[Help Request] Streaming/Recording Android Games

[The8BitMonkey]

Hi there,
So recently I've been wanting to bring mobile games to my channel but its proving more trouble then I was expecting.

I'm looking to run the video recording and streaming through OBS as that will allow for a lot of additional features like overlays, webcam, notifications and the likes, but my problem lies in getting my Android screen to show on the PC without too much lag and delay.

What I need it the following...

• Get the phone screen to display on the PC
• Route the in-game sounds to the PC
• Route the in-game sounds to my headphones
• Route Discord (for group games) to my headphones from the PC
  • (Basically needing to make 2 audio streams go into 1 pair of headphones)

As my phone doesn't support HDMI out over Type-C I'm unable to use a capture card so my options are limited, I've tried several apps from the PlayStore to cast my screen to the PC over USB and over Wifi but they all have issues with lag and stuttering, and the sound doesn't transfer with the video to the PC as Android removed the ability to capture system audio for privacy reasons after Android 5.0, with also means that I can't even use a screen recorder to just record it on my phone itself and edit later for upload as I won't have the in-game sounds.

Any suggestions from people who record and stream Android games on YouTube would be greatly appreciated, at this point I'm at my wits end and just need to find a solution, even if it's an app i've already tried maybe there is something I can do to improve the quality, I just really need help.

Apps tried:

• Vysor Pro
• MirrorGo
• Reflector 3
• AirDroid
• Windows Screen Mirroring

Phone Specs:

• Xiaomi Mi5s Plus
• Snapdragon 821
• 4GB Ram
• MiUI 9.5.2.0

NOTE: Casting the screen over wifi using the "Wireless Display" option in Android does send over the sound and the video (though slightly lagged) however the sound becomes very stuttered and "stretched out" when there is a lot happening on screen.

 

[OrbitGuy]

So I record iOS gaming videos on my main channel and I'm not familiar with doing it for Android but I think we've encountered some of the same problems. I got the in game sounds to sometimes work right but then they would lag at times even if the gameplay looked fine. So I ended up just ditching the ingame sound in favor of some background music behind my commentary. That's probably less of a solution for live streaming.

As far as mirroring delay and lag in the video, honestly it's just a tough situation. I've also tried Reflector and used it for the first version, but I kept having problems with it freezing while trying to render the clip before it saved it and that was causing me to lose work. I've also used XMirage and had some sort of problem with that as well. It's really annoying because it's like I guess this software would work fine for other professional uses but it just doesn't have the precision for gaming. What I currently use and have probably had the most consistent success with is a program called Airserver. It's not perfect but I've found that my iPad finds it very quickly and it usually seems to get the job done without the array of bugs the other software have. Lag still can happen but sometimes it's just hit or miss.

I've had so many problems with recording using the recording features in the various software that I actually use Airserver to mirror, and then I use Bandicam to record the part it displays. It seems to work better with longer clips and helps to prevent them from causing the software to freeze before it can save them. However I still like Airserver the best because bandicam can detect only the portion that is the screen and doesn't show any of the GUI from the software. Reflector I think I had a problem with the top GUI getting detected as part of the same window.

Not sure if any of that is relevant to what you are trying to do, I don't live stream so for me it was just recording videos.

 

[bigattck]

i know how to stream them, its very easy with any app but trying to get the music to only be played is going to be hard. i also try the same things with the same apps, bluetooth too but all are fake. only casting works, as of right now i have yet to confirm something that might work. you know chromecast, i have brought one but i have yet to cast it to chrome browser. yes its possible but i have yet to understand how even though it is shown in many youtube videos. now im using anycast to see if results are different.

tldr casting is best if you buy something like anycast or chromecast.

 

[KatyAdelson]

I've moved this to the video software / hardware discussion forum. ^_^

 

[The8BitMonkey]

- Snipped -

I gave AirServer a try and it worked really well for the actual casting, though sound was messed up again....the other problem I had was that the casted game became VERY pixelated when there was a lot going on on the screen. (PUBG Mobile in this case), do you have any suggestions on what might be able to fix this since you've used it more then I have?

- Snipped -

I was thinking of buying a ChromeCast and plugging it into a capture card like an Elgato but before I spend money (i don't have spare) on something I really need to know how well it would work.....is there any chance you might be able to run PUBG Mobile and cast it to the ChromeCast and see what the performance is like for me.

- Snipped -

Thank you, I thought the right place was help, thanks for fixing it for me

 

[bigattck]

I gave AirServer a try and it worked really well for the actual casting, though sound was messed up again....the other problem I had was that the casted game became VERY pixelated when there was a lot going on on the screen. (PUBG Mobile in this case), do you have any suggestions on what might be able to fix this since you've used it more then I have?


I was thinking of buying a ChromeCast and plugging it into a capture card like an Elgato but before I spend money (i don't have spare) on something I really need to know how well it would work.....is there any chance you might be able to run PUBG Mobile and cast it to the ChromeCast and see what the performance is like for me.


Thank you, I thought the right place was help, thanks for fixing it for me

I cant run it on tablet or my newest phone, the game requires stuff that i do not know. just like ff15, they also made a limit on phones and i think pubg mobile follow that idea.