I've been told that a Core 2 Duo is probably too much of a bottleneck for HD video to be worth it, but I've never tried it personally and wouldn't be able to estimate what kind of video quality you could expect out of it. You don't want to skimp on CPU in particular if it can be helped though.

If you do go with that and you're using an x264 encoder (such as XSplit), it wouldn't hurt to familiarize yourself with various x264 encoding parameters and tweak them so that they use as little CPU as possible.

Example preset: superfast&ex:no-8x8dct&ex:aq-mode:0&ex:b-adapt:0&ex:bframes:0&ex:no-cabac&ex:no-deblock&ex:no-mbtree&ex:me:dia&ex:no-mixed-refs&ex:partitions:none&ex:rc-lookahead:0&ex:ref:1&ex:scenecut:0&ex:subme:0&ex:trellis:0&ex:no-weightb&ex:weightp:0

Disabling a lot of the encoder features like that will save on CPU but will require a sacrifice in either video quality or bandwidth/filesize, naturally.

MonoTekETeA · January 25

Thanks for the tip Sixfortyfive.

Chavelo · January 26

Thanks for the reply, 645. :D

BLACKSTAR84i · January 27

Alright, anyone here with experience streaming in 4g? Any suggestion for a good company or good products from said company?

I'm asking because I'm currently with Sprint, and they don't seem to have a good plan. The rep told me that, even though I have an unlimited data plan for my phone, if I tether my phone to my computer I will be charged for my data usage and capped at 5 GB before overage charges (which I'm assuming is nothing). I'm not naive enough to believe I can stream a day or two's worth without paying alot (I can deal with ~$100,~$200+), but with these suggested coverage plans, it seems like they'll hit me with a 700 bill or maybe even a grand.

What do streamers like Sp00ky or Jaxel use when they have to stream using 4g? How do you calculate how much data you will use to predict the charges?

DanAdamKOF · January 27

time * bitrate * charge. So if you're streaming for 10 hours at 1000kilobits/sec and you get charged $10 per gigabyte, 36000 seconds * 0.000119209 gigabytes * 10 = about $43. Not accounting for overhead, or some guy deciding to mooch your connection for netflix, etc, but that ought to be a good estimate.

Also there are ways to tether where your phone doesn't specifically enter "tether mode", do it at your own risk though.

Smashbro29 · January 27

BLACKSTAR84i, post: 7941182, member: 21437 wrote:

Alright, anyone here with experience streaming in 4g? Any suggestion for a good company or good products from said company?

I'm asking because I'm currently with Sprint, and they don't seem to have a good plan. The rep told me that, even though I have an unlimited data plan for my phone, if I tether my phone to my computer I will be charged for my data usage and capped at 5 GB before overage charges (which I'm assuming is nothing). I'm not naive enough to believe I can stream a day or two's worth without paying alot (I can deal with ~$100,~$200+), but with these suggested coverage plans, it seems like they'll hit me with a 700 bill or maybe even a grand.

What do streamers like Sp00ky or Jaxel use when they have to stream using 4g? How do you calculate how much data you will use to predict the charges?

Root your android phone. Best thing I ever did.

Krackatoa · January 28

Yo. Any tips on saving a lossless recording to the HDD while broadcasting encoded footage over something like Xsplit? I'm working with a single rig. I have a Blackmagic Shuttle and plenty of write speed.

Sixfortyfive · January 28

Krackatoa, post: 7944928, member: 14219 wrote:

Yo. Any tips on saving a lossless recording to the HDD while broadcasting encoded footage over something like Xsplit? I'm working with a single rig. I have a Blackmagic Shuttle and plenty of write speed.

Adding "&ex:crf:0" or "&ex:qp:0" to the end of your encoder preset line for Local Recording should work (e.g. "superfast&ex:crf:0"). Make sure Quality is "Not set" and the bitrate and buffer are both set to 0. IIRC, you cannot save lossless audio in XSplit.

I haven't tried this since XSplit 1.0, but when I did, the program would always crash when trying to save large files (~10GB or higher). I believe this is why XSplit added an option for automatically splitting up files in excess of 4GB (or smaller specified sizes) as you write them, but that always causes the video to stutter for a brief moment for me whenever it gets to a split point.

Krackatoa · January 28

Sixfortyfive, post: 7945106, member: 13029 wrote:

Adding "&ex:crf:0" or "&ex:qp:0" to the end of your encoder preset line for Local Recording should work (e.g. "superfast&ex:crf:0"). Make sure Quality is "Not set" and the bitrate and buffer are both set to 0. IIRC, you cannot save lossless audio in XSplit.

