Melvin Dichoso, Author at XSplit Blog

Introducing Kevin Kim, our Newest Community Manager

We started our quest in having increased efforts engaging with our community regardless of their location when we hired our very first community managers last April. Doing it has allowed us to expand our effort in building our community but more importantly keep up with people who need our assistance or have questions and inquiries about our products especially during the times where we are not available.

It has gone extremely well so we said why not get more community managers? It’s easier said than done obviously, but today we are happy to introduce you to Kevin Kim, our newest community manager.

Kevin Kim aka Burnout Fighter

Kevin Kim is a long time member of the Australian fighting game community and he’s also been using XSplit for quite a while now. He is mainly involved with in-house streaming production for various events but he’s also someone who has experience with translation, translating Korean gamers (Kevin is a Korean btw), and providing customer support as well.

As we are always looking to expand our market, we figured having Kevin along with his set of skills and experience is going to be extremely handy for us not only with him helping us doing engage with the community through our social media but also with Korean localization for our products and documentations.

OK time to know more about Kevin. 🙂

Describe yourself and your experiences prior to joining the XSplit team

Kevin: I was in the administrative department for an Australian Fighting Game tournament organization called Shadowloo Showdown. I mainly helped out with the in-house and stream production as well as being a translator for many Korean guest players such as Poongko, M.Lizard, Saint and JDCR.

How do you feel about becoming a part of the XSplit Team?

Kevin: I feel very honored as I always have used XSplit software since its day 1. I’m very excited to be able to now hear the feedback from Korean XSplit users and also provide helpful support to them as well.

What do you think is the most interesting part about the video production and streaming community?

Kevin: I think it portrays the person’s personality and creativity into one. You can see how much effort the person has put into production, which usually is a one man task. Whether the material is entertaining or educational, you can see their true passion through the lenses of their camera. The communication of media sends a very strong message to the viewers and I’m glad the XSplit is a big part of this world uniting task.

What do you think can you bring to the table for XSplit as a community manager?

Kevin: I hope to provide the support required from either the content creators themselves or the online platform service providers. Mainly in Korea, which the online broadcasting and promotion community is very advanced in comparison to other regions. From this, I can learn and provide at the same time and put this into results which can also perhaps be helpful to my locals here in Australia and also become a support for other overseas events.

Here are some event videos Kevin Kim was involved in as part of the Shadowloo Showdown production. He specifically mentioned ‘BossLogic’ as the person who mainly worked on the videos below and is also behind all the graphics for their stream production. Enjoy the videos!

Support for Interactive Flash and SWF Updates

Starting with Broadcaster version 1.01106.1502 Beta 4 RC1 , interactive flash is supported, meaning you can add your SWF files to the Broadcaster stage and those files will now respond to client interaction such as mouse clicks, mouse movements, and keyboard inputs. This means that you can even add a flash game and play it inside the Broadcaster stage.

To accomodate a user request and to make a simple showcase for the new interactive flash feature we have launched a new SWF plugin called “Whiteboard Overlay”. In this context we have released updated versions of the Video Playlist and Image Slideshow plug-ins. The latter is now also able to support IPhone style dragging for image progression.

In this blog entry, we are going to discuss each of the flash plugins that now ships with XSplit.

Whiteboard Overlay

This one is the newest member of the team, the latest addition to our SWF plug-ins family. Some users wanted to have the ability to make annotations and this is what the Whiteboard Overlay is for. Basically, this will allow you to do freehand writing in your stage just as if you were writing on a whiteboard using a marker.

To use it, go to the “File” menu, click on “Add SWF plugin”, then select “WhiteboardOverlay.swf” file on the “Select a SWF Plugin” dialog. You typically add this plug-in over another item on your stage which you want to “write” into, and then you have to make sure that you have this overlay locked in its position so you can start writing in it. To write in it, all you have to do is drag your mouse pointer inside the whiteboard overlay.

Writing to the “Whiteboard Overlay” shows you that SWFs are able to receive mouse events even while on the Broadcaster stage, and to show that it can also receive keyboard events, you can use the following hotkeys for testing and also for maximizing your “Whiteboard Overlay”

Press “C” to show or hide the color picker, the color picker value corresponds to the pen color which is white by default.
Press “A” to increase pen size
Press “S” to decrease pen size
Press “Esc” to clear whiteboardTip: You can lock the position of a source added to the Broadcaster stage by right clicking on it; this will show up the “Source Properties” dialog. Go to the “Position” tab, then make sure that the “Lock Position” checkbox is checked.

