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An In-Depth Look into How Xbox Live is Good for Creators
By Joe Crump
In recent years, the video game industry has been exploding with massive growth in attention to esports, gaming streams, and explosive YouTube celebrity status. In turn, the entertainment industry relating to videogames has exploded massively. Things like YouTube and Twitch, among other video and streaming sites (but nobody uses those, really) have not only become a staple for entertainment, they have also created an opportunity for everyday people to create a secondary source of income. There are many different editing softwares, tools, and methods to do this, and the Xbox interface allows for opportunities on all levels to produce videos of entertainment quality.
Now, in my own personal experience, I’ve mostly worked with Twitch and the built-in screen recording software to create my own videos and streams. My friends have taken this several leaps forward by including outside hardware to allow for easier recording, design software, and expensive microphones. I personally love the built-in screen recording function of the Xbox, and it suits most of my needs just fine, but it isn’t enough to produce everything necessary to finish a YouTube-quality video.
But, therein lies the most useful strength of the Xbox interface and user-friendliness: the malleability and customizability of the software and even the hardware itself.
As I mentioned before, there is a built-in screen recording feature on the Xbox itself which allows you to record anywhere from 30 seconds, to five minutes, to continual ongoing recording to capture gameplay as you do it. But, holy shit can it lag your system. Despite being very easy to access (a simple press of two buttons- the home button and then the Y button), sometimes it will just seize up the entire screen for a couple of moments which can be extremely annoying, especially if someone is shooting at you and you’re trying to stay alive. It kinda gets in the way.
Additionally, there is a built-in editing function on the Xbox. It’s the Upload Studio and it’s not the greatest editing tool in the world. Using a sliding “cutting” function to shorten clips with analog sticks and two buttons (LB and RB) is, for lack of better phrasing, kind of a pain in the ass. It has limited tools, including an ability to clip multiple videos together, cutting tools, transitions, and (from what I experienced) very little more. It’s quite intuitive and self-explanatory, however. I did say it’s a pain in the ass to do it with analog sticks, but it’s pretty easy to figure out what to do with them to make the changes you want. Additionally, there’s a built-in sharing function to immediately post the videos you make to a story, with all your friends, and even to the public.
Recently, it appears that the Upload Studio was upgraded and now they allow for different types of uploads, either 720 or 1080p. More may be available on the higher tier Xbox Ones (I have the first year, base model- others may be able to do 4k). You can add text and add voice-overs, and even choose to specifically add an intro, outro, and even the type of video segment you’re adding. It’s not a cluttered UI either- it’s all extremely straightforward and streamlined. But, many other editing tools on computers do a much better job with more control, editing possibilities, and overall functionality.
Personally, I hate this app. I don’t know why, I just do. It’s served me well in the past, but something about it just annoys the hell out of me. Maybe it’s because it’s kind of slow, I don’t know. You could probably make a quality video on here for YouTube, but I certainly don’t have the patience to keep scrolling through an interface with analog sticks searching for videos and whatever. However, this is a neat thing that Microsoft implemented on the Xbox One- you can connect a keyboard and mouse to navigate the interface of your Xbox and even play some games. So, this could actually have a massive beneficial effect on this program- I don’t personally know because I haven’t done it.
Despite my not-completely-understood hatred of the app, all of the videos created can be additionally immediately uploaded to another site called Xbox DVR (apparently it was changed to gamedvr.com sometime in the recent past). This site is independent of Microsoft and Xbox, but is widely used among the community for its accessibility. It’s been connected with Twitch, Mixer, and Xbox and has plans to include other systems’ gamers’ content as well.
This is where the community really gets to show off its videos and get some visibility. The site has clips of the week and clips of the month that it displays on the homepage of the website and offers people with growing viewer bases another avenue for growth. This site also allows users to download their videos to their computer and edit them… for a price. So, it’s kind of sucky that you have to pay to download your videos and whatever, but the base tools and premise are very useful to those looking to expand their market.
