[0:00] I think a lot of people are [0:01] underutilized in their Stream Deck. Not [0:03] because you don't know what it can do, [0:04] but because of how you're setting it up. [0:07] And once I put a little more thought [0:09] into my Stream Deck's setup, everything [0:11] just got faster. Your Stream Deck layout [0:13] can be the difference between an [0:15] efficient workflow and an inefficient [0:17] one. As Stream Deck has evolved, we've [0:19] gotten more keys and more dials, and as [0:22] great as this is, this could also lead [0:24] to more mess. So, today I want to show [0:27] you how I've got my Stream Deck plus XL [0:29] set up to streamline my workflow as a [0:32] content creator. Before we get started, [0:34] I do want to let you know that I am an [0:36] Elgato partner, and this video is [0:38] sponsored by Elgato. They sent me the [0:40] Stream Deck plus XL for free prior to [0:42] release for the purposes of making [0:44] content on it. They don't get to read my [0:45] script, they don't get to see the video [0:47] before you do, and they have no say in [0:50] what type of content I make on the [0:52] Stream Deck plus XL. They just said, [0:54] "Here you go. Have fun." The Stream Deck [0:56] plus XL is an absolute unit of a Stream [1:00] Deck. With 36 keys and six dials, this [1:03] thing is huge. Its size is both its [1:06] greatest asset and its biggest [1:08] opportunity. Setting one up with no [1:11] plan, no rhyme or reason can easily lead [1:14] into a mess of pages, folders, profiles, [1:17] and key layouts that make no sense. So, [1:20] allow me to help you avoid that. As I [1:23] thought about how to set mine up, I [1:25] thought about what I actually do and how [1:27] I actually use Stream Deck. And [1:29] basically, I open apps, I open Chrome [1:33] directly to specific websites, I control [1:35] my lights, control my audio, control my [1:37] streams and my recordings, aka OBS, and [1:40] I monitor a few things here and there. I [1:43] could just make one profile with [1:44] multiple pages for every single aspect [1:46] that I just mentioned, but let's be [1:48] real, that gets really messy really [1:50] fast, and navigating that is not as [1:52] intuitive as it can be now thanks to [1:54] some recent upgrades in Stream Deck [1:56] navigation. So, instead, I'm using a few [1:58] profiles to manage my entire workflow. [2:02] And let's start with my home profile. [2:04] Think of home as the main hub. This is [2:07] the profile where I will launch all the [2:09] apps that I frequently use, the websites [2:11] that I visit frequently, a couple of [2:13] quick access controls that I do use [2:15] frequently, and a couple of random [2:18] things that I don't interact with too [2:20] often, but are nice to have right here [2:22] in my default main profile. We have 36 [2:26] keys to play with here, and I look at [2:29] those 36 keys as two different groups. [2:32] Four rows of nine keys or nine columns [2:35] of four keys. I wanted this layout to be [2:37] very intentional, so I went with [2:40] planning this layout based off of having [2:42] nine columns with four keys apiece. And [2:46] therefore, every single column or groups [2:48] of columns serve a specific function. [2:51] Let's start left to right and start with [2:53] the first column here. This first column [2:55] is my key lights on [2:59] and off. I'm able to toggle between chat [3:01] mode and display mode for my Elgato [3:03] Prompter. I can toggle the crosshair [3:05] when I'm reading a script, for example, [3:07] I can I can know exactly where my camera [3:09] lens is by toggling this crosshair on or [3:12] off. And in the event that I need to use [3:14] my Scimitar Elite Wireless SE mouse for [3:17] something like editing my timeline in [3:19] DaVinci Resolve, I can press this button [3:21] at the bottom to make sure that IQ has [3:23] been launched and open so that it can [3:25] work with Stream Deck, blah blah blah. [3:26] All right. The next two columns are my [3:29] audio control columns. Now, from the [3:32] top, I can switch my audio output [3:34] device. It's either my headset or my [3:36] speakers, okay? The second button here [3:38] allows me to control what mix I'm [3:40] actually listening to, and right now [3:42] it's set to my Stream Mix, but if I [3:43] press that button, it outputs all of my [3:46] personal mix, which