I haven't tried this since XSplit 1.0, but when I did, the program would always crash when trying to save large files (~10GB or higher). I believe this is why XSplit added an option for automatically splitting up files in excess of 4GB (or smaller specified sizes) as you write them, but that always causes the video to stutter for a brief moment for me whenever it gets to a split point.

Muchos gracias. I will try it out.

Edit: Encoding seems to be all fucked up. I get a highly artefacted video file with fine audio.

G0F0RBR0KE · January 28

I have two Tritton AX 180! In order for me and my friend to commentate. What's a good software to trigger XSplit to use two mics?

Smashbro29 · January 29

G0F0RBR0KE, post: 7947070, member: 18496 wrote:

I have two Tritton AX 180! In order for me and my friend to commentate. What's a good software to trigger XSplit to use two mics?

This sounds like a job for Virtual Audio Cable!

G0F0RBR0KE · January 29

Smashbro29, post: 7947907, member: 15036 wrote:

This sounds like a job for Virtual Audio Cable!

Okay. That is what I wanted to know. Thank you for the input! Is it Free?

Smashbro29 · January 29

G0F0RBR0KE, post: 7948370, member: 18496 wrote:

Okay. That is what I wanted to know. Thank you for the input! Is it Free?

Depends how moral you are! (No.)

G0F0RBR0KE · January 29

Smashbro29, post: 7948383, member: 15036 wrote:

Depends how moral you are! (No.)

LMAO! Good shit. I'll buy it

ShadoStrike · January 29

Elgato users should be pretty excited with Open Broadcaster Software's changelog for their upcoming revision.

[SIZE=13px]0.467a test 6[/SIZE]

test 6 - made it so the "sub-region" selection window is transparent
test 6 - fixed a rather bad audio bug where sound wouldn't play at all under certain circumstances, and would cause a memory leak
Adding option for constant framerate (possibly might cause sync issues at the moment)
Added in a low latency fix option for ping issues in the broadcast settings (if you're having ping issues, please try it out)
Testing out elgato capture card implementation
Fixed issues with mp4 audio not importing in vegas
Things should also work great with virtual audio cables and headphones and such as well now, and added an option to force audio time to sync with video time in advanced (similar to the sync fix, but a bit better in design)
A bunch of translations added
Other minor tweaks and bug fixes

The developer is currently on test 9 of that build, but it looks promising! I might consider an Elgato if this works well.

xaznharryx · January 31

Hey guys. Has anyone tried using the Logitech C920 for their stream? I know it's a pretty good webcam but I wanted tech talk's opinion on the webcam for streaming.

FunkyP · January 31

Many of us use it, yes its still pretty good. Uses up a lot of CPU in HD though so make sure your rig can handle it.

Smashbro29 · January 31

Krackatoa, post: 7945114, member: 14219 wrote:

Muchos gracias. I will try it out.

Edit: Encoding seems to be all fucked up. I get a highly artefacted video file with fine audio.

So how can I record better video with Xsplit while streaming?

Exand · February 1

Finally got my HDMI2HDMI / HDCP Stripper device listed on the previous page. I notice the package came with a USB cord though. I thought this unit didn't need a power supply?

AntiDazzle · February 1

No, not needed if the HDMI source is powered, so all normalized (EUR/ US) HDMI video BOX like PS3.

Exand · February 1

Phew, that's good to hear. Was worried I'd have to go and buy an extra long USB cable.
Time to go home and play with the Elgato + HDMI2HDMI!

Smashbro29 · February 2

I was advised here but those wiser than me that it's a good idea to use the USB power just in case.

D Glock · February 2

Exand, post: 7963048, member: 19128 wrote:

Finally got my HDMI2HDMI / HDCP Stripper device listed on the previous page. I notice the package came with a USB cord though. I thought this unit didn't need a power supply?

Please leave us some feedback on this. I would like to order one to go with my Elgato as well.

Exand · February 2

Quick test for the HDMI2HDMI with the Elgato Game Capture and PS3 all connected through HDMI cables.*

The connection goes:
PS3
-> [HDMI cable]
HDMI2HDMI HDCP stripper / audio seperator
-> [HDMI cable]
Elgato Game Capture
-> [USB cable]
PC (Win7 64 bit, i7 930 2.8GHz / 12GB RAM)

I also used the Live Commentary in the Elgato software with a paired Jabra bluetooth headset to my computer.

