It’s so easy to stream to Twitch these days that practically any device which can play games and connect to the internet can do it. For some, an expensive gaming PC is not within reach and a console such as a PS4 or the PS4 Pro is all they have.
The PS4 was a titan of the eighth generation and still going strong since its release in 2012. A PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 4 Pro are perfectly capable of streaming to Twitch and here we’ll explain how.
How To Link Twitch to PS4
- The first step is to make sure your PS4 or PS4 Pro is up to date, you can find out how here
. The latest version at time of writing is 10.01. - The second step is to link your Twitch account to your PS4. If you don’t have an account then sign up here.
- Now on your PS4, navigate to Settings, then Account Management and select Link with Other Services
- From there, select the service you want from this list. In this case it will be Twitch.
- You will then be presented with some instructions to visit a web page to receive a code. You will need to have your Twitch account already for this. You will also need a computer or a mobile phone.
- Once this step is complete, your PS4 or PS4 Pro will be ready to stream your gameplay to Twitch.
How to start streaming PS4 gameplay
Streaming your gameplay to Twitch is even easier than the linking stage. Here’s how:
- Start the game that you want to stream
- Press the share button to bring broadcast options, if you need a reminder on which button here’s an image
- Pressing this button brings up a menu, the option to stream your gameplay to twitch is “Broadcast gameplay”. Feel free to explore the other options though.
- You will then be asked which platform to use – choose Twitch.
- You will then be presented with selecting video options. It’s worth remembering here that a PS4 is an aging console which has already been succeeded by both the PS5 and PS4 Pro, you will also needed a fast and very robust internet connection to keep it up. We recommend sticking to 540p for a PS4 and 720p for a Pro.
- Press start broadcast and off you go!
How to stream PS4 on Twitch through a PC
If you don’t want to use the above method, then you can use a capture card and stream gameplay to a capture card, then to a PC or laptop which will then stream the feed to Twitch. You can also upload clips to Twitch if you didn’t want to stream live.
The benefits of doing it this way is that you are more capable of sending out a 1080p output signal, which the PS4 is unlikely to be able to do without frame drops or other issues due to its age and lack of overall power. A PS4 Pro will obviously handle it much better.
In addition to the PS4, you will need:
- 2x HDMI cables (sometimes more)
- A HD capture card
- USB-C to micro USB cable (provided with the capture card)
- Decently powerful PC or Laptop
- 1080p or above monitor
- Experience with OBS/SLOBS (this is not an OBS guide)
When you have all this, you can set up your PS4 to stream to Twitch via the PC.
Here’s how to do this:
- Purchase a compatible capture card. Most mainstream cards will work perfectly fine with a PS4/PS4 Pro. But, if you have a PS4 Pro then it might be worth investing in a card which can work with 4K HDR, especially for clips.
- Download and install the drivers for the capture device. This might be on a disc or on their website. Ensure it’s the latest version.
- Turn off or make sure HDCP is already turned off on your PS4. HDCP is designed to protect your PS4 from being intercepted – in this case we want it to be intercepted. This setting is in ‘Settings’.
- Plug it all together. The PS4’s HDMI out goes into the capture card, the capture card will then have a passthrough into your HDTV and another cable that goes into the PC.
- Download and install open broadcast software
- Select the capture card as the source
- Start broadcasting your stream to Twitch!
How To Stream on Twitch with a PS4 and a Camera
You can’t natively use a PS4 camera on your Twitch stream. Instead you will need to use the stream through a PC method and either use your computers built in camera or a third party camera connected to the PC.
How To Unlink Twitch From PS4
There are two ways to do this. The first, is via the PS4 and following the same steps as we outlined in “How to link your PS4”, if you were to refollow these steps you will now have the option to unlink.
The second step is on Twitch.tv itself. Navigate to your account settings then the connections tab. Scroll to PS5 and press disconnect. Here’s a screenshot on what it looks like.
How To Save Streams On Twitch PS4
Saving your PS4 streams to twitch as VODs (video on demand) is actually a simple setting on Twitch.tv itself.
- Navigate to your creator dashboard
- Find the settings tab, expand it
- Select stream
- Scroll down a little bit to find VOD settings, check the option to store past broadcasts.
How to upload videos to Twitch from a PS4
Following on directly from the previous guide, the option to enable and upload clips to Twitch from your PlayStation 4 is right underneath. Simply check the box for “enable clips”.
How to stream on Twitch and Youtube at the same time with a PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro can’t stream to two services at once but it can be done with a capture card and PC. Simply stream to Twitch with the PS4 and then YouTube with the PC. However, this should NOT be done if you are an affiliate as it breaks the ToS. Same with being a partner.