is what I [3:48] traditionally use 99.99% [3:51] of the time when I'm not streaming. The [3:53] third button here allows me to mute my [3:54] entire personal mix in the event that I [3:56] just need to mute everything really [3:57] quickly. And finally, the button here at [4:00] the bottom allows me to mute my [4:02] microphone. In the third row, I have the [4:05] ability to add different apps to [4:07] different channels within Wave Link 3.0. [4:10] So, for example, let's pretend I launch [4:13] a game on Steam that I've never played [4:14] before at all. It's the first time this [4:16] game runs on my computer, and I need to [4:18] assign it to my game channel. As soon as [4:20] that opens and starts running, I simply [4:23] hit this button right here, and it [4:24] automatically adds it to the game [4:26] channel in Wave Link 3.0, which then [4:29] makes sure that it's being routed to all [4:31] other mixes where game is active as a [4:33] channel. I can do the same here in case [4:35] I want to add anything to browser or [4:37] anything into the generic music channel [4:39] as well. These audio controls here, as [4:42] far as keys are concerned, are mainly to [4:44] control where the audio is going, what [4:46] you what device is outputting the audio, [4:49] and what channel a given application is [4:52] sent to upon its first launching. The [4:54] next three columns are the apps that I [4:56] use very frequently on a day-to-day [4:58] basis. First column up over here, I have [5:01] every single Elgato application that I [5:03] use from Wave Link, Stream Deck, Camera [5:05] Hub, and Control Center. The next one I [5:08] have here is the content creation [5:10] column, okay? I have OBS for whenever I [5:13] want to go live or record a video like [5:15] the one that I'm doing right now. I have [5:17] Audacity in the event that I just want [5:18] to record audio. I've got DaVinci [5:20] Resolve so I can edit the videos, and I [5:23] have a link straight to Canva.com so [5:25] that I can start working on thumbnails [5:27] or any other assets that I may need for [5:29] a video. This third column here in the [5:32] apps grouping is just all the other [5:35] stuff that I use. I open Steam to play [5:36] games, I go to Chrome to do some [5:38] browsing Spotify Discord [5:40] self-explanatory. And the last three [5:42] columns are kind of a bit of a random [5:45] mixture, but not really. This column [5:47] here, the third-to-last column, is my [5:49] statistics column, if you will. I can [5:51] take a look at my CPU utilization right [5:54] here directly off my Stream Deck, and I [5:56] can also check how hot or not hot my GPU [6:00] is currently running. And then the last [6:02] two buttons here are going to launch [6:03] CapFrameX and RivaTuner in the event [6:06] that I want to capture any sort of [6:07] benchmarking for any game that I am [6:09] currently playing. Second-to-last column [6:12] is all the websites, YouTube X, Twitch, [6:14] Google Drive, and then this final one [6:16] over here is going to show me the [6:17] weather for today, the weather for the [6:19] next 2 days, the time, and if I had iCue [6:22] open and this mouse on, it's off right [6:24] now, it would show me the battery level [6:26] for my Scimitar Wireless Elite SE. [6:30] And that's it. All right. Now, the dials [6:33] are a bit of a different story because I [6:34] have six dials at the bottom. I am only [6:37] concerned in this profile here [6:39] controlling anything that impacts me and [6:42] only me. So, I have a dial to control [6:45] the volume for my system channel, which [6:47] is going to be my PC and Windows sounds. [6:49] I have a dial for the games. I have a [6:51] dial for browser audio. I have a dial [6:53] for music audio. And that's it. The last [6:55] two dials are going to be controlling my [6:57] Key Light Airs. Now, instead of just [6:59] turning them on or off, I'm actually [7:00] controlling the brightness and the color [7:02] temperature for each one of my two Key [7:05] Light Airs right here in front of me. [7:07] But, if you notice, I have two dials for [7:10] two different settings for two different [7:11] lights. That means that I would [7:13] technically need four dials. A [7:16] brightness dial and a color temperature [7:18] dial for one Key Light Air and a [7:20] brightness dial and a color temperature [7:22] dial