How-to: Stream World of Warcraft to Justin.tv

- BY Eric/Steel Frog, June 12 2009 -

Many of you have been dropping in my channel and asking how I go about streaming my World of Warcraft gameplay to the site.

While the process may seem a bit daunting at first but in reality, it is quite a simple and straightforward process once you are properly equipped with the necessary tools.

Step 1. VH Screen Capture Driver

Before we begin, we need a way to capture our desktop’s image. To do so, we’ll use VH Screen Capture driver. Simply download and install the application and we’ll go ahead and configure it.

To configure VHSCD, head to your Start menu, click on Hmeylyoff Labs, VHScrCap and select the Config application. While the interface may seem a little daunting at first, don’t fret. I’ll walk you through the settings.

Note: Do not use the settings in this screenshot. Scroll down for an explanation.

Capture tab

These settings change if you’re playing in Windowed or Fullscreen mode:

If you’re playing in Windowed mode, fire up World of Wacraft and tab out so that WoW sits in your taskbar. In VHSCD, click on the Track Window button and, from the Select Window pulldown menu, choose World of Warcraft. I recommend you play with WoW maximized so you don’t end up capturing the Windows title bar, or use the area selection to crop it out.

If you’re playing in Fullscreen, you’ll have to check the Track Screen option instead. Note that screen tracking is problematic if you’re using dual or triple monitors like I am, so I usually end up playing in a window.

Settings tab

Frame rate: start off at 10 frames. You’ll see why when you’re playing. The higher the framerate here, the more resources VHSCD will consume. Ideally, 20 frames per second offers a solid quality versus performance ratio, but may be too much for slightly older machines.
Border Color: change this option to black. This is the color fill that will be used to fill in gaps in your videos (e.g., you’re playing in 16:9, broadcasting in 4:3)
Show mouse: does exactly what it sounds like. Either keep it on or turn it off. I like to keep it, but that’s a personal choice.
Optimize screen capture: turn this option off! While this is great for capture static images (e.g., Windows desktop), it will muck up in World of Warcraft and create long ’skips’ where the capture thinks the background does not change.
Resize to output size: check this option and the 32bit linear resizing option. This will scale the video using a 32bit algorithm, making it smoother and cleaner than a ‘plain’ resizing would.
Specify output size: Enter either 640×480 if you pack a solid processor, or 320×240 which is faster but lower quality. If you’re trying to broadcast WoW in high definition, you’ll of course want to enter the value you’ve chosen to broadcast at.

Once you’re done with your settings, simply close down VHSCD. Your settings will be loaded when we select it as an input source later and can always be modified while in use.

Step 2. Sound

Here is where it can get tricky for Windows Vista (and some Windows XP) users. Microsoft, in collaboration with copyright enforcement agencies, pressured many audio device manufacturers to disable built-in stereo/mono mixers to prevent recording of copyrighted materials. In short, it means that it gets harder to simply broadcast the sounds your computer makes. There are a few work-around solutions like using audio repeaters, or looping digital “out” lines into “in” lines, but that’s for you to figure out since situations differ.

If you’re using Windows XP, most drivers include the stereo mixer (known as “What u hear” on Creative cards) which works perfectly.

To see how I got around my problems, check out the previously-posted HAVA streaming article.

Alternatively, if you don’t plan on using your microphone or line-in port, grab a 3.5mm audio splitter and simply loop a cable from the splitter to your line in. Broadcast the sound from Line in.

Step 3. Streaming

We’re ready to stream! Head to Justin TV and log in to your account. Look at the top-right of your screen and hit the big, red Broadcast button. Click on the Best tab and install the streaming plugin if you’ve never done so before (you’ll be prompted to do so). You’ll run a few quick tests to check your upload speeds and such. Once those are done, you’ll need to select VHScreenCap as your video input and your stereo mixer as audio input.

If you’re shooting for a high-definition feed (higher than 640×480 offered by Justin TV’s built-in function), you will need to install Flash Media Live Encoder.

Click on the broadcast button and that should be it! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to help you out. Good luck!

18 Comments

Comment by avengerx87 — June 18, 2009 @ 7:48 AM

this worked for me but instead of using justin.tvs broadcast button i used flash media live encoder like u mentioned in ur other article and it’s working really well

Comment by SpawnMoarOverlords — July 2, 2009 @ 10:06 AM

I’m not sure what I can do about the whole sound problem I have. I can’t find a way to get the sound out while listening to it at the same time. Can u help???

