Getting Started

What you really need to know.

Your Device

The first step in your IRL Streaming journey is determining which device you're going to use. You may think that you need to go all out, buy a backpack setup and $2,000 camera to compete, but that simply isn't true.

Most IRL Streamers are just using a phone. Many of those don't even have a streaming server, and stream straight from their phone to the streaming platform they stream on. If you're just getting started with IRL Streaming, it's totally fine to use a phone. At the time of writing, Ac7ionMan has over 120,000 followers on Kick, and streams from his phone when he's doing IRL. I maintain and regularly use a Belabox backpack setup, but still often choose to just use my phone for various reasons.

However, it is true that most of the biggest IRL streamers are using Streaming Backpacks. I recommend if you're brand new to IRL Streaming, start with the phone and see how it goes. You can always setup a backpack encoder later.

I recommend using Android Devices for phone streaming. If you carry an iPhone everywhere you go, that's fine. It's a good idea to carry an extra phone to use while you're streaming anyways, so you don't interrupt your IRL Streaming when you need to do something like order an uber, make a phone call, etc. In that case, I strongly recommend purchasing an Android device specifically for IRL Streaming. The specific phone I recommend only costs a couple hundred dollars. Check Recommended Android Phone.

Your Alerts

At the very least, you should be running an AlertBox that will display the alerts you want to show on stream. These include things like subscriptions, followers, paid chats, etc. Visit the Alerts / Overlays / Text-to-Speech section for more information. I personally recommend using Powerchat.live. Powerchat offers the most platform-specific support I've seen from any alert provider. Depending on the platform you're using, there are also many that aren't natively supported by the various streaming apps, so you may need a chat overlay as well. You can also add things like goal bars, view counters, and more through various providers.

In Conclusion

Those two things are really all you need. You need a device capable of IRL Streaming, a good app to stream from, and your alerts/overlays setup to trigger and display on the stream. You'll be on par with the majority of IRL Streamers by getting through these steps alone.

I do also recommend setting up a streaming server, but these are pricy and not required. If you're getting to the next level with your IRL Streaming, I strongly recommend setting one of these up before you even consider setting up a backpack encoder. They add a ton of value to your stream.