My Gear

If you're wondering what gear I use for streaming broadcasts you've come to the right place! I've had some questions during or after previous broadcasts so I've put the information together here in one convenient location.

I've upgraded my sound setup to a musician quality mixer and microphone. This setup is not expensive but it will run you about $100. I'm using a Behringer 502 5-Input Mixer to mix audio from a mic and a line out from the game. This mixer is compact and solidly constructed. I like that it doesn't take up a lot of real-estate on my computer desk and the inputs are positioned conveniently. It's possible to run RCA cable directly into a line in on the mixer but it only passes-through and doesn't allow you to adjust the volume. Since I wanted that capability I bought two 1/4" mono male to RCA female adapters like these American Recorder (ART) 1/4, though I did not get these specific ones. My only gripe is that there is no power switch so you need to unplug the power cable which seems a little flimsy.

For a microphone I'm using a Audio-Technica Pro 8HEx Headset Microphone. This microphone is a dynamic mic, though apparently the mixer will work with a condenser I haven't tried it. I also got a 15' mic cable like this XLR male to XLR female Microphone Cable - 15 feet so I have some freedom of movement to adjust my position during game-play.

I currently use the Logitech QuickCam Connect (Silver/Black) web cam but it's not readily available now. A comparable equivalent is probably the Logitech QuickCam Communicate Deluxe (Black). I'd like to upgrade to a direct video capture but I have yet to find one that works with Ustream. If someone has some suggestions I'm all ears.

For youtube videos I use a fantastic video capture device, the Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR High Definition Personal Video Recorder. This device captures great HD video via component cables and the bundled software allows you to easily convert it to a compressed format like WMV for uploading to youtube. I only wish that I could pull video straight from this device into ustream for my live broadcasts. :(