ROUND 5

Extra Tech

One streaming service is much like the other, right? Not so. Stream delay can be a benefit if you’re a big player, and Twitch’s revised stream delay is perfectly acceptable. Users at partner level can go the other way, and add up to 15 minutes of lag to their streams to prevent games of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds becoming a festival of honking horns and incessant trolling. YouTube does offer latency options, although nothing so extreme, and its ultra-low setting can lead to some fairly ropey output. If you really want to go near-instant, Mixer’s FTL streaming can take advantage of higher bitrates for direct streaming to viewers with virtually no lag—perfect for an interactive stream.

We should also point out integrations at this point. If you’re not concerned about presentation, or plastering your webcam and a bunch of other stuff on top of your stream, Mixer’s integration with the Windows Game Bar (and, indeed, with the Xbox One) make it a great choice for fire-and-forget streaming to a bunch of your buds. While Twitch also has its claws in the major consoles, there’s nothing more simple on the PC than Mixer.

Winner: Mixer