How To Stream Switch On Discord

Nintendo doesn’t offer much flexibility with its Switch for streaming unlike the console from other brands. However, you can still stream the switch in discord and it doesn’t take much of your effort.

Here are a few things that you must consider keeping by your side before you start streaming on discord. 

• Nintendo Switch: The first thing you need is obviously the Nintendo Switch. However, if you own a Switch lite you won’t be able to stream due to the limitations of the console. 
• Capture Card: A capture card to record the videos and audio from the switch and transfer it to the computer to stream on discord. There are many good capture cards available in the market. The likes of  Elgato Game Capture HD60 X, Razer Ripsaw, and AVerMedia GC311 Live Gamer Mini are considered among the best. You can also choose other brands based on requirements and preferences.
• Software: Video Capture software like OBS studio or Streamlabs. You can even use the VLC media player for the purpose. In this article,  we will just focus on the OBS studio and the VLC as they are the most popular ones and also easy to use. The capture card manufacturers also provide their own software. That might do the job for you as well. 
• A PC or a laptop and a discord account where you will stream the switch.
• HDMI cables and other adapters. 

With all the peripherals gathered and video capture software installed, you can now move on to set them up. We have divided the whole setup process into various stages to make it easier for you. Follow these steps closely to get the stream going. 

Setup Hardware and Cables

1. Place the Nintendo switch inside the dock and ensure it is correctly placed and connected. Further, if you have connected the dock with an external device like a TV, unplug it. 
2. Connect the dock to the capture card using an HDMI cable.
3. Finally, plug in the USB cable from the capture card to the computer.  

Operate the Capture Software

As we stated earlier we will only focus on using the OBS studio and VLC media player in this article. OBS Studio is a feature-packed streaming software and is one of the most popular ones in the category. Whereas, the VLC Media players can get the basic streaming done without many features to use.

Follow these steps to use the OBS studio for capturing the Nintendo Switch’s Audio-video contents. Moreover,  perform this after you have successfully connected the switch to the computer using the Capture device. 

1. Open the OBS studio and Click on the + sign of the Scenes box that is in the lower-left corner of the software window. 
2. You will be asked to add a scene name. Give an appropriate name for it and click on Ok.
3. Again, click on the + sign in the sources box and then go to the Video capture device.
4. On the Create/Select Source dialog box click on ok. 
5. A new window will open where you will get the preview from your webcam.
6. In the Device section, Select your Capture card. This will show your Nintendo Switch screen in the preview. 
7. Now scroll down to the Audio output mode and set it to Output Desktop Audio (DirectSound). Also, check the Use Custom Audio Device option.  

Now you are very much ready to share your Switch screen on any streaming platform, in this case, Discord. 

Let’s move on to how you can do this using the VLC media player. 

1. First of all, copy this path and save it on a notepad. This will help you create a shortcut for the capture card. We will get to how to use it in later steps. 
   C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" dshow:// :dshow-vdev="Game Capture HD60 S (Video) (#01)" :dshow-adev="Game Capture HD60 S (Audio) (#01)" :dshow-aspect-ratio="16:9" :dshow-audio-samplerate=48000 :dshow-audio-channels=2 :live-caching=0 :dshow-fps=60
2. Replace the Video and Audio Device name in the command with the device you are using. We have used Game Capture HD60 S for the streaming while you might have used some other capture device. You can copy the device name from the VLC media player as well. We have mentioned it in step 6.
3. Now Open the VLC Media Player. 
4. Click on the  Media tab and then Open Capture Device.
5. In the Open media windows, ensure that the Capture mode is in Direct Show. 
6. Set the Video Device Name to the Video Capture device ( For eg: we have Game Capture HD60 S). Do the same for the Audio device name. 
7. Now check the Show more options. Select your Video Device name and the Audio device name. Copy it. 
8. Paste the audio and video device name in the command you saved on the notepad earlier (in place of Game Capture HD60 S).
9. Close the VLC window. Then, right-click on the VLC media player shortcut on your desktop and go to its Properties.
10. In the target field, paste the command and click on Ok to save changes.
    

This will create a shortcut for you to stream the switch with a click. If you don’t want the shortcut, you may ignore the command and follow the steps from 2 to 5, and click on the play button.

Share the Stream on Discord

Now if you have already set up the hardware and software required, it’s time to stream the switch on discord. 

Here’re the steps:

1. Open the Discord app and join one of the servers.
2. Now click on the Speaker icon to join the voice channel.
3. Click on the Screen button. 
4. A new window will open. Click on the Applications tab.  It will show you the list of screens you can share.   
5. Select the screen of the Capture software you have used (OBS, Streamlabs, VLC, etc.) 
   
6. Adjust the Stream quality setting according to your preference. 
7. Finally, Click on the Go Live button, and Voila- you have successfully streamed the switch on discord.