The logic of OBS is very simple once you get the hang of it. It is completely free (and open-source), has decent performance, is easy to set up quickly and offers a ton of depth for more complex broadcasts. For this article, I used Open Broadcaster Software (OBS). There are many options for streaming software, from Nvidia's own GeForce Experience Share to premium options such as XSplit. I do all of my streaming experiments over 5-GHz Wi-Fi, and I've never had any major issues. If you use the 5-GHz band (or have a lot of confidence in your network), you can get away with streaming over Wi-Fi. However, your streaming desk might not be in an area where Ethernet cabling is available, or you might be using an Ultrabook with no Ethernet ports. MORE: Top-Rated Wi-Fi Extenders to Boost Your Signal It is usually recommended to have at least 2 Mbps of upload bandwidth to stream at 720p.Ī common recommendation is to stream over a wired Ethernet connection to ensure network stability, as Wi-Fi is vulnerable to interference that can cause stuttering or interruptions in the stream. It should be somewhat obvious that you need a decent internet connection for streaming. Most laptops I have tested (especially the cheaper ones) have severe limitations on their microphone jacks that completely destroy the sound of any good device. Also, if you are considering buying a microphone, make sure it can connect to the PC over USB rather than the mic jack.

Low resource twitch streaming software