Streaming has become a major competitor in the entertainment field. Between major streamers, pro athletes, and celebrities taking up the reigns, there’s no better time than now to begin your journey into the streaming world.

OBS (Open Broadcasting Software) is a free program to use that can be set up in a few simple steps and get you streaming within the hour. In this guide, we are going to go step by step into getting and setting up OBS to get you online as quickly as possible.

Download and Installation

First thing first: Download the program! Head on over to https://obsproject.com/ and download the program according to your Operating System (Windows, MAC).

After downloading and installing the program, open it up. It is always good practice to right click and open it as an administrator so your PC handles running it as a top priority. Once the program is open, you will be greeted with a screen like this.

Setting up the essentials

Now we need to do a few small things to get everything going, like selecting what you want to stream and adding a mic or camera. There are multiple places to stream these days., so head into your Settings, click the Stream tab, and check under the Service area.

Here, you will decide where you want to begin your streaming adventure! Make sure that whatever website you do choose, you have setup and created an account for this website. Once you select your service, you will be asked to log in and link your account. This process makes things a LOT easier to just start streaming, as it provides you with the stream key, chat setups, and all the basic functions with a simple sign in.

To obtain your stream key on Twitch, click in the top right of the window, where your icon is. Under the menu, click Creator Dashboard. Inside the Creator Dashboard, head under Preferences to Channel and you’ll see your stream key as the first option.

Setting up the Mic / Cam

After the service setup, head over to the Audio tab.

A major feature that sets streaming apart from other forms of entertainment is the direct contact you can have with the entertainer. Mics are an important part of that streaming world for the interaction it provides. Select your Mic under the Mic / Auxiliary Audio area. Head on back to the main OBS screen and notice how under the Audio Mixer, a new Mic / Aux option is there. Success!

Making your first scene

 The final step before going live can be a deceptively challenging one, creating a scene. Scene management is the bread and butter of the viewing experience. You are setting the stage to what everyone is coming in to see. For now, let us make a simple one to get started.

Under Scenes in the lower left of your OBS main screen, you will see a scene has already been made for you. We’ll use this for starters but you can add more later by right clicking or pressing the + symbol.

Within this scene, let us add a Source. Sources are everything that will be inside your scene. They are the actors to your play. Right click in the Sources area and go under Add. You will notice all of the items that you can add to make it truly yours.

For now, we would suggest adding a camera (under Video Capture device) and a Game Capture source. This source will allow you to capture your game as you play, allowing the audience to see what you are doing in game.

Fantastic! You are officially on the streaming road and know the basics of OBS! In the future, we can talk about adding alerts, effects, and many other things to truly make your stream one of a kind!