There are a ton of reasons you might want to record and stream gameplay from your Nintendo Switch. The console’s built in recording features leave a lot to be desired and there are no built-in streaming functions whatsoever. I started making videos for YouTube that included gameplay a few months ago and I feel like my workflow has improved tremendously over time. I made this video to share with you all the two easiest methods I’ve found to record or stream Switch gameplay.
Timestamp Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:26 Free - ClipStitch Method 01:34 HDMI to USB3.0 Capture Card Method 02:14 OBS Studio 02:39 Set Up Switch Recording 05:43 Other Options & What’s Right for Me? 06:28 End Card
The first method is a fairly simple timed record/capture button press/hold every 20-25 seconds. This will create sequential clips that don’t skip. Once you have the full length of your gameplay segment, you can send them to your editing device via the built in QR wifi transfer or using an SD Card (Much Easier!) Then just place the clips back to back in your editor.
The second method involves getting a capture card. I use a very cheap HDMI to USB 3.0 capture device that I got on Amazon for about 18$. I don’t have 2 displays in my workflow and I don’t play any games where 0 input lag is entirely necessary . I’m also lucky enough to run a setup that performs well so my latency is minimal. Once you connect the card, we download OBS Studio and add one input source for audio, and one for video and direct them to the USB3.0 Inputs from the capture card. From there you can adjust your settings, and start recording/streaming!
It’s surprisingly easy and affordable especially since the software side is completely free! The only truly big limiting factor aside form the 20$ for a capture card is the system performance of your computer. Streaming and recording gameplay is taxing and it may not run optimally regardless of what card you’re able to buy so keep that in mind. You can try to adjust the settings in OBS to smaller resolutions and lower frame rates to help compensate.
Possible tip?! I remember for whatever reason, when I had a slower computer - using the built in (in this case Quicktime) video recorder to take the USB3.0 input had a little bit less lag than any external software like OBS. Maybe that can help get you a few extra FPS!
