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View Full Version : Broadcasting to Justin.tv/Twitchtv Using Black Magic Intensity Pro & Xsplit


Waxxyface
06-19-2011, 01:36 PM
Hello

I did a similar guide for the Hauppauge HD PVR but I haven't owned one of these for a long time so I thought I'd do an updated broadcasting guide with my current set up. I will go into some amount of detail to cater to those who aren't quite as tech savvy so you may find a bunch of the steps in this guide are not relevent to you - feel free to skip forward to the parts you are interested in such as the xsplit settings. At present I use a Black Magic Intensity Pro and Xsplit to broadcast my xbox 360 gameplay to Justin.tv / Twitchtv.

This is a copy and paste from the original article on my website (http://www.craicer.com/2010/06/broadcasting-to-justin-tvtwitchtv-with-xsplit-a-black-magic-intensity-pro/). It may be a bit easier to follow if you view it from there - There's an image limit on the JTV forums so I had to split it into various posts.

1; getting everything together

1a; Black Magic Intensity Pro

The Black Magic Intensity Pro is pretty much the best capture card available. It allows you to stream to Justin.tv in 720p without the use of an intermediary screen capture programme and it costs around the same as the HD PVR. Black Magic Design have a list of authorised resellers on their website (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/resellers/) but you'll also find sellers on places like AMAZON US (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=black+magic+intensity+pro&x=0&y=0) or AMAZON UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=black+magic+intensity+pro&x=0&y=0) so it is widely available. Before you do buy it read the system requirements to ensure its compatible with your PC.

Before you install the Intensity Pro you should set your xbox display output setting to 720p as the Intensity Pro does not seem to support anything higher. You can do this by going to the "My Xbox" bit on your dashboard and going all the way across to "System Settings". When you're in there select "Console Settings", "Display", "HDTV Settings" and finally "720p".

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/720ppppp.png

After you've got the hardware installed on your computer you need to get the cables connected up - this part is pretty much self explanatory as everything is labeled. The cables going from the xbox will go into those marked as "input" and for "output" you will need one of these (http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cableee.jpg) and one of these (http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cableeeees.jpg) - one end going into the "output" section of the breakout cable and one end going into your tv.

For those who use a turtle beach headset (if you don't just skip forward); I also use a turtle beach x1 headset which has a cable like this (http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tbbb.png) to intercept the sound. You just plug the red and white turtle beach cables into the corresponding colours for "input" on the breakout cable. Then put the red and white cables from the xbox into the back of them.

Next you'll need to install the drivers and the Blackmagic Media Express software. I am currently using the 3.9.4 drivers - others recommend using 3.6.3 but it might be easier following this if you are using the same version as me. Black Magic Design have all the drivers archived on their website so if you do struggle with the driver version I have recommended you can uninstall and move to 3.6.3. You can find the drivers I use for the purposes of this tutorial right here (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/detail/register/download/?fid=11190&pid=3989&os=win). If you want to search manually just go here (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/), fill in all the details and select "archived drivers" on the next page. There will be two files in the RAR archive - you should install them both and restart if prompted.

If the hardware and software installation has gone smoothly you should see this in device manager

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/drivers.png

If not, something may have gone wrong and you might want to to take a step back. If you see this continue on.

Now that we've got the installation out of the way it's time to see if we can make the video and audio from our xbox 360 display on our computer screen - if we can do this we're well on our way to broadcasting. Before we open any software we need to tweak a few settings on the intensity pro. To do this, on your pc, select "Start", "Control Panel" and on the list of all items in the control panel you should now have a new icon called "Blackmagic Control Panel". Open this, and assuming your setup is the same as mine, change the settings to the following;

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/bmcp.png

After that click "Apply", "OK" and open up "Blackmagic Media Express". You may see a black screen when you first open it, thats normal so don't panic.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/mediaexpress1.png

Waxxyface
06-19-2011, 01:36 PM
With this open go to "Edit", "Preferences" and again change the settings to match what I've put in the image below.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/preferences1.png

Select "OK" to save these settings and once back on the main screen of Media Express select the "Capture" tab. Your xbox 360 should now be displayed within Media Express which means you've installed the Intensity Pro correctly and are ready to move onto using xsplit.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/kaaaay.png

1b; Xsplit

It's quickly becoming the most widely used tool for broadcasting and you'll find out why when you start using it. It's currently in beta and available free on their website (but they do plan to charge once the full version releases). In order to get xsplit you need to go to their official website (http://www.xsplit.com/) and register for an account. In the middle of the homepage there's an option to join the beta crew - thats the one you're looking for.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/betttttttttta.png

Once registered you'll be sent an e-mail to activate your account. Click the link in that e-mail and you'll be given the option to download xsplit. Download and install so we can get onto broadcasting!

