5 Must-Have Equipment to Start Streaming on Twitch

Are thinking to start your live streaming career on Twitch? If that so, the first thing you’ll need to prepare is the equipment.

Don’t need to overthink into something like dual PC streaming setup, you actually only need 5 piece of equipment for the starters!

Then, what is the live broadcast equipment that needs to be prepared? This time Eklipse has compiled some of the lists for you.

A List of Equipment for Streaming on Twitch

When it comes to streaming, you could always start with entry-level equipment then work your way to the premium ones. If you’re just starting out, we suggest that you have at least this 5 basic things below.

1. PC Or Laptop (Basic Equipment for Streaming on Twitch)

The most basic live broadcast equipment is a PC or laptop. While PCs are a popular choice for streaming video, laptops are considered more flexible to use anywhere.

Even if you don’t have a high-end rig to broadcast video, try to use a device equipped with multiple USB ports. Also, make sure the device has at least 8GB of RAM along with an SSD. All these specifications are needed if you are going to live stream for a long time.

2. Camera (Optional Equipment for Streaming on Twitch)

Quoted from Wave Video, the equipment that will always be needed for live broadcasts is a camera. In fact, there are many camera options that you can use for this purpose. However, if you are a beginner, you should start with an entry-level camera.

With the presence of ideal lighting, this camera category can give you a pretty good video quality. Not only that, you also don’t need to spend more because the price of an entry-level camera can be said to be not too expensive.

The following is a list of recommended entry-level cameras that you can use for live streaming:

• Logitech C922 Pro
• Razer Kiyo
• Canon FS300
• Canon Legria HF S30

Additionally, you can also use the mirrorless or DSLR camera for higher-quality video. You can learn how to set the camera on the computer in our previous article.

3. Microphone (Must Have Equipment for Streaming on Twitch)

According to Vtrep’s research, when streaming, audio quality is considered more important to the audience than video quality. If the streaming video is laggy, the user experience won’t be bad as long as the audio remains of good quality.

Based on this research, the value that can be learned is that audio equipment is basically more crucial for the quality of your live streaming.

Therefore, it is recommended that you use a 3.5mm wired lavalier microphone instead of using the built-in microphone on your PC. But, for the most basic ones, you can buy some gaming headset with good mic, something like Razer Blackshark V2

However, if you really want to maximize the live audio quality, you’ll need to consider an XLR microphone.

For beginners, we recommend using Razer microphones such as:

• Razer Seiren Mini
• Razer Seiren X

4. Encoder

The encoder is used to compress video documents so that they are not saved as an individual image, but as a single video file. Although an encoder is usually used by large corporate content marketing teams, this one tool can make your live video more quality.

Generally, there are two types of encoder that you can use, namely hardware and software encoder. But as a beginner, you should use encoder software. Why is that? Because the encoder software is easier to use. All you need is to combine the encoder with a capture card to be able to record video.

The following is a list of an encoder software that you can use:

• vMix
• Wirecast
• Streamlabs OBS
• OBS Studio

5. Mixing Tools

Mixing tools allow you to record multiple videos or audio sources and switch between them during the broadcast. Actually, this one tool is optional. However, if you take pictures with multi-camera techniques, mixing equipment is important.

An example of a professional mixing tool is the Blackmagic Design ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K Live Production Switcher. This device allows you to connect up to 4 HDMI cameras and 4 SDI cameras. It also has 8 SDI cameras which can be utilized.

How Much Does Streaming Twitch Equipment Cost

This is actually a tricky question to answer, since it can be as cheap as around $500 to as expensive as $1,500++.

If you have PC’s already and on a tight budget you can go as cheap as under $200 to start streaming on Twitch.

You can have the most basic equipment like the standard 1080p webcam (will go around $50 – $100) and a gaming headset with good mic (will go around $50 – $100).

External mic and premium software can be considered “nice-to-have” since your stream can run well with all that basic.

But, if you thinking to go professional you can be considered to buy a proper setup. Something like the proper dual PC streaming setup alone might already costs you around $2000.

Then after that, you’ll need to get a dual (or triple) monitors, proper mic, mixing tools, or even a premium version of a software like Eklipse that can help you get the stream highlight clip automatically with $99.99 per year.

Conclusion

So, that’s all the equipment for streaming on Twitch that we recommend. Don’t forget that, other than using the right equipment, it’s also important to consider ways to grow your channel.

One of the easiest and quickest ones is to make highlights from your stream. To do that, you can use Eklipse, a powerful AI that is able to clip highlights from your stream automatically.