Top Streaming Gadgets
Streaming has massively grown in popularity over the past decade, with the rise of platforms like YouTube and Twitch pioneering a new form of collaborative, DIY media that enables everyone with a stable connection and a webcam to broadcast to the world. While you can get streaming with little more than a smartphone, there’s a host of gadgets out there designed to take your streaming to the next level of quality and polish. We have a look at some of the essentials every streamer, whether a Twitch gamer or a beauty vlogger, could benefit from adding to their set-up.
Blue Yeti USB Microphone
Microphones are the unsung hero of high-quality streaming. A good microphone makes all the difference as to how your broadcast sounds. This is because good microphones do more than just capture crisp audio; a decent compressor microphone will dynamically adjust the volume levels of speech to smooth out inconsistencies, delivering a clear and radio-like sound. The benefit for streamers in having a decent mic is that it also opens up the possibility of producing content in podcast form. The Yeti USB Microphone by Blue is considered a budget champion in the space. Blue’s special tri-capsule technology ensures the capture of studio-quality sound and is favored by Twitch streamers and YouTubers for delivering solid compression at a low cost.
Humanscale Freedom Chair
Good posture is one of the perennial challenges of 21st-century life. While plenty of yoga and frequent breaks from your desk should be part of everyone’s routine, all of this is for nothing if your chair and desk are completely unsuitable for extended periods of sitting. There is a whole world of different chairs out there for gamers, YouTubers, and remote workers alike. In the Esports world, much is made of the Razer Iskur gaming chair, which has lumbar support and aggressive aesthetics to complement your Twitch set-up. But one chair emerges to rule them all, irrespective of whether you’re sitting down to stream poker, The Sims 2 or DOTA. The Freedom Chair by Humanscale delivers pro-level ergonomics due to a bunch of clever tricks. It has sliding and motorized components that enable it to adjust its arm-rests and overall shape to match your individual body shape. When reclining, the chair even adjusts the backrest to the optimal level enabling you to kick back with ease and comfort. The chair retails for the mighty price tag of $1169, but as with many things in life, a good quality seldom comes cheap.
Logitech Brio Stream Webcam
Logitech has long been the undisputed leader in the webcam space by managing to offer innovative technology at an affordable price. The current flagship of Logitech’s crop of webcams is the Logitech Brio Stream Webcam, which is one of the first 4K webcams in the world. This extra jump in resolution means you’re future-proofing your content for years to come and ensuring that your broadcasts will look their best irrespective of what display they’re being watched on. The Brio has an impressive feature set that includes 5x digital zoom, a wide 90-degree field of view, and numerous adaptations for low-light filming, including dynamic HDR. The Brio currently retails for around $200, putting it admittedly at the premium end of the market.
ESDDI 10-inch ring light
A little bit of extra lighting can make an enormous difference to the quality of your content. Most ardent Twitch streamers and YouTubers now make use of LED ring lights to achieve this goal. These special lamps, developed in the world of professional photography, add light while reducing shadows and contours on the subject’s face. This makes them good at providing a high-quality light balance for recording video. The ESDDI 10-inch ring light is a great all-rounder with its Bluetooth controls and simple tabletop design. It features 10 different brightness levels and a range of color temperatures, making it extremely versatile for different shot requirements. Its compact design also makes it a great option if space is at a premium, or if you use your smartphone as your streaming device.
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