for my second Key Light Air. But, [7:25] thanks to something that Stream Deck has [7:27] built in called the dial stacking, we [7:29] don't have to worry about running out of [7:31] dials because if I double-click in, [7:35] bam, I'm able to stack commands on [7:39] dials. So, what this means is that if I [7:41] go back here, let me go back home. [7:44] Pop. [7:45] All right. I can simply turn the [7:47] brightness up right now as you can see [7:48] it change right now. We're going to go [7:49] back to nine, but if I want to change [7:51] the brightness of my other light, I push [7:54] this dial in and now I can start messing [7:56] around with that one. I think this one [7:58] was set to [8:00] seven. All right. And I can do the same [8:02] exact thing with this other dial for a [8:04] color temperature, but I'm not going to [8:05] do that because I like I'm a control [8:07] freak and I like everything staying the [8:09] same always as far as lighting is [8:11] concerned. [8:12] Okay, perfect. So, this is the home [8:16] profile. This is the main hub. This is [8:17] where everything begins. [8:20] So, [8:21] what happens when I have to go into OBS, [8:25] launch OBS, and start controlling things [8:28] from a completely different perspective? [8:31] Well, let's make it easy. I've already [8:33] created an OBS profile and a couple of [8:35] other profiles that we're going to cover [8:37] in this video today, but as you can see, [8:39] I have an OBS key right over here. So, [8:41] I'm going to simply press it and it'll [8:43] automatically open up OBS. So, let me [8:46] switch over here to my OBS profile so [8:49] that you can have a look at what this [8:50] looks like. Again, columns are [8:53] intentional. They have purpose. They [8:55] serve functions, okay? Don't look at it [8:58] from left to right as far as rows are [8:59] concerned because that doesn't mean [9:00] anything. The first two columns in this [9:03] profile control OBS from switching [9:05] scenes to starting a recording, starting [9:07] a stream, capturing clips, so forth and [9:10] so on. This is pretty self-explanatory. [9:12] I'm not going to really dive into that. [9:14] Obviously, yours may look a little [9:16] different, but basically, first two [9:17] columns control OBS. That's all you got [9:19] to know. [9:20] The next two columns start the audio [9:23] grouping, and as you can tell here, the [9:24] audio grouping is four columns wide. If [9:27] that I guess that makes sense. It does [9:28] make sense. Anyways, I have two meters, [9:30] all right? The first meter, the one that [9:32] you're seeing move right now is my [9:34] microphone. And that way I can get a [9:36] quick visual representation of where I'm [9:38] at as far as my levels are concerned [9:39] when I'm speaking into the mic. [9:41] Underneath that, I have a mute button so [9:43] I can mute my microphone. And above this [9:45] here at the top, I have the button to [9:47] change what device my audio is sent to, [9:49] be it my speakers or my headset. That's [9:52] it. Third column, or fourth column [9:54] rather, is about the same exact thing [9:56] except it's going to show me the meters [9:57] for my stream mix. So I can get an idea [10:00] of where my stream audio is versus my [10:03] mic audio. And I'm able to change what [10:06] mix I'm listening to on a given device. [10:08] So I can change between the personal [10:10] mix, which is what I hear, and the [10:12] stream mix, which is what my audience [10:13] hears. And here I want to be able to do [10:16] that because as I'm streaming, I want to [10:18] make sure that the audio my audience is [10:20] getting is actually good. And that maybe [10:23] I didn't accidentally leave myself muted [10:25] the minute I went live. And you'd be [10:27] surprised how often that actually [10:29] happens cuz it happens a lot. [10:32] The next two columns, and the last two [10:33] columns in the audio grouping over here, [10:36] allow me a little bit more finite [10:38] control for the stream mix and the [10:40] personal mix, okay? From the top, I can [10:42] mute the entire stream mix or I can mute [10:45] the game channel, I can mute the browser [10:47] channel, or I can mute the music channel [10:49] in the stream mix only. And on the final [10:52] column in this grouping, I can mute the [10:55] personal mix for myself entirely, or