Image Slideshow

The “Image Slideshow” plug-in is used to create slideshow of images, supported image file types are JPEG, GIF, and PNG. To use it, go to the “File” menu, click on “Add SWF plugin”, then select “ImageSlideshow.swf” file on the “Select a SWF Plugin” dialog. It will add a blank element in your stage that you can configure to add a set of images and show them on your stage. To configure it, right click on the element then click on “Configure” button. A small window will appear. Here’s a screenshot and a brief explanation of each buttons

image slideshow xsplit

“Insert” button allows you to add images into your “Images” list
“Remove” button removes selected items from the “Images” list
“Move Up” button moves the selected image(s) one step upward relative to the position of the highest-positioned selected item
“Move Down” button moves the selected image(s) one step downward relative to the position of the lowest-positioned selected item.

For stage functionalities or the functionality of the Image Slideshow flash file added into the Broadcaster stage, you can press “P” to play or pause the slideshow. Double clicking the image while in “Slideshow” view will show the thumbnails, while double clicking on a thumbnail will show the image in a bigger size; you can also resume the slideshow by pressing “P” at that point.

While on “Thumbnails” view, you can browse all the loaded images by either using the scroll wheel of your mouse or dragging the thumbnail strip. Note that in order for the latter one to work, you need to lock the position of the Image Slideshow plug-in.

Video Playlist

The “Video Playlist” plug-in works similarly with the image slideshow plug-in except that it’s for videos.

The configuration window buttons work the same wa with the image slideshow plug-in’s configuration window. Once you have your videos added to your stage, you can press “P” to play or pause the said movie, “F” to play the next item in the playlist and “B” to play previous item in the playlist.

Again please note that the Video Playlist uses the FLVPlayback flash component and so only supports a limited number of file types.

That’s it! We certainly hope that you find these 3 new updates for our SWF plugins useful. What are you waiting for? Try it for yourself and see it in action!

Using the Silence Detection Feature in XSplit

Welcome to the XSplit Workshop. A feature series where we provide tips to help you get the most out of your broadcast.

This edition will explore one of lesser known features of XSplit Broadcaster: Microphone silence detection!

Introduction

Microphone silence detection is a useful tool for those who want to limit the amount of background noise in their live stream or local recording audio. The general idea is that the microphone is auto-muted while the mic audio is below a set threshold after a set period of time.

Setup

You can setup silence detection by clicking the Tools tab and selecting Settings. In the Settings window, click on the audio tab. Click on the check box next to silence detection to active it and to adjust the settings.
xsplit silence detection
Quick fact: 1000 milliseconds (ms) = 1 second.

Settings – Threshold

The first setting is the threshold which has a value range of 1-128. You can think of the threshold as a sort of guard or gateway that has certain requirements for incoming audio from the microphone to be passed through to your stream or recording. When the incoming audio does not reach the threshold level, then the microphone will be muted (this is also dependent on the silence period, but more on that later). When the incoming audio surpasses the threshold level then the microphone will be un-muted and audio will pass through to the live stream or local recording for as long as the audio remains above the threshold level.

Setting a high threshold level is recommend for those who have a great deal of background noise. Some items that fall under this category are mechanical keyboards, fans, external music devices, or those who speak at high volume. This can also help user with omnidirectional microphones, which tend to catch a lot of background noises. Setting a low threshold level is those who have a small amount of background noise. Some examples of this are people who might be soft spoken or want to hide light keyboard presses from coming through the stream audio.

Settings – Silence Period

The second setting is for the silence period which has a wide value range. The silence period is measured in milliseconds (1000 milliseconds equals 1 second). The silence period refers to the period after the last sound was picked up before a period of “silence”. It’s the period that needs to occur before the microphone is auto-muted even if the threshold limit is not met.

Setting a low value for the silence period is useful for those who want to eliminate background noise quickly. Perhaps you had to set a high threshold level due to level of background noise and you want to speak directly into the mic and then cut out the background noise when you’ve finished speaking. Setting a high value for the silence period is useful for those who do not want their audio to be cut too quickly. An example of this is a user who likes to take brief pauses while they speak. If this user set the silence period too low, their audio could seem choppy or disjointed due to the constant muting and un-muting of the microphone.

That does it for the Silence Detection tutorial. We recommend users experiment with their silence detection settings until they find the perfect settings. If you have any further issues with silence detection after reading this tutorial, please write our support team at xsplit.com/support.

XSplit 1.3 Final is now Available

Today we are announcing the release of XSplit 1.3 Final which you can download here.