A neat little feature Microsoft does to make sure the things people create gets visibility is include the community’s created videos in the game store to display gameplay alongside developers’ videos. It allows for visibility and can put someone’s foot in the door, as it were, to getting some recognition.
When it comes to streaming, I can’t think of a more useful place to have easy access to it than Xbox. There are several apps that can be downloaded (for free) from which you can stream, but the primary two I’m going to address are Twitch- the industry standard- and Mixer, Microsoft’s imitation Twitch which nobody asked for, but actually works better than the original.
When it comes to functionality of Twitch on Xbox, it’s iffy at best. I hate the interface that Twitch gave its app. It’s cluttered, it auto-plays videos of popular streamers (good for them getting more visibility, but I hate it), and, most importantly, it’s so goddamn laggy. Seriously, sometimes I have more trouble starting up my streams than I had filing my taxes. Maybe it’s because I have an older generation Xbox, I don’t know, but it should abso-goddamn-lutely not lag my entire system when it’s setting up or when it’s running.
The upside to this is that you can use your computer and your Xbox at the same time for this to interact with your viewers, update subscriptions, manage your stream, and deal with financial matters.
I don’t have much to say about the Twitch app. It just sucks and totally slows down everything and needs a significant amount of work before I consider it not shit. If you’re going to stream using Twitch to make money, just do it on a computer. It’s awful on Xbox.
The Mixer app is much better, in that it doesn’t slow anything down, has a very clean UI, and is very friendly to smaller, up-and-coming streamers. In addition to having the standard setup of showing the big names in streaming on the front, it includes a subsection of growing streamers with a smaller audience (think like sub-50 viewers). I have few complaints about the UI, and despite my irrational dislike for its creation it is a very useful tool for the Xbox system, much better than Twitch.
The integration of Mixer into the homepage of the Xbox is also beneficial to those trying to make some money from their gaming. It displays a bunch of new streams on the front page and updates fairly regularly. It’s a very nice way to get the community some visibility and support, I feel. It’s also not too in the way- it’s on a separate tab of the front page but it’s very easy to get too (literally a button’s press away).
Now, there is also an Xbox Mobile app, which you’d think would have something to help people manage their clips and presence on Mixer, but nah. Even in the BETA version of the app (which isn’t really a BETA, it just gives early access to new features and runs a bit worse because of it), you can just view your clips, not really edit or manage them in any way. It also doesn’t have anything to do with Mixer, aside from letting people view others’ streams and clips, which is good, in a way, for those who already have their content out but not for those who want to be able to edit from their phones.
BUT! That’s where the Mixer app comes into play. Well, the four separate apps that Mixer has comes into play. There’s base Mixer- Interactive Streaming, Mixer- Interactive Streaming BETA (which is basically the same as the Xbox BETA app in terms of functionality), Mixer Create (what the people who stream actually want to download), and Mixer Create BETA (which, same shit).
These are actually pretty convenient for those who need a simple way to interact with their viewers and community. The audience-focused Mixer-Interactive Streaming App feels very cluttered, but straightforward. It’s easy to navigate and runs well (on Android, at least, because that’s what I have). Everything is kind of pushed together to fit as much in as possible, but I guess it works for people because it has 5 million downloads and a positive general review.
Mixer Create is extremely simple and easy to use. All the options you need to manage a stream are right there on the main tab, or one tab away. It took me thirty seconds to figure out feature managed what and was very quick and flowed extremely well. I have no complaints about the app. It’s an extremely handy tool for someone who wants to stream from their phone or use as a subsidiary streaming aid when they stream on Xbox.
Overall, the Xbox experience is really useful for people looking to make their hobby a side gig and secondary source of income. It allows for great customizability, functionality, and interaction with the community at large, but has some faults in the way these apps work. The editing is best done on a computer, sorry not sorry Microsoft (but they sell those too, so I guess they win either way), but the recording is easily done on the Xbox itself in most instances. Seriously, holy shit Twitch, fix your app and make it actually usable for creators.
