Online gaming has exploded in the past decade. In 2021 alone, over 8 billion hours of video game streams were recorded, up from a little over 3 billion just 2 years before. With so much appeal, gamers across the globe are experiencing a renaissance in monetized gaming and have rushed to join the community. But with so many newly minted professional gamers in the industry, new streamers may find themselves in the weeds and outmatched. To compete, newcomers need to build a following, have compelling content, and learn to use tools like the pros. We review the Elgato Stream Deck.
What is the Elgato Stream Deck?
The Elgato Stream Deck is a USB keypad with illuminated LCD keys which offer quick access to programmable functions. The Stream Deck gives gamers the ability to assign functions to each key to save time and effort while streaming online.
Essentially, the Stream Deck acts as your stream’s controller, putting all functions and controls in one convenient place. Similar to a radio DJ’s board or mixer.
For example, say you’d like to go into an intermission during a live stream. Instead of using something like hotkeys or clicking around with a mouse and keyboard, which can be clunky, undependable, and burdensome while gaming, streamers can simply assign the intermission function to one key and the Stream Deck will do the rest.
Usability
The Stream Deck comes with significant integration features for streaming applications as well, so whether you are tabbed into the right application or not, it’s going to work. Think of it as being hardwired to your streaming service, it doesn’t matter if that application currently has focus, and this is where the Stream Deck shines.
The other unique feature of the Stream Deck is its LCD keys and two-way fetch system which communicates to and from your computer. If you want to know whether you’re live or not, all you’ll need to do is look down at the Stream Deck’s LCD keys for a status update, rather than move keyboard focus back to the streaming application.
The Stream Deck also has some pretty interesting hue and multi-action capabilities. Just as DJ can control media from her board, the Stream Deck allows streamers to preprogram media actions like adjusting lighting, sending emotes through a chat while streaming, promoting their merchandise and more.
Check these five things you can do with the Stream Deck.
The Elgato Stream Deck has three models, the 6-key ($79.99), the 15-key ($149.99), and the 32-key ($225), all offering a customizable set of shortcut buttons for the most commonly used streaming commands, making it any streamer’s best friend.
Design and looks
The Stream Deck is a fairly modest-looking piece of equipment. The black plastic housing is simple yet reassuring and sturdy, with Elgato’s usual high-quality finish.
The Stream Deck is lightweight, coming in at just 5 ounces, but doesn’t feel like a cheap product by any stretch of the imagination.
The kickstand has four different viewing angles to choose from (although the difference between each is very subtle). The rounded corners and clear LCD keys give the Stream Deck a quality look and feel, even though it is modestly priced compared to other controllers.
Performance and interface
The Elgato Stream Deck is compatible with both PC and Mac. The drag-and-drop programming interface makes key management a breeze, and being able to switch between profiles is a nice touch. And while the Stream Deck has capabilities to interface with any number of applications beyond its intended use, it is highly compatible with Twitch, Stream Labs, Spotify, Twitter, Phillips Hue, OBS, YouTube, and Elgato on Open Range right out of the box.
Other uses
It might surprise you, but the Stream Deck isn’t limited to gaming. Because the Elgato Stream Deck works similarly to the function keys on a keyboard, users can program the Elgato Stream Deck to do so much more by assigning multi-action functions to each key. For example, video editors can program complicated multi-actions like “trim, copy, resize, and paste” in one button to save time, but the multi-action capabilities are endless.
Pros
- A great device for streamers
- Simple interface
- Highly programmable
- Easy setup
Cons
- Not as important as a quality camera, microphone, and headset
Summary
The Elgato Stream Deck is a great device for streamers. It adds significant usability and customization features that give streamers the flexibility to focus on viewer engagement and gaming, rather than fiddling with clunky keyboard and mouse controls in the middle of a stream.
Related: Mix It Up (2022): The Swiss Army Knife Of Streaming Bots