Streaming Equipment Basics

Does "Gear" Really Matter?

Ah, yes, the age-old question, does ‘gear’ really matter? Streamers have often debated this while flexing the gear they’ve acquired over the years or comparing their setup to someone else’s.  The absurdly short answer is, “No, not really,” but every content creator will benefit from understanding the reasoning behind the answer, as well as a lot of the subtlety that can vary from streamer to streamer. TheHunterWildHe/HimStreamerSquare's Chief Vision Officer, Hunter Wild, has a driving passion for goals, guidance, and helping to usher the next generation of streamers into their place at the top of the industry. He's a Seattle-based streamer, fine artist, cat dad, former game dev, and vintage millennial with well over 10,000 hours on-stream (he stopped counting).“To put it in the most direct terms, the gear choices that actually ‘matter’ are those that improve your content or lead you to your cherished goals.” Buckle up, because a lot of this information you might carry through the rest of your career! Defining Gear Before we really get into the nitty-gritty, let’s first ask a different, more basic question – what do we really mean when we say “gear?” Some gear is what you’d specifically categorize as technological, such as headsets, microphones, webcams, lights, keyboards, mice, computers, gaming consoles, capture cards, soundboards, monitors, or the revered and coveted Stream Deck. There’s also gear that sits in some other categories, items like foam sound panels, gaming chairs, greenscreens, desks, mouse pads, blue light glasses, and even software used. NaaackersHe/HimNaaackers is a tech-education, podcast and DIY-centered content creator. His focus lies in teaching people about hardware, software, audio, and video in the creation space. “People see streamers with a full chat and associate the quality of what they see, to the people in chat. But rarely are they related. And on...