Didn't attach the USB power to the HDMI2HDMI for the video.

note: This test was done with scrounged up equipment because my usual setup is scattered all over the place. Unfortunately that meant I only had one monitor so I was "playing / testing" with about 2 to 3 seconds of delay on the screen to what I was doing because of the USB connection + playing through the Elgato software. The commentary however should match up and sync to what I was doing in the game. And you should be able to hear the button presses corresponding to what's going on in the game in sync.

I did play through the same setup noted above but using the Elgato's HDMI out to my monitor and didn't notice any input problems. Need further testing once I get all my gear setup properly though.

So far so good, I'm loving the Elgato and the HDMI2HDMI does it's job.

edit: Just noticed the video is only in 720p instead of 1080p like I thought I set it at. Strange, I thought I set it to 1080p recording. Not sure if it was just a misconfiguration on my part or some kind of limitation with the HDMI2HDMI...? Further testing needed I guess.

Next up trying to use both the usb and hdmi output from the HDMI simultaneously and also live streaming feature. Oh and figuring out why my video came out only 720p.

dako · February 2

G0F0RBR0KE, post: 7948397, member: 18496 wrote:

LMAO! Good shit. I'll buy it

If you are on linux, you can setup JACK to use 2 mic and mix them via software mixer. I am experimenting with 2 mics and audio from game. JACK is free. There is windows version but i dont know how to setup that.

Warpticon · February 2

I've tried Jack for windows and linux...gave up. that shit is a UI clusterfuck for no reason. So often good tech suffers due to poor implementation.

ailerus · February 2

D Glock, post: 7963355, member: 9563 wrote:

Please leave us some feedback on this. I would like to order one to go with my Elgato as well.

This device is great. Used the device to go into a 2x1 hdmi splitter, then to an asus monitor and the capture device (blackmagic intensity shuttle). Works perfectly with PS3, and had 0 issues with it.

underwing · February 2

Waiting on my HDMI2HDMI to come in still; good to hear it's working for people. As long as I can get 720p60 through it I'll be happy, though 1080p60 would certainly be nice.

As for the powering of the device: It's best practice to power HDMI devices like this. The power that is carried over HDMI is really only spec'd to supply power to the display's circuitry (it's basically there to power EDID circuitry, so even if a TV is off, the device can ask the TV for capability information/do basic handshakey stuff). While it likely won't hurt anything (these circuits aren't huge drains), it's still out of spec and could theoretically cause issues. I like to be conservative with my setups, and get out ahead of any possible troublemakers, but if it's working for you, it'll probably be fine. In the future, if you have any intermittency issues (blacking out/renegotiating), I'd try throwing some power at it first before debugging other parts of your video path. Luckily, mine will be positioned near my computer (if not just installed onto the backplane in some fashion), so sourcing 5V for it won't be any sort of problem.

D Glock · February 2

Much thanks for the impression guys.

Exand, post: 7964082, member: 19128 wrote:

edit: Just noticed the video is only in 720p instead of 1080p like I thought I set it at. Strange, I thought I set it to 1080p recording. Not sure if it was just a misconfiguration on my part or some kind of limitation with the HDMI2HDMI...? Further testing needed I guess.

Next up trying to use both the usb and hdmi output from the HDMI simultaneously and also live streaming feature. Oh and figuring out why my video came out only 720p.

Keep in mind that SSFIV:AE is only native at a 720p resolution on PS3. Try capturing a game with a true 1080p resolution and you should have your results.

Smashbro29 · February 2

The black one I have and the white one work equally well for this purpose.

RECentral is kind of a shitty program that made me think otherwise but after some testing with Xsplit I can confirm that both of them work admirably.

Also a discovery I made when trying to use xsplit for PC games off of the same PC using a mixer (also known as using the stripper for its intended purpose).

First thing's first plug your game sound into the line in port on your PC, next because the device still carries audio through the HDMI out you'll want to mute your capture card then and only then can you use xsplit to stream off of the same PC. HDCP stripped.

Exand · February 2

D Glock, post: 7964947, member: 9563 wrote:

Keep in mind that SSFIV:AE is only native at a 720p resolution on PS3. Try capturing a game with a true 1080p resolution and you should have your results.

I just realized that this morning after recording some replays off XBL :D

Exand · February 12

Having an audio issue with the HDMI2HDMI device...

A quick clip of Boxers U1 activation.

