Accessories for Successful Streaming

Becoming a streamer is a fantastic way to turn your gaming hobby into a lucrative career. Live streaming services such as Twitch host thousands of interactive live-streaming channels where content creators can freely interact with their audiences.

While becoming a successful streamer takes time, patience and perseverance, it is an accessible career for just about anyone. If you’ve decided to take the plunge and live stream your favourite games, here are some must-have accessories to get you started.

Camera

A high-quality camera makes for enjoyable viewing. You want your audience to be able to see your reactions during gameplay, so fuzzy, potato-vision video quality simply will not do. The better your picture quality, the more professional you will seem, therefore, larger audience numbers. For the very best results, consider a model with 4K video resolution and a minimum frame rate of 25fps.

Headset

In terms of exceptional game immersion, a high-quality headset is crucial. A cushioned, noise-cancelling headset will allow you to hear everything going on in your game in great detail. Although a headset isn’t vital for streaming, impeccable sound quality will ensure you’re alerted to all chat notifications - such as when somebody subscribes to your channel - so you can interact with your audience accordingly.

Gaming Peripherals

Audiences enjoy watching streamers who are charismatic, interactive, and, unsurprisingly, good at the games they play. A crucial factor in your gaming prowess is your peripherals, including your gamepad, keyboard and mouse. Consider a tactile, durable mechanical keyboard and an ergonomically designed gaming mouse for top-tier in-game speed and accuracy. Some models feature fully remappable buttons and keys for the ultimate personalised gaming experience.

Mousepad

A top-of-the-range gaming mouse can only do so much for your gaming performance without an excellent mousepad for smooth gliding and precision. Gaming mouse and keyboard pads provide a surface with the perfect balance of smoothness and resistance for ultimate in-game accuracy. Many gamers are prone to wrist strain due to prolonged sessions, so opt for an ergonomic mousepad with wrist support.

Streaming Deck

A fantastic way to improve your performance as a streamer is by using a streaming deck. These handy pieces of hardware feature programmable buttons that enable you to switch tasks and execute numerous commands without interrupting your gaming session. For example, with the press of a button, you can swap cameras or control chat functions on Discord.

High-Quality PC Components

A high-quality gaming system is required for any level of gaming, particularly when streaming is involved. The beauty of a cheap gaming PC is you can upgrade your components as you go, such as the GPU, RAM and SSD. Running AAA titles while streaming puts a lot of pressure on your system. Streaming using a software encoder is CPU intensive, while a hardware solution is more GPU intensive, so ensure your components can handle the task.

Microphone

Two-way communication was the basis of Twitch’s initial mass success. A good rapport and contestant interaction with your viewers will help to boost your subscriber count; therefore, professional sound quality is a must. Many streamers use cardioid microphones to isolate unwanted ambient sound and background noise, so their audience can hear them loud and clear.

Capture Card

A capture card is the mediator between your gaming footage and your PC by capturing the on-screen activity and encoding it for playback on your stream. If you’re solely a PC gamer, you may not need a capture card at all. However, for console gamers who would prefer not to use the built-in streaming function found on most modern consoles, a capture card is vital.

Lighting

The footage quality of a first-rate 4K HD camera is limited without adequate lighting. While you may favour the moody atmosphere of having your monitor as your only light source, good lighting is crucial to any content creation setup. The good news is that you won’t need to spend an eye-watering sum for a sufficient ring lighting system with multiple settings.

Multiple Monitors

What’s better than one high-quality monitor? Three, of course! Jokes aside, multi-screening is highly beneficial to productive, efficient gaming. Streamers typically use two or three separate monitors - one for their game, one for streaming software and one for Discord, YouTube or Twitch.