What Can I Do With Elgato Stream Deck?

[00:00] Hi, I'm Steggy from Elgato, and in this video

[00:03] we're going to try and answer the question: what can I do with Elgato Stream Deck?

[00:08] Now, some streaming equipment is really simple to explain.

[00:12] You need a microphone to stream, so people can hear you.

[00:14] You need a camera so people can see you.

[00:17] But what does a Stream Deck do, and do I need it to start streaming?

[00:20] So first, we'll talk about what Stream Deck is.

[00:23] In short, it's a USB keypad that has LCD keys

[00:27] where you can upload custom icons to symbolize different functions

[00:31] that you have assigned to those keys.

[00:33] And also, there's a bunch of features that'll update those LCD keys to give you real-time feedback.

[00:39] Now as far as what Stream Deck does is, Stream Deck is your stream's controller.

[00:43] It centralizes all of the controls you need for your stream into a simple, glanceable tool.

[00:49] Instead of fumbling around with your microphone to mute it,

[00:52] alt-tabbing out of your game to change OBS scenes, etc.

[00:55] All of these can be controlled via Stream Deck.

[00:58] And then you have the added benefit of visibility on the states of certain things,

[01:01] because of those LCD keys.

[01:03] Now, how does Stream Deck compare with solutions such as hotkeys

[01:07] or physically clicking around with a mouse and keyboard.

[01:10] Well, the problem with hotkeys on a keyboard or a macro device is that

[01:14] you sometimes tend to have this tug-of-war with focus.

[01:17] Meaning that a hotkey might not work in a certain app

[01:20] if you're clicked away from it and using a different app,

[01:22] so they're not really dependable.

[01:25] If you're using your mouse or keyboard to control, the problem is if you're gaming on PC,

[01:29] in order to execute these controls, you most likely need to alt-tab from the game

[01:33] in order to leave that window and click on the scene or graphic you want to activate.

[01:38] So this is what's really special about Stream Deck, it's the software.

[01:41] Because our software is chock full of direct integrations with applications,

[01:45] so you know when you press a key, it's going to work.

[01:48] And these direct integrations is also what make it possible for Stream Deck to fetch statuses like:

[01:53] Am I live right now?

[01:55] Well, you'll know you're live if you have the start streaming key on Stream Deck,

[01:58] because it'll fetch the state from OBS and display that you're live if you're live.

[02:03] And so will your viewer count key as well.

[02:05] So ironically, the most popular actions that Stream Deck is used for

[02:09] are actions that could be achieved through mouse and keyboard clicks, or hotkeys.

[02:13] But because Stream Deck is so much more dependable and easier,

[02:17] people choose to use it over those other ways.

[02:19] So what else can you do with Stream Deck?

[02:21] Well we asked our community to give us examples of what their favorite actions are for their Stream Deck,

[02:26] so let's see what some of them had to say.

[02:28] AliasV said controlling her Phillips hue bulbs is her favorite thing to do.

[02:32] And this is a pretty cool feature of Stream Deck because we work with Phillips Hue,

[02:36] Nanoleaf, our own Key Light products and Eve Light Strip,

[02:39] to allow you to program different lighting effects at the press of a button.

[02:43] Or even combine this with Stream Deck Multi Actions which allow you to program a sequence of lighting effects

[02:49] to happen simultaneously or one after another, and you can end up doing some really cool things here.

[02:54] Sonuchi said that he likes to use Multi Actions to open up all of his programs.

[02:59] This is a really cool use case for Multi Actions because this feature can basically be combined with any action in Stream Deck.

[03:06] One of them being the Windows mover and resizer plug-in in the Stream Deck store

[03:10] which you can combine these two things to not only launch OBS,

[03:14] your chat window, and your Twitch dashboard,

[03:16] but you can even position them exactly where you want even in a multi-monitor setup.

[03:21] So when you're ready to start streaming you literally just have to press a single button.

[03:26] GuiltyCosplay said that her favorite action is to spam emotes in her chat.

[03:30] With our integrations on Twitch, YouTube and Mixer, you can post per-composed chat messages

[03:36] to your chats, which works great for things like spamming emotes,

[03:39] but you can also easily share links to your merch store, a giveaway you're hosting on Twitter, etc.

[03:45] Captain DreadBeard said he likes to control his microphone

[03:48] not just on OBS, but on Discord as well with his Stream Deck.