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/download.png

Waxxyface
06-19-2011, 01:37 PM
2; broadcasting to Justin.tv/Twitchtv

2a; Video

Once you've installed xsplit open it up and you'll be prompted to log in. After logging in you might be prompted to download an update - as its in beta there are fairly regular updates so go ahead and get the updates out of the way.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/logiiin.png

After that you'll be greeted with the main screen of the Xsplit software. Once here at the bottom left select "Add", "Add Camera" then "Decklink Video Capture".

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/adddd.png

You should now see your xbox 360 in a small window at the top left corner. If you do, awesome, move onto the next step. (Ignore the following and move onto the next step if its all working fine!) If you don't try right clicking at the top left of the black screen, select "configure", "video capture" and ensure that it says HD 720p 59.94. If it doesn't, you may need to close xsplit and go back to Media Express to ensure the settings have saved there. Once you've done that go back to xsplit, follow the steps above and change it to HD 720p 59.94 manually.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/deckkkkkkkk.png

With that out of the way you need to right click the video again, select the "position" tab and ensure "Keep aspect ratio" is ticked and "lock position" is unticked.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/position.png

Waxxyface
06-19-2011, 01:37 PM
You can now drag the video to cover the whole screen. Once you've done this select "tools", "settings" from the top.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/toooooooools.png

Now go to the resolutions tab and ensure 640 x 360 is ticked. This is the resolution of the Justin.tv/Twitchtv window so it's the resolution we'll be using for the purposes of this tutorial. You can also tick 1280x720 if you have a fast enough internet connection and a decent computer. If you are a new broadcaster you should be aware that a lot of your potential viewers will not have a fast enough internet connection to watch in 720p.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/resoooooooo.png

After this go to the "channel" tab, click on "add" and select "Justin.tv" from the drop down.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/addddddddddd.png

In the first two fields of the next screen enter your username and password - the other fields should auto-populate with generic settings which you should change. I will give you a specific list of settings that will allow you to stream at a bit rate which the majority of people will be able to watch without lag while at the same time maintaining a pretty good-looking stream - I actually use these settings for my own stream. Its obviously down to you to decide which settings you need to tweak based on your own internet connection and computer specs but these work perfectly fine for me;

Channel;
Location: Main Origin Cluster

Video Encoding;
Preset: Superfast
Quality: 10
VBV Max Bit Rate: 950
VBV Buffer: 1900 (This setting changes automatically when you move the bit rate up or down)
Resolution: Default Stage Resolution

Audio Encoding;
Format: 22.050 KHz 16 Bit Stereo
Codec: MP3
Bit Rate: 96000

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ssssssssssssss.png

Waxxyface
06-19-2011, 01:38 PM
With all that entered select "OK" and then "Apply". Press "OK" again and from the menu at the top select "View", "Resolution". Ensure 640x360 is selected.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/loggggggggggggggg.png

Now go to "View", "Frame Rate" and select "30". If you have a slower computer you can bring this down to "25" and it'll be barely noticable. 30 is just the optimal framerate.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/frametttttttttttt.png

Here's a highlight from a stream that used these settings: http://www.justin.tv/craicers/b/288412299

Video is clear, all the in-game text is readable and the frame rate is fine. If you have a better internet connection and a high-spec computer simply change the resolution to 1280x720 and higher the bit rate. There are no universal settings - play about and see what works for you.

Waxxyface
06-19-2011, 01:38 PM
2b; Audio

This is something a lot of people appear to have issues with. Software like wirecast has built-in support for the Intensity Pro audio drivers so once you select your capture card you are ready to go - xsplit doesn't have support for this YET so we need to use a little workaround. There are two ways you can do this, both require you to purchase an additional piece of equipment but no worries - the first way is REALLY inexpensive.

2b.1; RCA/Av to Stereo Adapter/Jack

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/yoooo.jpg

Those who have used a dazzle previously might already be familar with this little thing. It only costs a few dollars its straightforward to use. You simply plug the red and white audio cable into this and plug this into the microphone port on your PC. Open up Xsplit and go to "Tools", "Settings". Go to the "General" Tab and under audio select the "Microphone" that you've just plugged in.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/audiiiiiiiiiiio.png

Press "apply", "OK" then on the main screen ensure the speaker option is disabled (line through it) and the microphone option is enabled (no line through it).

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/speeeeeeeeeeeeeeak.png

You're now ready to start broadcasting! Just click "broadcast" at the top and select where you want to broadcast to.

http://www.craicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/brooooooooooooooad.png

Waxxyface
06-19-2011, 01:39 PM
2b.2; Hardware Mixer

If you get a hardware mixer you can send both the game audio, through the RCA cables, and an external microphone through it. They are mixed together and you are able to select one audio option in xsplit for this. After connecting it to your pc you just select it under 'microphone' in the same way as before. The majority of people who do live commentary on their streams do it through the use of hardware mixers.

And thats that. I have nothing more to say for now. Apologies if this is disorganized - I put it together in a bit of a rush and may edit it later.