Equipment and setup

This page aims to document the various tools I use for streaming and recording speedruns and other gameplay footage. A lot of my hardware is not the best quality (or directly suited for my purposes), but upgrading usually takes time as there are several elements involved in the "signal flow" of any given setup. As I test out more hardware and software, this page inconsistently gets updated. (Some of the information on this page still dates to early 2023; I accidentally rolled back some changes in late 2023 and haven't addressed some of the new equipment I've acquired in the past year or so.)

Consoles

These are the consoles that I own, and relevant accessories/mods:

• Nintendo GameCube (Japanese DOL-001, Platinum Silver)
  • DOL-003 Controller, Platinum Silver
  • Official 251 block memory card
  • Memory card with SD Media Launcher injected (I didn't do it myself, but I think it's also an official 251 block)
  • Aftermarket generic GC memory SD card adapter, with cheap 2GB SD card (for launching GBI/Swiss etc.)
  • Aftermarket generic GCN→GBA cable (I opened it up and removed the sharp shoulder button nubs)
  • Gameboy Player attachment, Platinum Silver
  • Hardmodded by seller to be NTSC-U, was cheaper than "legit" North American GCs at the time of purchase.
  • OEM analog→AV cable
  • Retrobit component cable (I'm not a videophile so I cannot see the imperfections I've read about. It's still leagues better than AV and allows for progressive video)
  • 1 Melee disc, used for booting into SD Media Launcher. 30% or so of the game does not function because of the poor condition it was sold in, but the exploit works so I'm not too disappointed.
  • 2 Wario World discs, both of which have some crashing issues (oddly both crash near the same spot in Shivering Mt., which means it could also be a laser issue).
• SNES Classic (a.k.a. SNES Mini, SFC Mini)
  • All original accessories. I also used one of the controllers as my main controller for emulation
  • My A button's rubber pad on my main controller snapped after years of use, so for a change I got a European SNES Mini controller and swapped out the Y and B button (Y button to have the concave NA buttons, and B button for color balance/aesthetics). This is now my main emulation controller.
  • I followed the typical homebrew process with Hakchi2 CE, but haven't done much with it as I don't play SNES games often
• Two Gameboy Advance SP consoles (AGS-101)
  • One SP, black, was modded by the seller to charge via USB-C. Over time the filling around the smaller USB-C socket wore down and now the unit does not charge. It still is usable if I swap out a charged battery from another console
  • One SP, platinum on red, does not read DMG/CGB carts. It was modded by the seller to have some noticeable scuffs on the lid. I also dropped it twice (embarassing), so there are some nasty cracks on the hinge edges and lid. Still works but its days are probably numbered
  • Official SP/NDS charger for the model with a normal charging port
  • Everdrive GB-X5 (not most advanced model), with 4GB microSDHC
  • Everdrive GBA-X5 (not most streamlined model, but was current at the time of purchase) with 8GB microSDHC
  • Some official cartridges
• New Nintendo 3DS LL (overseas equivalent of XL; mine is Japanese)
  • Optimize capture board, installed by Delfino Customs
  • 64GB microSDXC (the console was shipped with a 16GB microSDHC)
  • Typical modern homebrew apps (the ones that 3ds.hacks.guide recommends you install)
  • Generic 1/8" audio cable splitter (not in use)
  • Generic 1/8" stereo to two 1/4" mono converter
  • Some DS carts (currently no physical 3DS carts)
• New Nintendo 2DS XL (US)
  • This console's SD reader started malfunctioning in late 2022, and now renders the console unusable for most purposes. Either way, it is obsoleted by the 3DS with capture card listed above.
  • This console formerly had several homebrew apps on it (most of which I used solely for casual purposes, including GBA-runner and NDS-bootstrap), but because I can't use SD cards anymore the console only has the homebrew that was initially installed on the internal NAND.

Video solutions

These are the methods I use to capture/process video footage from consoles:

• GameCube: component → RetroTINK-5x → HDMI, or Insurrection Industries Carby digital → HDMI
• HDMI: AVerMedia Live Gamer Extreme 3 (I used to use a generic powered HDMI splitter into a generic USB3 HDMI capture — the style where the HDMI port appears to lead directly to a USB male socket)
• New3DS: Optimize capture board with katsukity software

As of mid-2024, I have an external monitor: 1440p240 OLED with 1 DP and 2 HDMI ports. I either use it as a secondary computer monitor or a console monitor. I haven't had it long enough to have any conclusion on response times for consoles, but it seems at least okay.