I [10:58] can mute the game, I can mute the [10:59] browser, or I can mute the music audio. [11:02] The next two columns are prompter [11:03] control. In the event that I go into a [11:06] stream and start streaming and I'm not [11:08] in chat mode over here, I can cycle [11:10] between the different prompter modes [11:13] between basically display or chat mode. [11:15] So I can press that up. If I miss [11:17] anything at all, I can scroll up and [11:20] down through chat to make sure I catch [11:22] up with whoever is chatting me with me. [11:23] You know, maybe that one or two people [11:25] that do end up watching my streams. And [11:28] in the event that I'm reading a script [11:30] and I mess up on a chapter, I can move [11:33] backwards and forwards across chapters [11:35] to make sure I get some good retakes in. [11:38] The last column allows me to turn all of [11:41] my lights on or off, not just my key [11:43] light errors, but all of my lights on or [11:45] off. I'm able to also capture a [11:48] screenshot of whatever it is, so [11:50] whatever scene I'm in in OBS, and [11:53] finally, I can go home back to my home [11:56] profile. Now, before we move on, let's [11:58] cover a couple things here. If you take [12:00] a look, you're going to notice that I [12:01] have one button to start my stream, and [12:04] that's it. I've got no record button, [12:06] and I do have a clip button right over [12:08] here. [12:09] How in the world do I record or start a [12:12] recording, rather, if I don't have a [12:14] button for it here on my Stream Deck [12:16] Plus XL with 36 freaking keys? [12:19] Well, [12:20] that's all going to happen thanks to key [12:22] logic. All right? Now, key logic is [12:24] really freaking cool, because let me [12:26] double click here. [12:28] Key logic allows you to change how a [12:32] single key behaves depending on how you [12:35] interact with it, whether you press it [12:37] one time, you hold it, or you double [12:40] press it. So, as you can see here, if I [12:42] press that key one time, it's going to [12:44] start a stream. If I double press it, [12:46] it's going to start instant replay, or [12:49] whatever that replay buffer is called, [12:50] that thing right there. And if I hold [12:52] it, it will start or stop a recording. [12:55] And I I I absolutely adore that Elgato [12:59] introduced key logic into streaming, [13:01] because that saves so much space in [13:03] terms of buttons that it it makes it [13:06] just [13:07] I can't think of anything clever to say. [13:09] It's just a really cool feature, okay? [13:11] This is the entire setup for all the [13:12] keys. Let's move on to the dials. The [13:14] dials are a little different, because in [13:16] my mind, [13:17] I've already set up my lighting. I've [13:19] already got it dialed in. That's not [13:21] going to really change much, if at all. [13:23] So, I don't need to waste a dial or [13:25] dials on lighting. But what I do need is [13:29] control for audio that I hear, aka [13:31] personal mix, and the audio my audience [13:34] hears, aka the stream mix. So, I have [13:37] six dials. I've divided them up into two [13:39] groups. Three dials for stream audio, [13:42] three dials for me audio. But, I'm I I [13:44] take it a step further because left to [13:46] right, what I see on my left to me is [13:49] priority. And when I'm streaming or [13:52] recording, my audience's audio is [13:54] priority over my audio. So, they're the [13:57] first set of audio that we're going to [13:59] see here. I have my system audio. I've [14:01] got my game audio, and I have my music [14:04] audio. And if you can see or if you can [14:06] tell, I'm missing a channel, and that is [14:09] my browser audio. But, if I double-click [14:11] here, you're going to see that this is a [14:13] dial stack, which you've already [14:15] covered. I'm able to just say, "Hey, I [14:17] want to mess around with my music audio [14:19] right now, but if I press this button in [14:21] or press the dial in, I can switch over [14:23] to controlling my browser audio." And [14:26] the last three are basically the same [14:28] exact thing mirrored, but just set to [14:31] personal audio or personal mix, and [14:33] that's it. Congratulations, that is my [14:36] OBS layout and setup on the Stream Deck [14:38] Plus XL. I have two profiles here with [14:41] you