[03:51] And this actually takes advantage of hotkey compatibility with Stream Deck

[03:55] because while it's currently not possible to have a direct integration with Discord's microphone functions,

[04:00] using hotkeys you are able to.

[04:02] Basically we wanted to make sure that we have you covered in every way possible with Stream Deck

[04:07] so even though hotkeys might not be as great as direct integrations,

[04:10] it's still important to have that as a feature with Stream Deck.

[04:14] Now, ProBluesPlayer likes to toggle media effects and sources on his stream.

[04:18] This is a really simple feature built within streaming programs but makes a big difference when you have Stream Deck.

[04:24] You can add title cards or lower thirds graphics and launch them with Stream Deck

[04:28] for a really professional broadcast,

[04:30] or you can have some fun with it and use Stream Deck to post dank memes all day.

[04:34] NintendoFanGirl mentioned that she thought that adding bleep buttons to your stream

[04:38] using Stream Deck is really cool,

[04:40] which is made possible by our partnership with Voicemod

[04:43] which not only allows you to add a censor bleep to your mic when you press a key,

[04:46] but this integration also allows you to change your voice into a ton of different characters

[04:51] to have some real fun when you get a new donation, or a new follower,

[04:55] or you just want to have some fun with the people that you play with online.

[04:58] But what about myself? What's my favorite thing to do with Stream Deck?

[05:01] Well, my favorite action is definitely Multi Actions

[05:05] because they make so many things possible.

[05:07] The ability to combine any action in Stream Deck together is remarkable.

[05:13] Even actions that are just very simplistic on their own

[05:16] become so much more intricate and compelling once you combine them together.

[05:23] Some examples of things I've done with Multi Actions is, one

[05:26] I created an instant replay button on my stream where when I press a button,

[05:31] it records the last 15 seconds of whatever I was streaming.

[05:35] It plays this cool little intro graphic to introduce the replay that's about to be shown,

[05:41] and then it shows that replay, and then it goes back to the game that I'm playing.

[05:45] So, technically if you were willing to alt-tab out of your gameplay

[05:49] and then click a bunch of different things at once in OBS,

[05:52] you could have that happen but nobody would ever be able to do that

[05:56] and still focus on their gaming so when you can make that a Multi Action on Stream Deck

[06:02] and just press one button it makes those kinds of things possible

[06:06] that used to only be possible in the professional broadcasting space.

[06:10] Another way I've been able to use Multi Actions is

[06:13] I made one where I was able to save the last 30 seconds of whatever I was playing,

[06:17] actually import that into Magix Vegas,

[06:21] edit it with a couple of pre-done edits,

[06:24] so basically changing the aspect ratio to a square, adding some blurred borders,

[06:28] adding a little lower third with my Twitch channel on there,

[06:32] then rendering that out and then uploading it straight to Twitter.

[06:35] And again, this is stuff that if you were to do this with a mouse and keyboard

[06:40] would probably take five to ten minutes and good luck doing that when you're live.

[06:43] But because I have this programmed to my Stream Deck

[06:46] I just press one key and it does all the work for me

[06:49] so those are just some examples of why I think that multi actions are the best part about Stream Deck.

[06:55] But what's funny here is I've listed quite a lot of things and really, we've barely just scratched the surface.

[07:02] And that's because Stream Deck is only limited by your own creativity.

[07:05] Whenever people ask me what Stream Deck does at a convention

[07:09] I always like to say Stream Deck does nothing but controls everything.

[07:12] And honestly the possibilities are endless because of this.

[07:16] I posed two questions at the beginning of this video.

[07:19] What can Stream Deck do, and do I need it to start streaming.

[07:22] Well to answer question number 1, it's really: what can't Stream Deck do.

[07:27] And to answer question number 2, no.

[07:30] You don't need Stream Deck in order to start your streaming like you do a microphone or a camera.

[07:35] However from my conversations with our community, from those who have tried out Stream Deck,

[07:39] in their own words: they can't imagine having ever ran their stream without it,

[07:43] and there's no going back.

[07:45] So hopefully this clears up a little bit about what Stream Deck can do for you,

[07:49] and if you're interested in trying Stream Deck yourself

[07:52] be sure to check out Stream Deck Mobile which is available on iOS and Android

[07:56] and comes with a free 30-day trial so you can see for yourself.

[08:00] Once again, I'm Steggy from Elgato, and until our next video,

[08:04] good luck, and have fun.