How do you get an XLR input into a computer? Simply by using an audio interface that plugs into a USB, you can get professional-grade audio into your Wirecast machine. But in today's workflows, using an audio mixer that has USB or XLR outputs is needed. Then plugging directly into the computer with a USB mic is your best workflow. If a simple "line input" is all you need, then your onboard sound card will work. Normally this isn't something you're going to hear without wearing super expensive, noise-canceling, earphones. But some can produce noise due to electronic interference on the motherboard. So understanding your needs and use cases is important when picking a graphics card. AMD cards will also work in Wirecast, but will not support the GPU accelerated encodings. Now both of these cards will work, but if you would like the encoding to be offloaded to use the CPU encoding, an Nvidia graphics card is recommended with nVenc. Recommended is an Nvidia GeForce or AMD Radeon, 4GB+ video memory discreet graphics card. Most of these cards come standard onboard the motherboard of a PC or Mac unless otherwise specified for a discreet graphics card. At a bare minimum, an Intel HD4, DirectX 11 capable card is suggested. Having as much load taken off the CPU and put onto the GPU spreads the work evenly across the computer. This is especially important when running multiple applications is necessary. This will allow your CPU to run at a much lower percentage, while still maintaining the maximum quality level. With Wirecast, you have the ability to offload the stream encoding from the CPU (Central Processing Unit) to the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Graphics cards are something that is sometimes forgotten when building a Wirecast machine or purchasing a pre-built machine on specs. It all comes down to budget, but it's highly recommended to use SSD drives. This ensures the maximum speed and stability if you're taking your Wirecast machine on the road and will help prevent failures. Why would fewer moving parts be important? SSD drives have no spinning or movement like traditional drives. This will ensure maximum throughput and fewer moving parts. So my recommendation would be to get an SSD drive for both the OS drive and the record to disk drive. These days SSDs (Solid State Drives) are inexpensive. Recommended 500GB+, Solid State OS Drive. We recommend getting a minimum of 2GB3, 7200 RPM for record to disk. Understanding what type of hard drive to get is important. You could have the fastest processor, RAM, or even the latest OS but your computer will only be as fast as its slowest component. Are you planning to run a multitude of applications on your Wirecast machine at the same time as Wirecast? If the answer is yes, then it's best practice to get the most RAM your budget allows for over our recommended amount. The reason we say "or more" is because only you can answer that question. We recommend a minimum of 4GB of RAM, but recommend 16GB of RAM or more. If you are someone who likes to have multiple applications open, then you're a person who needs to consider getting lots of RAM. It will determine how fast you can access things or how quickly tasks are completed. Memory is another important aspect of a Wirecast machine. We recommend Windows 10 version 1903 or higher, MacOS Catalina, or higher. Minimum OS requirements: Windows 10 version 1803 or higher, MacOS Mojave or MacOS Catalina. Some knowledge is required in using Apple Script. The draw is to have certain things automate within Mac OS – Wirecast included. It's designed to do inner application communication. Apple Script is a scripting language developed by Apple. What do you prefer? The one benefit of using an Apple computer over a PC would be the ability to use Apple Script. Since Apple has gone to intel architecture, they pretty much leveled the playing field these days in compatibility. Whether you're a Mac person or PC person won't matter too much. To help ensure future workflows are accommodated for. My recommendation is always to get a bit more power than you need Plan to do or knowing your workflow will determine the chipset that you would To handle the load the machine will be taking on. This will help ensure there is enough processing power A recommended processor of Intel i7 quad-core 2.8GHz+, 6th Recommend at a minimum going with an Intel i5 dual-core at 2.3GHz1 6th The processor and processor speed is a great place to start. But knowing what to look for is half the battle. So you want to take on the challenge and build your own Wirecast machine, but you're not sure where to start? Hopefully, this blog post will help guide you in the direction you need to go.
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