Xbox 360 -> Elgato (all hdmi connection):

PS3 -> HDMI2HDMI audio -> Elgato (all hdmi connection):

The PS3 one seems to be going mono sound (?) or otherwise losing an audio channel when passing through the HDMI2HDMI.
Noticeable during the "whoosh" sound of Boxers U1 activation as he's flexing his muscles, the 360 sounds dynamic while the PS3 one sounds flat.

When I remove the HDMI2HDMI and try the U1 with Boxer on PS3, it sounds exactly like the Xbox 360 one recorded above.

More noticeable in Darksiders (PS3), notice no weapon swing sounds:

What it should sound like (random video of the game I found youtube).
youtu.be/wiPQyUIC7M4?t=60s

The weapon swing sounds are completely missing from my recorded footage.

I'm assuming it has something to do with the HDMI2HDMI, but I don't have component cables for PS3 on hand to test bypassing it.

Can anyone who uses component comment?

Smashbro29 · February 12

It is the damndest thing, I had 2 videos and put them both through the same Handbrake process MPEG-4 Quality: 1

One goes in fine on sync and the other is always just a bit off. It's driving me insane.

Sixfortyfive · February 13

I'm planning to make a few upgrades to my setup and was wondering if anyone in here could lend a hand with some advice.

- I'd like some kind of cooling solution for my laptop (17" Dell Vostro 3750). I've yet to have any issues with this specifically, but it's been a concern of mine seeing as how the computer tends to run rather hot to the touch after a few hours of streaming. Any recommendations for what I should be looking for in a cooling pad or any other device that might be useful? EDIT: I'd prefer something that does NOT draw power from a USB port. I'm not sure I have any ports to spare.

- I'm looking to pick up an additional camera (can be either USB2 or USB3). So far, I've been using a Logitech C310 for player cam and my laptop's internal webcam for commentator cam, as I usually have the commentator(s) sitting behind the computer and also handling the stream itself. If I would ever want the commentators to have a dedicated monitor while I handle the stream, though, I'd need another external camera. I'm satisfied with the C310 as a budget-minded solution (picked it up for ~$35 from Radio Shack about a year ago), but I'm open to slightly higher-end suggestions for this as well, so feel free to suggest anything that you feel is worth its asking price.

- I'm on the fence about investing in a 4G device of some kind for streaming and am wondering if it'd even be worth it. I'm kind of clueless on this front (don't even have a smartphone yet and am in no rush to get one), so I don't have a solid idea of what I'd have to cough up for something I'd be using primarily for streaming and not even particularly frequently at that. I'd need something with decent coverage throughout Alabama and neighboring metros (ranging from Atlanta to Pensacola to Nashville). It'd be nice to not have to rely on spotty venue internet, but I'm somewhat averse to anything contract/subscription based and am not sure what my other viable options are. What do you think?

- I'm considering picking up a pair of budget headsets to compliment the two Audio-Technica BPHS1 that I'm currently using, in case either of those happen to break down or if I ever want to utilize more than 2 mics simultaneously. Someone in this thread recently recommended the Yamaha CM500, which does have an attractive price. Would that even plug into the mixer I'm using? I notice that it does say that it comes with a 1/4" adapter.

Exand wrote: »

Having an audio issue with the HDMI2HDMI device...

I have noticed that the HDMI2HDMI device has a frequent audio stutter on the HDMI output. It's still in stereo, though.

The separate audio jack output does not have a stutter.

FunkyP · February 13

645

Sixfortyfive wrote: »

I'm planning to make a few upgrades to my setup...

Logitech c910/920 is pretty much the webcam to get, great high def quality and very wide viewing angle. The c310 is alright, but the 910/920 is leaps and bounds better.

A 4G hotspot is about $150-$200 without a contract and roughly around $50-80 for data usage if you currently are on a wireless carrier that offers a data plan. Contract price is a lot cheaper to virtually free but you'll be paying that data price every month.

The CM500 has some terrible mic quality and the build construction is not good, but the bias adapter is comes with is very useful. For the price though it is very much worth it.

Exand · February 13

Sixfortyfive wrote: »

I have noticed that the HDMI2HDMI device has a frequent audio stutter on the HDMI output. It's still in stereo, though.
The separate audio jack output does not have a stutter.

It's definitely not a stutter as it's a consistent drop. Trying various games, it sounds similar to what happens when you have L/C/R speakers and the audio from the center speaker is muted. Come to think of it, maybe it's an incompatibility between my amp and the HDMI2HDMI... something to test when I get home.

