Ultra.
Nowadays, people have options regarding where and how they watch the online content that they love. With that said, it's crucial to broadcast your live streams horizontally and vertically to cater to the needs of your viewers, whether they enjoy relaxing with Twitch on a big screen or scrolling through a live TikTok session on their phones. This approach ensures your content is accessible, meeting audiences in their preferred viewing spaces.
That's also where the Dual Output feature of Streamlabs Desktop comes into play. This feature allows you to simultaneously broadcast across platforms with different orientations without multiplying the work. In this blog post, we'll walk you through some best practices for setting up your stream layout for horizontal vs. vertical canvases so you can effectively engage your audience across different platforms.
Horizontal Live Stream Layout
On horizontal-first platforms like YouTube or Twitch, the wide screen lets you show more assets, like cool graphics, game action, and chat, all at once, making everything easy to see and fun to watch. Below are some suggestions for getting the most out of a horizontal stream layout.
Webcam/Camera Feed: In a horizontal layout, your camera feed can appear in different areas of the screen depending on what the focus of your live stream is. For gaming streams, the camera is commonly positioned in the top or bottom corner of the screen as it is a secondary focus. It's large enough to see clearly but doesn't overshadow the primary content. However, your camera feed is the primary content if you're streaming a podcast interview or just chatting. In this case, it should take up most of the screen, with any supplemental content positioned in the top or bottom corner.
Gameplay or Main Content Window: This is the main event, aka the part of your stream that people will pay the most attention to. This means it will take up the majority of the screen space. Ensure it's centrally located so viewers have a complete, unobstructed view.
Chat Box: The chat box is usually aligned to the right or left side of the screen opposite the camera feed or secondary content, without blocking the main content. For example, if you're doing a game stream and your camera feed is on the top right corner of your screen, you should place the chat on the bottom right. This way, when your viewers aren't watching the main content, they only have to focus on one side of the screen for these other vital elements.
Alerts and Notifications: These often appear at the top or bottom of the screen, briefly popping into view in response to viewer interactions like subscriptions, follows, or donations.
Information/Reminder Tickers: Reminding your followers to follow or subscribe, donate, etc., may be calls to action you want displayed throughout the live stream as people pop in and out. These usually run along the bottom of the screen, similar to a news-style ticker.
Social Media Handles: You want your audience to connect with you when you're not live streaming–this is why you should place your social media handles on screen. A good place for these is directly under your camera feed.
Vertical Live Stream Layout
Compared to horizontal platforms typically viewed on larger screens, vertical livestream content on platforms like TikTok or Instagram Live is more likely to be viewed on a mobile screen, meaning less space to work with. Below are some ways to optimize your layout when live streaming vertically.
Camera Feed and Main Content: Given the limited space, the camera feed and gameplay or other main content may be equally yoked in a vertical canvas compared to a horizontal one. Splitting the screen in half horizontally, placing the camera feed in the top half and the main content on the bottom (or vice versa) may be the bet.
Chat Box: Though engagement is essential, omitting the on-screen chat for your vertical layout may be a good call to optimize space. Those viewing from a mobile device may likely be actively participating in the chat since the keyboard is literally at their fingertips. An on-screen chat box may be redundant and distracting.
Alerts and Notifications: These may be omitted to avoid cluttering the screen.
Information/Reminder Tickers: These may also be omitted due to space restrictions. If they're absolutely necessary, minimize the details and have them appear intermittently if possible.
Social Media Handles: Similarly to information tickers, having your social media handles
appear intermittently rather than being displayed continuously may be your best bet.
As you can see, the details matter when simulcasting to platforms with varying orientations. Ensure your content has an appropriate layout to make the platform ensure that people will remain engaged and not be distracted by an overly busy screen. Dual Output is your tool for creating a seamless and enjoyable live stream experience for your viewers no matter their preferred device. Plus, if you're a Streamlabs Ultra subscriber, you can stream up to four destinations (versus one horizontal and one vertical for free users).