Comment by Eric/Steel Frog — July 2, 2009 @ 1:40 PM

SpawnMoarOverlords – First off, I like your name. Second, I’m re-editing this article for clarity and will be including a longer thread about sound and work-arounds.

Comment by Eiolon — July 16, 2009 @ 10:06 AM

By using VHSCD it seems I am limited to having it broadcast in 640×480. Any ideas on how to get a better resolution? Not even WoW allows that small of a resolution.

Comment by Eric/Steel Frog — July 16, 2009 @ 10:24 AM

Eiolon, set the output size in VHSCD to your World of Warcraft resolution and set it to track your WoW window. That should do the trick. However, keep in mind that the higher the capture resolution, the higher the strain on your PC. You may want to scale it down on a percentage basis (e.g., 1680×1050 scaled to half size would be 840×525)

It also occurs to me that the built-in broadcasting feature on Justin.tv may not support higher than 640×480. Try streaming with Flash Media Live Encoder as well.

Comment by Eiolon — July 16, 2009 @ 10:40 AM

Thanks for the response. I have tried doing what you suggested with VHSCD but no luck. When I go to start broadcasting on Justin.tv, it lets me select VHSCD but it still only gives 640×480 as the maximum broadcast resolution. I’ll give the Flash Encoder a try. Thanks again.

Comment by Eric/Steel Frog — July 16, 2009 @ 10:42 AM

Eiolon, then yes, that would be caused by Justin.tv’s limited resolution. Shoot me your channel’s URL and I’ll drop in to see if I can help.

Comment by Rufsen — August 7, 2009 @ 10:24 AM

Hi, Don´t know how to stream whit Live Encoder and don´t know how to record sound didn´t find any soulution don´t wanna pay for the pogram.. and if u should use an audio splitter i didn´t know either how to use please help me.

Comment by Eric/Steel Frog — August 11, 2009 @ 9:36 AM

Rufsen, Flash Media Live encoder is fairly straightforward to use. You’ll need to log on to your Justin.tv account and download the configuration XML file. You can then open that file from FMLE to setup the stream to your Justin.tv account.

You then simply select the source of your video and audio and set up the bitrates. It’s a lot of tweaking to do at first, but the payoff is usually a noticeable increase in quality.

Comment by B_rett — September 16, 2009 @ 10:32 PM

how do I watch myself play and view justin.tv while streaming

Comment by Eric/Steel Frog — September 17, 2009 @ 7:33 AM

Hi B_Rett,
I’m assuming you want to view Justin.TV while you play to monitor chat. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way around it. You’ll need a second monitor or find a way to run World of Warcraft in a window small enough to leave enough room on the side for the chat box.

Comment by death2all333 — October 5, 2009 @ 9:43 PM

Well i downloaded the program and when i go to broadcast the program restarts my computer

Comment by Eric/Steel Frog — October 6, 2009 @ 12:33 PM

Hi death2all333,
Does it crash before the image captured by VH Screen Cap shows up, or when you hit the ‘broadcast’ button? Are you using Flash Media Live Encoder to broadcast?

Comment by ce — October 22, 2009 @ 6:23 AM

hey buddy……i read your instruccions and find it pretty reazonable……i was trying to broadcast some flight simulation but i just see the left side of the screen…..no the images……you think this is posible??? i apreciate any feedback….tks…..

Comment by Eric/Steel Frog — October 22, 2009 @ 6:41 AM

Hi ce,
It sounds like the game you’re running is in full screen. Try setting VH ScreenCap to capture the monitor rather than a specific window and see if that helps.

Comment by exc — December 12, 2009 @ 11:52 PM

Im getting alot of quality issues with the gameplay being of very low quality and continualy freezing up and stopping

im on a 220kbps upstream on jtv any tips to improve quality or is this simply a case of too low a connection speed on my end

Comment by wtfbbq — February 5, 2010 @ 9:56 AM

when i go to jtv and hit the red button it doesnt let me select a cam or VHS

Pingback by Broadcasting gameplay and desktop - Community - Equilibrium Gaming — February 26, 2010 @ 12:51 PM

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