Also +1 for Logitech c920 webcam, at the sub $100 price point (picked mine up for $75ish) it's good value.

Smashbro29 · February 14

Exand wrote: »

Sixfortyfive wrote: »

I have noticed that the HDMI2HDMI device has a frequent audio stutter on the HDMI output. It's still in stereo, though.
The separate audio jack output does not have a stutter.

It's definitely not a stutter as it's a consistent drop. Trying various games, it sounds similar to what happens when you have L/C/R speakers and the audio from the center speaker is muted. Come to think of it, maybe it's an incompatibility between my amp and the HDMI2HDMI... something to test when I get home.

Also +1 for Logitech c920 webcam, at the sub $100 price point (picked mine up for $75ish) it's good value.

It's not consistent at all, sometimes it's flawless and sometimes it drops in the beginning but once it starts going ok for a few seconds it doesn't screw up again.

Proof:

ShadoStrike · February 14

FunkyP wrote: »

645

Sixfortyfive wrote: »

I'm planning to make a few upgrades to my setup...

Logitech c910/920 is pretty much the webcam to get, great high def quality and very wide viewing angle. The c310 is alright, but the 910/920 is leaps and bounds better.

The CM500 has some terrible mic quality and the build construction is not good, but the bias adapter is comes with is very useful. For the price though it is very much worth it.

Would the C615 be good? I want something with a tripod adapter.

Also +1(kinda) for the CM500. I was the one who suggested it. The price offsets a lot of cons it has since it's one only sub-70 mixer ready headsets. You might want to take care of the bias adapter you receive. After a year the solder points or something gave out, but I was treating it like crap.

Exand · February 14

I bypassed the amp and it's still doing it.
I guess it's back to component cables :|

Smashbro29 wrote: »

It's not consistent at all, sometimes it's flawless and sometimes it drops in the beginning but once it starts going ok for a few seconds it doesn't screw up again.

Proof:

Maybe it's individual flaws with the HDMI2HDMI then? Because it's definitely a consistent drop for me. Like in my previous example for Darksiders every recording I do through HDMI is completely missing the audio channel that the weapon sounds are supposed to be coming from.

Also, wtf did I just watch in that youtube vid lol...

underwing · February 15

It's important to note that the HDMI2HDMI is only getting the two stereo channels, but doesn't seem to be forcing the HDMI EDID capability listings to stereo-only. You *should* be able to fix any channel problems by going into the console and setting it to stereo audio manually. Hopefully this helps.

Smashbro29 · February 15

Yeah, who uses more than stereo anyhow?

ranmasama · February 16

Whats a decent audio mixer and headsets for a stream? Something that can use 3 headsets. Also whats the stream program most people are using at the moment?

Warpticon · February 16

ranmasama said:

Whats a decent audio mixer and headsets for a stream? Something that can use 3 headsets. Also whats the stream program most people are using at the moment?

If you don't need something next week, I'd consider holding out for this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=115&cp_id=11503&cs_id=1150301&p_id=615808&seq=1&format=2

As for software, everybody uses XSplit, OBS, or FFsplit on PC. Nothing else is worth using.

Sixfortyfive · February 16

Do the 360 & PS3 output video at 59.94fps or 60fps? Does it vary by connection (HDMI/component) or resolution? I've heard conflicting information and don't know how to verify.

I know that capture software works with either setting, but I'm wondering if setting it to the exact correct refresh rate would help anything.

Jesseh · February 16

So guys, I've got this laptop that I play SF4 on. And I'm just curious as I've been thinking getting into recording or streaming business that can this toaster of mine even record or stream very well. So I figured I'd ask you guys as you seem to be way more knowledgeable about this particular subject than I am. Here's my specs:
Intel i3 @ 2.27GHz
NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M
Is it even possible to stream or record with this laptop? Or should I wait until I upgrade?

Smashbro29 · February 16

Jesseh said:

So guys, I've got this laptop that I play SF4 on. And I'm just curious as I've been thinking getting into recording or streaming business that can this toaster of mine even record or stream very well. So I figured I'd ask you guys as you seem to be way more knowledgeable about this particular subject than I am. Here's my specs:
Intel i3 @ 2.27GHz
NVIDIA GeForce GT 230M
Is it even possible to stream or record with this laptop? Or should I wait until I upgrade?

Here's the thing dude, if you can get HDMI out and mirror the screen you can use an external capture card no problem.

Streaming and Recording Guide/Research

Comments