Streaming the output of a VDMX VJ set to Twitch

For VJs with access to a fast upstream Internet connection one of the places that can be a place to perform is over the net by streaming the output of VDMX (or any other Syphon output enabled application) with Twitch.

In this video tutorial we'll be looking at the simple steps involved with setting up streaming with Twitch from VDMX.

Before beginning this tutorial you may want to:

  1. Sign up for an account on Twitch.tv 
  2. Download and install the free Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)
  3. In the OBS Preferences under Stream enter the Stream Key found in your Twitch Dashboard.

Tip: Depending on your Internet connection you may want to vary the stream settings in the OBS Preferences as well.

Once you've got the initial basic OBS setup steps out of the way, launch VDMX. You can either start from a new project, load a template or any existing project. Next add a Syphon Output to your workspace if one does not already exist and enable the layer from VDMX you wish to stream over Twitch.

Launch OBS and create a new Scene. Add a video source and choose "Game Capture (Syphon)" from the list of available options. After setting a display name for the source a panel will appear asking you to select which Syphon feed you would like to receive. Choose the output from VDMX that you wish to publish over Twitch. In the main OBS canvas you may need to resize the image from VDMX to fill the entire broadcast region. If needed you can go back to VDMX and adjust your layer / canvas size to match the needed aspect ratio.

The final step is to click the "Start Streaming" button in the main OBS interface. At this point your output from VDMX should be streaming to your Twitch page. When you are finished click the "Stop Streaming" button in the main OBS interface or select the "Stop Streaming" option from the OBS menu.

Tips and Notes:

The Syphon Output plugin can be easily added to existing VDMX projects and templates.

Use OBS to receive Syphon from VDMX and stream to Twitch.

Go to the Twitch dashboard to find your Stream Key to use in the OBS preferences.