Audio

• Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 (first gen, old): main audio interface for microphone and speakers/headphones. I also use the "MixControl" app to load hardware presets (i.e. switching my headphones and speakers, since I have my 3DS and computer going into each).
• Lexicon Lambda (old): backup audio interface. I briefly used it simultaneously with the Scarlett when I first got my 3DS capture, since I had a downsampling problem when plugging my 3DS audio into the 3+4 ports, but that since resolved and I didn't want the Lambda taking extra USB bandwidth.
• Deity W.Lav Pro with YPA knockoff microdot adaptor: Lavalier (lapel/clip) microphone, to overhaul my mic setup. (For two years I used the Sennheiser mic on a desktop mic stand, since I don't have/want a mic arm, but this meant I was often too far away to beat the noise from my laptop fan.)
• Sennheiser MD431 II microphone (meant for music studio use, too expensive to use only for streaming. I also didn't buy it): backup dynamic microphone

Computer

The computer I use is a bootcamped Macbook Pro 2019 (I think), gifted to me for unrelated purposes. I allocated 256 GiB to the Windows partition, and I use different generic USB hubs to connect most devices. As of mid-2024, these devices include the following:

• Samsung T7 Shield, 4TB SSD
• Seagate Expansion, 1TB SSD
• Logitech G815 Linear mechanical keyboard
• Logitech G600 MMO gaming mouse (I don't play MMOs, I got it for the 12 side buttons)
• generic DisplayPort video adaptor (to bypass my MacBook's HDMI limitations and get more than 60Hz video output on my monitor)
• other miscellaneous devices that I don't always have plugged in, including raphnet classic controller adapter, 3DS capture, and an 3rd gen Xbox One controller (micro-USB, with wireless that I don't use).

In addition to the laptop's ~4K60 high DPI monitor, I also have a 2K240 monitor (see above). Brand and model withheld since it's expensive and I don't know yet if it's worth what I paid for it.

Software

Video

The only method I have ever used for speedrun video capturing that I can recommend is OBS Studio. I have used a wide range of settings in the past but for now I am happy with streaming at 720p 60fps with a target bitrate of 6Mbps (sometimes I use other aspect ratios, including 2:1 for GBA, 3:2, and 4:3 for VB and vertical DS, all with a vertical dimension at or close to 720 pixels). I have also used the streamlabs app for Android, and it does work, but it is very clunky and very focused on monetization.

Below is a list of addons I have used with OBS:

• DroidCam OBS, for using my phone as a webcam. Free with paid features
• input-overlay
• obs-asio (not necessary for my current audio interface)

Here are some other tools I have used in streams and recordings:

• Clock browser source (run from local copy)
• Mini Padder, browser-based lightweight controller overlay (run from local copy)
• NohBoard, lightweight keyboard overlay

Timer

I use LiveSplit for any live speedrun timing on PC. In addition to the large variety of included functionality, I also have expanded its capabilities with some community-developed components:

• Counter
• Focused Hotkeys
• LiveSplit Remote, an Android app that I've used to control LiveSplit when my setup doesn't allow me to be near my keyboard. Uses LiveSplit Server
• Speed Guides Live (markdown fork), a tool that allows for displaying notes in a separate window for splits. I first downloaded the main version to display information about the current game when doing runs of consecutive Wario Land games, but have since used it for Bomberman 2 and Scribblenauts/Super Scribblenauts to recall the route (this can be surprisingly hard in longer runs with little downtime). Using this means I'm also reluctant to change split names, as it then means that you need to rename them in the guide file, or just deal with that note disappearing. Additionally, something that gave me headaches for a long time and I didn't figure out until over a year of intermittently using it: the TSV format the plugin allows you to import requires Unix line breaks (LF only), as opposed to the Windows line breaks (CR LF) you'll get in many text editors with default settings, and in the TSV files Google Sheets exports. Thankfully this is easy to fix in Notepad++ etc. when you've identified the problem.
• Split Name Auto Incrementer (direct download/mirror), a tool which looks for bracketed/parenthesized numbers in your split names and increments them every time you complete that segment.
• therun.gg auto uploader, a tool that automatically syncs current split info with therun.gg (split analysis website).

For the two mobile games I have speedrun, I used "Floating Speedrun Timer" (Play Store link). I also used "FramePerfect Speedrun Timer" (website) for running a game on console without access to a computer, although it is a freemium app that locks some useful features behind a paywall and I additionally couldn't get the splits.io integration to work.

Also of note are splits.io and therun.gg, two comparable split analysis websites. splits.io has permeated the speedrunning community and is integrated into several sites and applications, with the only downside being that it locks more advanced features behind a subscription service. therun.gg seems to be a free alternative to splits.io (although there is still an option to support the service), with one advantage being that there is a LiveSplit component (listed above) that syncs your splits automatically with the site.

Emulators

Only the emulators I have used frequently for speedrunning purposes are listed here.

• BGB, well-rounded accuracy-oriented GB/GBC emulator with a "speedrun mode" setting which displays information useful for verification
• BizHawk/EmuHawk: multi-system emulator focused on accuracy for TASing, but also suitable for speedrunning in many communities (I use it mostly for GBA emulation)
• melonDS, finally a DS emulator that cares about timing accuracy. Seeing anyone use any other DS emulator, even for casual gaming, breaks my heart. (Also ported to BizHawk in recent versions)