LIVE STREAMING is no longer just a niche
corner of the internet, with the huge
increase in its popularity over the past
decade puhing it to vast global audiences
and making it one of the most popular
forms of online video. The live aspect of
streaming brings in the anticipation and
excitement offered by live TV but with
the opportunity for anyone to create their
own content. Whether it’s live streaming
games, tournaments, chatting, IRL videos,
talk shows, podcasts, music, and even
ASMR, there is an almost infinite amount
of content available.
As a result, the production side of
streaming has gone way beyond just
hitting a broadcast button and talking
down the microphone—audiences expect
more. To stand out from the crowd, you’ll
need to use live streaming software to
polish your content and create a reputable
design that oozes quality. Just like high-
quality thumbnails on YouTube videos, a
well-designed stream layout can bring
in viewers. It shows your audience that
you’ve put a lot of time and effort into yourWhich live stream app is better?
stream, just like how making an interesting
background in your setup does too.
The actual video resolution has to be
on par with the visual effects, so using a
streaming application can make sure you
tweak your stream to your liking. It’s a
great way to build up an image and style
that you may become recognized for. Of
course, your content still has to be relevant,
engaging, and entertaining—and if it is all
three, you won’t want to be let down by a
low-resolution stream, poor audio, or a
basic layout. OBS and XSplit are powerful
streaming applications that are more than
enough to create a slick-looking stream, so
which one should you choose?
If you’re new to the streaming world,
choosing software could be tricky. You
want a program that’s quick to pick up and
easy to navigate, yet has the potential to
be used more intensively down the line. If
a program is too heavy and busy from the
get-go, it can become overwhelming and
even put you off the idea entirely. When
jumping into both of these programs,
visually, XSplit has a cleaner user interfacethan OBS. That said, both programs don’t
have the most striking of designs. The
layout on XSplit provides an efficient and
simplistic use of space that feels more
straightforward than OBS as the latter is
more cluttered. Both programs follow a
similar layout with the main streaming
window in the center of the workspace,
your scenes, sources and audio controls
below, and the rest of the settings in the
top taskbar.
Likewise, with XSplit’s design, you have
bold buttons to control stream, record,
and screen capture at the top, whereas in
OBS, these important actions are hidden
away in the bottom right corner. When you
get more familiar with these, it becomes
second nature but, from a beginner’s point
of view, the most important options should
be easily accessible.
Both of these programs fundamentally
achieve the same goal. They allow you to
capture video from a source or recording
and push that to a live streaming service
such as Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook
Live. In regards to streaming services,
OBS has an output of around 90 different
streaming platforms, with the ones listed
above being just the most popular ones.
XSplit, on the other hand, keeps things a
bit more focused with 22 sites upon which
to stream. So for streaming options, OBS
has the upper hand over XSplit, it’s just
whether or not you will ever use the less
popular streaming sites. Thankfully, in
both applications, it is easy to link yourOBS Studio vs.
XSplit Broadcaster
OBS Studio gives
everyone the chance
to dive into the world
of live streaming.© OBS STUDIO92 MAXIMU MPC JUN 2022
in the lab HEAD
TOHE
AD