How to Stream from an Ultrawide – DIY in 5 Ep 214

Опубликовано 14 января 2024, 14:00

This video tackles streaming and recording content using an ultrawide monitor. They can be great to use but running into technical issues when streaming or recording is not uncommon. Ultrawides, whether 21:9 or 32:9 aspect ratio, are great for typical PC multi-tasking, and truly fantastic for games and apps with ultrawide support. However, the extra amount of software and hardware involved can complicate things when trying to broadcast or record gameplay.
Our focus will be on a setup using Windows operating system and OBS broadcasting software, but these troubleshooting steps will be appropriate for a variety of setups.

If you are using a one PC, one ultrawide setup, an ultrawide monitor can be amazing to help avoid having to have multiple monitors and have all your alerts and software all in one central location. To do this, you’ll want to launch your game in windowed mode in a 16:9 resolution and use either “Game Capture” or “Window Capture” in your broadcast software. You’ll want to avoid games that don’t have a windowed mode if you only have one display.

If you’re using a one PC, two display setup, then the simplest solution is to game on the 16:9 monitor and use your ultrawide for all your alerts and other software. Then your gameplay is already the traditional aspect ratio for broadcast, and you can use “Display Capture” or “Game Capture” in your broadcast software. While simpler, it is likely preferable to game on the ultrawide, so here are some options to aid in doing so.

If you’re playing a game with ultrawide support that loads up in good shape, capturing that display in your broadcast software will come with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. A solution to this is creating a layout which uses this black space that avoids covering up gameplay, or changing Windows’ display settings to a resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio while streaming so that it captures without black bars: somewhat defeating the purpose of gaming on an ultrawide monitor, but at least gaming offstream in ultrawide is possible. Another solution is to use the broadcasting software’s stretch or zoom feature to alter the image until the black bars are eliminated. However, this may warp the visuals and can look very strange. If playing a game with only a full-screen mode, which stretches or warps the image due to a lack of ultrawide support, it may be necessary to adjust the display resolution to accommodate and preserve the game’s visual fidelity.

If you’re using a two PC setup, with one display per PC, and a capture card to feed one’s audio and video into the other, the simplest solution is to game on the traditional aspect ratio monitor and keep all other windows on the ultrawide, but that’s no fun. To game on the ultrawide monitor in this scenario, you’ll need to make sure that your capture card can handle your display’s resolution. Both Avermedia and Elgato make cards capable of handling non-traditional resolutions. As of when this video was recorded, that capability is believed to be limited to internal capture cards.
If a capture card cannot capture an ultrawide resolution, it is possible to receive a No Signal error in your broadcasting software. It can be helpful in a two PC streaming setup to skip the capture card’s passthrough altogether, instead having the gaming PC output two displays—one to the capture card, the other to the gaming monitor—then mirroring the two displays in Windows’ settings. A capture card that can handle the display resolution and frame rate will produce an ultrawide feed in the broadcasting software, complete with black bars on top and bottom when the displays are mirrored in an ultrawide resolution. The extra space can be put to use with a creative layout, or the bars eliminated while streaming with a change to Windows display settings in a 16:9 aspect ratio resolution.

Do you currently stream while gaming on an ultrawide? What setup works best for you? Trisha currently uses a two PC setup, with the ultrawide on the gaming PC. She adjusts the resolution to fit the aspect ratio when streaming, while enjoying the immersion and multi-tasking opportunities of ultrawide when off-stream. Content creators’ setups are deeply personal and varied, but hopefully you’ll find these tip and tricks helpful. Like and share the video if so, and come back soon for the next DIY in 5!

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0:34 Intro
1:11 One PC setup
3:11 Two PC setup