so far. I've got my home profile, [14:43] which is the main hub, and I have this [14:45] OBS profile, which is going to allow me [14:47] to control OBS when I'm creating [14:48] content. Blah blah blah. All right. I [14:50] need to get back to my home profile, [14:52] okay? And that's what this home key over [14:53] here is for. Um it's just a a switch [14:57] profile command in Stream Deck, which is [14:59] going to be right over here. Navigation. [15:02] Where are you at? I can't read. [15:04] Apparently, reading is very difficult [15:05] for me. Let's click on that. There it [15:07] is. [15:08] Navigation, switch profile, dropped it [15:10] in there and called it a day, right? And [15:12] then I changed the icon to home to [15:13] represent home. You get the point. So, [15:15] I'm going to go ahead and press it now, [15:18] and I'm right back in my home profile. [15:20] But um [15:22] you might notice [15:24] I don't have a single button here to go [15:27] back to my OBS profile. And I'm not [15:30] about to open up Stream Deck and take my [15:32] mouse and go over here and drop down and [15:34] select the OBS profile to switch that. [15:36] That would be ridiculous. So, what I did [15:39] is thanks to Key Logic once again, I [15:42] took this key where OBS was originally, [15:46] I dropped the Key Logic command, which [15:48] is going to be under Stream Deck [15:51] false. [15:53] It's under multi-action. I stand or sit [15:55] corrected. You're going to take Key [15:57] Logic, you're going to drop it down, and [15:58] then you double click, and boom. [16:01] A single press of this key will launch [16:03] OBS, and if I hold it, which I'll do [16:06] right now, [16:07] it will automatically take me to my OBS [16:10] profile. And if I go back and hit that [16:12] home key once again, [16:14] I'm right back at my main profile. [16:17] Love it. Now, let's go back to the OBS [16:20] profile, and let me hold the home key, [16:23] and let's see what happens. [16:26] Boom. Now, I'm in the Wave Link profile. [16:30] The reason I created a standalone Wave [16:33] Link profile is because there are [16:34] certain actions I'm going to need when [16:37] it comes to controlling my audio that I [16:39] maybe only need to interact with once or [16:42] twice within a content creation session [16:45] or every once in a blue moon when I'm [16:47] not creating content. So, for example, [16:49] as you can see here, all 36 are taken [16:52] up. The first 1 2 3 4 columns are all [16:55] Wave Link controls. I can switch the [16:58] audio device I'm listening to. I can [17:00] switch what mix I'm listening to. I can [17:01] mute the stream mix. I can mute the [17:03] personal mix. I can mute my mic. And [17:05] now, I can start turning off or on the [17:09] different effects that I have going into [17:11] my Elgato Wave DX through the Elgato [17:13] Wave XLR Mark II. So, as you can tell [17:15] right now, Voice Focus is turned off. [17:18] And if I were to hit the compressor [17:19] button, [17:20] the compressor would be turned off. If I [17:22] hit Elgato EQ, [17:24] the Elgato EQ effect is turned off. If I [17:27] hit Loud Max, my limiter will also turn [17:29] off, like so. So, now all of that is [17:32] off. And you know what? Just for [17:33] shiggles, let me go ahead and turn the [17:35] expander off. Now, every single effect [17:37] that I have set up for this microphone [17:39] is off. [17:41] But, let's start turning back on, [17:42] because I want this audio to be good. [17:44] So, expander is back on now. We're going [17:46] to go ahead and turn on the compressor [17:47] next. There it is. Compressor is on. So, [17:50] is my Elgato EQ. So, is my Loud Max [17:53] limiter. And I'm going to leave voice [17:55] focus off for now, cuz I haven't been [17:56] messing with it, and that's okay. All [17:58] right. Same exact thing as in my main [18:00] home profile. I'm able to add [18:02] applications to each individual channel [18:04] from here. I have some soundboard audio [18:06] that if I wanted to add in any sounds [18:08] from my computer that I maybe create or [18:10] download on my own, I can pop them in [18:12] here and start playing them in my [18:13] streams and in my recordings for my [18:15] audience. I've got Voice Mod controls [18:17] over here, Discord controls here, [18:19] Spotify controls here, the ability to [18:21] launch Elgato Wave Link, the ability to [18:24] launch Discord, the ability to launch [18:26] Spotify, and my ability to go home. As [18:30] far as the dials are concerned, it is [18:32] the exact same layout as they were set [18:35] up in my OBS profile, but swapped. [18:38] Okay? Because in my mind, when I am in [18:40] this profile, I'm not necessarily [18:43] concerned with the audio for my stream [18:46] or my audience. I'm now concerned about [18:48] audio on my end, whether from what I am [18:51] taking in as audio is concerned or what [18:53] I am executing and putting out to you. [18:56] So, instead of having the stream mix [18:59] audio dials on the left, I have the [19:01] personal mix ones now. Now, listen. [19:04] I just kind of heard myself say that out [19:05] loud. Maybe that's a little too much. [19:08] And And maybe you're right. Maybe that [19:09] is crazy, but if you haven't tried [19:12] actually putting thought, like real [19:15] thought, into how you set up something [19:17] like a Stream Deck, I want to challenge [19:20] you to do that, because it it if you're [19:22] already enjoying it, you're just going [19:23] to love it even more. Because once you [19:25] make this device your own, it just feels [19:28] like an extension of you. And when you [19:31] start using it and you start flowing, it [19:33] just you enter your flow state. It feels [19:35] really, really, really good. So, I'm [19:38] going to hit my home button, okay? And [19:40] as usual, it's going to take me right [19:42] back to my home profile, my main hub, if [19:45] you will. And as you can see here, I've [19:47] got the Elgato Wave Link icon here. If I [19:50] press it, Wave Link's going to open up, [19:52] and if I hold it, it's going to take me [19:54] right back to my Elgato Wave Link 3.0 [19:57] profile in the Stream Deck app. And you [19:59] know, sometimes when you are in the [20:02] middle of streaming or making content [20:04] and you're in your OBS profile, for [20:05] example, you have to be able to swap [20:07] back, right? So, we're going to go back [20:09] to home. I'm going to hold the OBS key, [20:11] go to my OBS profile, and I'm over here [20:14] like da da da da doing some things. Oh [20:15] crap, I need to go play a sound for my [20:17] sound board. So, let me hold that home [20:19] key. Boom, I'm in my Wave Link profile. [20:22] Easy peasy lemon squeezy, but now [20:25] now, I need to get back to my OBS [20:28] profile. Well, if I press the home key, [20:31] it'll take me to my home profile, but if [20:33] I hold it, I've set it up to take me [20:36] right back to my OBS profile. I set this [20:39] entire thing up to be a cycle of sorts, [20:42] like a circle, okay? Like I can just [20:45] easily navigate across all profiles that [20:48] I actually need to have. I don't have a [20:50] mess of pages, I don't have a mess of [20:52] folders, and this just flows and works [20:56] so seamlessly. I absolutely [21:00] love it. I love my Stream Deck Plus XL. [21:02] It's massive and feels great to use. And [21:05] I believe, all right, I believe that if [21:07] you're going to get a Stream Deck, then [21:10] this is the one to get. [21:12] But, no matter what Stream Deck you end [21:14] up going with, put some thought into [21:16] your setup. Make it work for you instead [21:19] of against you. Anyhoo, that about does [21:22] it, ladies and gentlemen. I hope that [21:23] you found this video helpful and [21:24] informative, and if you did, make sure [21:26] you hit that like button. That would be [21:28] amazing. And you know, maybe even maybe [21:30] even subscribe. I'm like 800 away from [21:33] 10K. That'd be great if I hit that. All [21:35] right? Of course, I'm going to have a [21:36] link to the Stream Deck Plus XL in the [21:38] description below. It is my partner link [21:40] with Elgato, so if you buy it using that [21:43] link, you're going to help me out big [21:44] time, but it's not going to cost you any [21:46] extra. And if you don't want to go with [21:48] the XL version, I'll also have a link to [21:50] the Stream Deck Plus, the regular little [21:53] brother version, if you will. Lastly, [21:55] let me know in the comments below, [21:57] what do you want me to help with next? [22:00] Until then, and until next week, be good [22:02] to yourselves, be good to one another. [22:05] Peace out.