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I tried streaming on Mixer. Here are my notes.

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Wanting to be taken more seriously in the world of streaming, Mixer sent shockwaves throughout the industry by getting the exclusive rights for streaming’s biggest star. The platform still has a lot of work to do before truly becoming a rival to the likes of Twitch and YouTube, but moves like the Ninja signing have gone a long way towards building name recognition. At the very least, when people discuss streaming platforms, Mixer is usually mentioned on that list as an equal.

Recently, I streamed on Mixer as part of a stability test for my ISP. Because I was having issues streaming to Twitch and YouTube, they wanted me to try Mixer in hopes that they could isolate my network issues to something relating to RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol). Twitch and YouTube use RTMP, while Mixer uses their propriety FTL (Faster Than Light) technology. Here are my notes from that experience.

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The Spider-Verse Swings Into the Basement! February 2020 Gaming Decor Patch Notes

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With this being the month of Valentine’s Day, it would have been a perfect opportunity to lean into the theme of romance somehow. Instead, I picked stuff on a whim and ended up with a bunch of Spider-Verse paraphernalia. Happy February!

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Uncomfortably Numb – Tetris 99 Live Stream

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These last few weeks have been really tough for the stream as I struggle to find ways to re-stabilize my image quality. However, with the use of a VPN, this show was a much better viewing experience! Besides stacking blocks in Tetris 99 and securing at least one win before signing off, I share my experience having just done the Mansions of Madness escape room, weird dreams, and that time I temporarily lost the use of a limb!

View the full post to see the full stream and shoutouts!

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Even More Posts About Streaming! #BloggersWhoStream

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[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]

My efforts for #BloggersWhoStream are technically wrapping up today. However, writing about streaming is something that I have a deep passion for. I write posts about the subject on most Fridays and I’ll continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

If you enjoyed my work this week and wanted more, here’s a handy post that compiles links to a number of my previous efforts. Give it a look and I hope you enjoy!

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Welcome to My Streaming Room #BloggersWhoStream

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[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]

Building the game streaming setup of one’s dreams is an evolutionary process for most. It’s an expensive hobby to get into and the majority of those interested in pursuing it don’t start out with the equipment they need to produce a high-quality product. For example, I started streaming in 2017 with just the laptop I already had. Great for blogging, but it didn’t have the horsepower to display my gameplay and camera feeds at the same time.

More importantly, it’s a hobby that you really need to try for yourself before you go all in. Just because you like playing video games doesn’t mean that you’ll like playing them on stream. For instance, I love playing Tetris Effect when I’m not on stream and no one’s watching. However, when I streamed it and no one watched, I came away from that experience feeling miserable.

The outcome of no one watching was the same, but the dynamics and expectations change when broadcasting was introduced to the mix. The worst thing one can do is to buy all of the most expensive equipment and realize after the fact that they don’t actually like how streaming warps the gaming experience. You’re better off starting with whatever you have and determining whether you want to pursue it further.

This tour through my streaming setup is the culmination of my journey thus far. The road to get here was filled with failure, doubt, and MacGyver-esque life hacks. Even so, I truck along thanks to everything I’ve learned, the friends I’ve made along the way, and positive impact I’ve made on the world. From providing entertainment, to those that tune in to the money I’ve raised for charity (over $2,000 and counting for Extra Life!), I don’t take any of this for granted. All of this has inspired me to continue honing my craft and improving as a streamer on every front. As long as I continue to grow within the hobby, so will my streaming setup. Without further ado, let me show you where the magic happens.

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Why It’s Okay to Quit Streaming (And What You Can Do to Break Through) #BloggersWhoStream

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[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]

When it comes to streaming, I value the human connection that can be created during a show above all else. It’s incredible when viewers from around the world come by to talk about mutual interests, partake in healthy debates, share life stories, and provide support for one another. It doesn’t take much for this magic to happen, as some of my most memorable streams involved just one viewer in the chat.

Creating that human connection is difficult when streaming to an empty room. For most, the room is empty more often than not. This is a top-heavy medium where the majority of the audience watches just a handful of creators. It’s so uneven that about 89% of active streamers average less than three viewers a stream.

Furthermore, the top 5,000 streamers garner 74% of all watch time. With over 3,000,000 active streamers per month, that leaves 99.84% of active streamers with only 26% of the watch time pie. This creates an environment where tens of thousands of streamers are broadcasting to zero viewers at any given time. Just with Fortnite alone, sort by streams with the lowest viewer counts first and you’ll unearth thousands of streamers without a viewer.

I’m not immune to this phenomenon. There are times when my viewer counter stays at zero for the duration of a stream. It’s actually an improvement over 2017, where I pretty much went the entire year without anyone noticing me. Even so, the feeling of opening yourself up to the world and no one caring is…one of the most demoralizing experiences I’ve gone through as a creator.

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Get the Best Possible Sound From Your Streaming Microphone in OBS and Streamlabs OBS With These Settings and Tips #BloggersWhoStream

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[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]

Having a good mic won’t help your stream if it isn’t configured properly. Particularly if you have a condenser mic, which you probably do if you own a USB mic. Condenser mics – such as the Blue Snowball, Blue Yeti, or the Audio-Technica AT2020 among many others – work best in a controlled studio environment.

Unfortunately, most of us aren’t streaming in professional studios. Without any adjustments, your voice will probably distort when you get loud, be difficult to hear over your gameplay when you speak softly, and pick up weird ambient noises in-and-around your house.

It’s mission critical to address these issues, as your microphone is your primary method of communication and content creation on stream. You can address most of these issues in OBS, Streamlabs OBS, or whatever digital or analog mixer you may use. Follow along with this guide and it should get your microphone audio to a better place!

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The Writer’s Advantage: Using Your Writing Experience to Stand Out in a Streaming World #BloggersWhoStream

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[This post is part of a blogging collaboration by Later Levels and Hundstrasse called #BloggersWhoStream. Make sure to give them both credit and follow the hashtag on Twitter for more posts from the community!]

As a writer with ambitions of streaming, it’s easy to feel like you’re at a disadvantage. In a number of ways, you probably are. While you’re comfortable communicating your words through a keyboard, streaming requires you to learn a number of new technologies that you likely have little-to-no experience with. Even scarier is the thought of communicating through a camera and microphone with your voice, facial expressions, and body language. Oh yeah, and everyone will be judging how you look. Are you ready for your closeup?

Millions of other streamers have already figured out their tech and have no qualms with pointing a camera at their face. Is it too late for you as a writer to follow suit? Absolutely not. Even if the tech gives you plenty of headaches and you may forever be camera shy, your writing experience gives you a distinct advantage over many others in the space. Let me explain.

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First Time Playing Witcher 3 Live Stream

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Better late than never? I give the Witcher 3 a shot in this live stream! Apologies to everyone who watched this live, as the bit rate was awful. Hoping to fix that in the near future! But for now, here it is in full quality!

View the full post to see the full stream and shoutouts!

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Hard Fought Wins and Streamer Pet Peeves! Tetris 99 Live Stream!

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You know what really grinds my gears? Besides losing in Tetris, we share some of our pet peeves when it comes to watching live streams! We also talk a bunch about the major Pokemon Direct announcements, including the revelation that 200 previously-cut Pokemon will make their return as part of the DLC. As for Tetris, we bookend the show with a pair of wins! The last one in particular was a real fight!

View the full post to see highlights and shoutouts!

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