It is imperative for everyone to download and install this version as it contains the following:

Fix for login issues experienced and reported by some users.
Ability to use a strong complex password. Users will now be able to create a strong complex password that is compatible with the application.
Full Twitch platform compatibility for all users
– Automatically picks the closest ingest server when going live
– Channel setup wizard (will auto-configure your Twitch channel based on tests of internet and computer speed)
– Support for run ad/commercial via hotkey press
– New default settings per Twitch recommendation
Improved performance of OpenGL capture
New simplified Local Recording plugin
– Simplified configuration to ensure much better quality
Improved capture card support with AVerMedia, Hauppauge, Elgato, Matrox and more
Fix for loss of audio during recording/streaming
Improved window capture functionality
Gamesource compatibility with many new games like Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghosts, Batman Arkham Origins, Hearthstone

In addition, we have also made various changes that makes XSplit more secure overall. Specifically, we are no longer storing passwords, access tokens or stream keys from streaming service providers.

We have also upgraded our backend system to make the user account credentials more secure.

-The XSplit Team

XSplit Broadcaster v2.5 is Now Available!

After a couple of Beta versions that you’ve helped us test, we are happy to announce that XSplit Broadcaster v2.5 is now out of Beta and is available for download. You can either update from the application via Help >> Check for Updates, or by getting it at xsplit.com/download.

If you did not get a chance to use the Beta version and this your first time upgrading to version 2.5, we highly suggest you to watch the demo of the new features below.

Aside from the Tridef SmartCam integration and favorite scene transitions, other notable improvements include:

Improved application responsiveness when finalizing recording (on NAS/Network drive)
Improvements for SLI and Crossfire
Allow drag and drop to reorder scene buttons
Improvements for title plugin (e.g. Improved animation controls, general purpose clock improvements, etc.).
Authentication support for RTMP (“Standard” Adobe authentication)

For a complete list of feature improvements and bug fixes, please refer to our release notes here.

Finally, we like to take this time to thank you for helping us test the beta versions and for reporting your findings to us. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated. 🙂

Mashable recommends XSplit for Live Streaming Games

Mashable have recommended XSplit as it’s software of choice for live streaming gameplay to Twitch and other streaming platforms.

“XSplit is versatile, allowing users to edit their streams with multiple camera shots, graphical overlays, chroma key and picture-in-picture effects”

Taylor Casti – Mashable.com

New To XSplit?

In the meantime though, if this is your first time visiting xsplit.com, you might want to take some time to better familiarize yourself with the site’s features and it’s growing community of users.

To get an overview of XSplit’s many features in video form you can check out our YouTube channel here.
To keep in touch with the team and stay up to date with company news be sure to check out our Facebook and Twitter pages
Finally if you haven’t already, make sure to stop by our support forum for various FAQs and answers regarding the software and its many capabilities

About Mashable

For those unfamiliar with Mashable, the website (founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005) is home to a selection of fantastic articles delving into social media, industry trends and fast growing viral content.

Did you read the article over at Mashable? Sound off with your thoughts via our social pages or even leave a comment below.

YouTube Live Support in XSplit Broadcaster

We’ve received several emails from content creators in all categories during these past few months asking for YouTube Live support in XSplit Broadcaster.

We are happy to let you let you know that XSplit Broadcaster 1.3 for personal and premium licensed users now includes a plugin that make it easy for anyone to broadcast and stream content to YouTube live.

YouTube has gradually eased the requirements from “select partners” to “anyone with 1000+ subscribers” and as of writing this, the current requirement is “anyone with 100+ subscribers”. This is great news for entertainers, hobbyists and up-and-coming professional broadcasters looking to broadcast live content to their YouTube channel.

To get started launch XSplit Broadcaster 1.3, go to Broadcast menu -> Add channel -> More… locate YouTube Live and install the plugin. Next you need to authorize your account using your YouTube credentials and now you are ready to make your first live show!

YouTube’s Live service was created for professional online TV, so while XSplit Broadcaster 1.3 makes it easy for anyone to use, there are still a couple of settings that some users may find a bit strange. One of the noticeable differences with YouTube Live is that it takes ~45 seconds to start a stream, and there will always be a delay of ~45 seconds between the broadcaster and the viewers (it will take ~45 seconds for the viewers to receive (see and hear) the broadcaster and his/her actions). On the positive side, YouTube Live supports DVR functionality which allows your viewers to join your broadcasts late and still see it from the start — that’s pretty cool to say the least.

XSplit Supports Extra Life

We are pleased to announce that XSplit has officially become a main supporter for this year’s Extra Life charity event.

For those unfamiliar with Extra Life, the charity is a celebration of gaming culture where it’s entrants host a variety of events with everything from gaming marathons to LAN parties, all in effort to raise money and awareness for children’s hospitals. XSplit was also on board during the last year’s event where we also donated licenses to the pledgies.

How is XSplit supporting the event?

