We'll Do It Live!
What’s better than playing Magic Online? Playing it in front of the entire planet! Many Magic Online players have taken to live streaming their experience on Twitch.tv. The process for setting up your own stream is easier than you might think, and can be done in about fifteen minutes.
Aside from the Magic Online client, you’ll need broadcasting software installed. Twitch.tv recommends one of three programs: OBS (Open Broadcaster Software), FFSplit, and XSplit. A second monitor is really useful, but by no means necessary.
For a brief rundown on the setup, we’re going to use XSplit. Here are the basics for streaming Magic Online:
This is XSplit just after a fresh installation. Minus the buttons and menu bar, this is what your audience is going to see while you’re streaming. There’s a pretty straightforward setup wizard under “Broadcast >> Add channel…” to connect XSplit to your Twitch.tv account.
Now, unless we want to broadcast empty nothingness to the masses, we’ll want to add a couple things to this space. Click “Add” in the lower left corner of the XSplit window, select “screen region…” and drag the red crosshairs across the area on your screen that will be occupied by Magic Online.
The selected screen region will appear inside XSplit and can be dragged around and resized until you’re happy with it. You can also “Add” pictures, Skype video, webcams, and other sources to your stream to customize the look.
Note that, depending on your system, you may need to enable “Captured layered windows” in order for the Magic Online client to properly appear in your screen region. Access this checkbox by right-clicking the screen capture within XSplit.
After initial setup, broadcasting is as simple as donning your headset, launching Magic Online, and clicking the broadcast button. For a deeper dive on streaming, XSplit has a series of video guides on their support page that covers first-time setup, audio settings, and setup for multiple sources.
See you on Twitch!