How to Stream Chess using a Mac
Want to stream chess on Twitch but don't have a Pc? No problem.
Here’s the basics of how to stream on twitch using your mac
When I first started streaming I couldn’t find many resources that explained how streaming worked on a mac. A lot of the people I asked told me that macs weren’t made for streaming, and that’s why I was encountering a lot of issues. While this is true, I wanted to share some easy workarounds for the people, like me, who can’t shell out for a pc but still want to stream.
Keep in mind that this is just what I do. I’m sure there are many other ways to stream, and make sure to do your due diligence on whatever you end up downloading. Also, I stream chess, so my video game isn’t exactly strenuous on my mac.
Step 1: Download OBS for mac.
Make sure your computer is always plugged in because OBS is the Usain Bolt of draining battery.
Also try to delete anything that might be taking up storage on your computer. There were a lot of apps I didn’t need anymore, so I cleared some of those and emptied the trash.
You can configure OBS to your liking by making scenes, using overlays (there are a few good ones on etsy), and adding widgets. There's tons of tutorials for that like this one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuSUPpoi0Vs)
I also used canva which was super helpful for creating transparent images to add a little spice to my stream.
Step 2: Audio
You can use your macs microphone but I recommend getting a cheap seperate one (yeti or something), and heres why. Your mac is going to be sounding like hurricane while runnings obs. With a separate mic your viewers are far less likely to ask why it sounds like you have ten fans on in your house.
I needed to buy an extension cord for my mac (although my wifis good so I don’t hook it up to ethernet). It was essential to make sure that the cord I bought could both be used, and be charging my mac at the same time.
Attached to this cord, I have my microphone, and a logitech camera.
I used my mac camera for a while, and it was fine, so no worries if you want to stick with that.
Anyway, back to audio. You need to find a way to record desktop sound, and also separate channels of sound for vods, streams etc.
Most tutorials only recommend extensions for pc, but one I’ve found for a mac that works in VB cable (https://vb-audio.com/Cable/). Make sure to download the one for your mac not windows.
After it’s installed go to finder/applications/utilities and click on audio midi (Your mac should automatically have it). Create a new multiple aggregate device and click both mac speaker and the vb cable. Make the master device the vb cable.
Now, open OBS add an audio input device (might be output IDK, but just experiment around with both) and you should see a tab that says vb cable/multiple aggregate device and click that.
Next, go to your preferences on obs and click audio. Make sure desktop audio is set to vb cable.
Finally, go to preferences for your computer, click sound, and click multiple aggregate devices. If it’s not working, most likely its because you forgot this step.
NOTE: For me, when I’m using this I can’t change my volume, so I always turn my volume down before putting it on so my stream doesn’t hear echos. I listen to my stream using headphone and my phone. (not super hightech I know, but it works)
To test it out, play this using youtube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ) and check the volume on your obs source to see if the computer is picking it up. No worries if you can’t hear it, your stream will be able to. Note, that your computer won’t control the volume of desktop sounds for your stream. You’ll do that directly using the volume button on the source in obs or turning down to volume on the video/sound you’re playing.
Now, let’s say hypothetically, that you wanted to play something on your stream, but not have it be captured in your VOD. You go to obs preferences/output and make sure advanced options is clicked. Set it to this.
Basically, by choosing a number you are telling obs to separate the audio, and which number controls which track, which is useful for the next step.
Go back to your audio mixer bar on obs. Click the source used for desktop audio and hit advanced properties. Since I set my Vod track for two, I am going to unclick desktop audio for two. Keep in mind that this means your vods won’t record any desktop audio (there are ways to separate sources I think, but I don’t need to and I don’t know them:( )
Your mic should be included in the vod. I made that mistake once and everything was muted haha.
Now adjust the volume to your liking. (Desktop audio down, mic up)
Step 3: Video
This ones simple, unless you’re using a separate camera, but there are tutorials for that. If you are using your mac, just add a video capture device and click on facetime camera! You can crop the boundaries by hitting the option button while resizing.
If the video looks bad, experiment with lighting
Step 4: Stream key
My obs will disconnect from twitch a lot so I go to OBS/Settings/Stream and input the key manually. Go to twitch click settings/stream and your stream key should be there. Then just copy and paste into OBS. If you are having trouble finding it there are tons of tutorials, just look up how to find stream key for twitch on youtube.
Step 5: Add your online source/game
For this step Ima assume you play chess lol. Add a source called window capture, not display capture, and click the website (I use chess.com on chrome) to display whatever window you want. Then you can crop using option, and resize it to your liking.
I always keep this tab open, and if I ever want to do anything else while streaming I’ll open another window. Otherwise it will just show whatever new page you are going to.
PS: If you are using chess.com make sure to connect your twitch to your chess so you’re listed as a community streamer!
Step 6: Add widgets (optional)
I use streamlabs for widgets.I just use their dashboard online to save space on my computer. You can manually add alerts or viewer count or whatever you like by just hitting copy, and the adding a browser source on obs and pasting the link.
Quick tips and tricks:
- Clear browser cache on chrome to make everything faster
- Experiment with streaming using 30/60 commons fps value to see if it helps with any lagging issues.
- When you’re looking at your stream, it may seem like you're lagging or dropping frames. This is not always the case. Many times your wifi is just a bit overloaded. I always ask my viewers if everything looks/sounds okay. I know its stressful but you just have to close them.
- Try to close every window/app you don’t need before streaming.
- Bluetooth headphones to your phone, not computer to watch your stream. Read your comments on your phone. (optional but I find it helps me since my display is so small.
- Adding more widgets/playing videos on your stream will probably slow it down a bit, less it more.
- Have a friend watch your stream once or twice and tell you if everything looks good from their end
- If somethings not working, make sure your computer/obs is updated
- A lot of it is trial an error. Watch your vod, see if something worked or didn’t work, and try to fix it:)
Quick PSA: TBH streaming on a mac probably isn’t good for your computer, but hey I do it anyway. Keep this in mind when streaming.
This is definitely just the basics, and from here most tutorials can be used for both mac and pc. Hope this helps!
If you have any questions feel free to ask me on Discord or just comment them on twitter!