Anyone that registers for this year’s Extra Life and earns over $15 in sponsorship will receive a 1 Month XSplit Premium License completely for free.

How can i get involved?

The easiest way is to visit Extra Life’s official website, whereby users can register for free and begin gathering support from their friends and families.

Are you organizing an event for Extra Life?

If you’re organizing an event for Extra Life, we want to hear about it! Send us a tweet telling us about your event and we will retweet the most interesting ones to our community

Watch our live XSplit Streamathon!

XSplit will be hosting a live streaming event from within our Manila-based development centre! We will be playing a variety of games in aid of raising awareness for Extra Life.

Issues regarding Adobe Flash v. 11.9 – Updated!

Oct 11 9.59 pm UTC+8

Update: We have a fix!

A new version 1.3.1310.1103 RC of XSplit Broadcaster is available. This update resolves the previously listed issues with Title source and Image Slideshow source affecting users who have updated Flash player to v 11.9

Have a nice weekend

The XSplit team

Tech Advisory: Flash Player 11.9 may break Title sources, etc.

XSplit Broadcaster makes use of Adobe Flash Player to render extension sources such as Title source, Image Slideshow source and Whiteboard source. If Flash is not detected when installing XSplit, the XSplit installer installs Flash 10.3 on the computer, but if Flash is detected, XSplit makes use of whatever Flash is already in the users system.

Adobe just released version 11.9 of Flash player for Internet Explorer and this update breaks the full functionality of these extension components on Windows 7. We are still trying to find out why, so we can make a workaround in a coming update of XSplit Broadcaster 1.3 and later versions, but this is not going to help those good people out there who have already upgraded to 11.9.

If you are on Windows 7 and have allowed Flash to upgrade to 11.9 you are likely affected. As a solution to quickly help users we have made a Flash downgrader to downgrade Flash from 11.9 to 11.8 on Windows 7 machines.

How do I check if I have Flash 11.9

Launch Internet Explorer (NOT Chrome and NOT Firefox) and go to www.adobe.com/software/flash/about. This site will show you the Flash player version you have installed.

How do I know for sure if I am affected?

Try to add a title to a scene in XSplit and make the text scrolling – if it works then you are not affected, but if the source is invisible then (well you know what that means). Demo.

How do I fix the problem?

Download our custom downgrader here: click to download

This downgrader will only work on Windows 7 and only if you have Flash 11.9 installed. Run the downgrader and follow the steps in the instructions screens.

Note: In the end you may be prompted if you will allow Flash to auto update – MAKE SURE TO NOT ALLOW FLASH TO AUTO UPDATE WITHOUT YOUR APPROVAL.

This issue is as far as we know is not present on Windows 8. We’re gathering as much data as we can, before filing a report with Adobe. We currently foresee this may affect many types of applications, not just XSplit.

XSplit Gamecaster is FREE for Licensed Users

XSplit Gamecaster

Today, we are pleased to announce the public release of XSplit Gamecaster. We’re excited about this product and are proud to announce that it will be FREE for all current paid users. That’s right, if you have an XSplit license, you now have TWO products available for just one license!

The last few weeks have been a wild ride, but since announcing XSplit Gamecaster back in January, we’ve received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from both the XSplit community and members of the gaming press.

We believe that XSplit Gamecaster will prove to be an excellent addition to our live streaming and recording solutions.

Win an XSplit License and get access to try XSplit Gamecaster today!

To celebrate the release of XSplit Gamecaster, we will be giving out 101 Personal XSplit Licenses via our Twitterand Facebook page every 5 minutes from February 18 16:00 CET & 10:00am EST.

Codes will be distributed on a first come, first served basis every 5 minutes so when you see a code, be sure to visit this page to redeem it.

*IMPORTANT UPDATE 02/19/2014*

We’ve listened to your feedback and we’re going to attempt to continue our wonderful 101 code giveaway, but this time with a few added tweaks:

– Codes will now be distributed through our Twitter & Facebook pages as images. No more copy/pasting, so get those fingers typing!

– We will send out codes intermittently in groups to increase people’s chances of winning and to reduce the frequency of Tweets and Facebook posts. Hopefully this means less spam and more win!

– Codes must be redeemed before 28 February 2014 and cannot be redeemed on existing Premium license accounts.

Also, if we catch people code stacking we’ll hunt you down, lock you in a basement and carry out cruel and unusual punishments… or just get kind of annoyed and remove the excess license duration. But seriously, this is supposed to be fun! If you know someone that has been wanting to try XSplit, tell them to look out for this cool giveaway on our Twitter and Facebook page and get them involved.

– Happy XSplit Gamecaster Day Everyone!