Who are you, and what do you do?
My name is Kate Stark and I am a Twitch Partner and full-time broadcaster at twitch.tv/kate.
What hardware do you use?
I use a LOT of hardware for my job. I'm currently using a two PC setup - one for streaming and encoding and a second for gaming. I've just built a new dedicated gaming PC, and it's an absolute beast, which is what I need to be able to stream at 1080p and play games at a high graphics setting. That includes an AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor and a ZOTAC 1080 graphics card.
For streaming console games I'm using a Magewell Capture Card, which has been incredible for streaming games off the Nintendo Switch.
As far as lighting goes, I've got an 18 inch ring light mounted behind my Logitech C920 webcam that provides great even lighting on my face, and then 2 separate LED panels mounted to provide fill light on my green screen.
I find headphones to be really important as well. It's not something that people generally think about, but for a long time the headphones I was using were causing headaches. Since I switched to the Steelseries Arctis 5's that hasn't been an issue, because of the elastic strap they have which alleviates the pressure on the top of your head.
Beyond that, I find a good chair with decent lumbar support to be super important, as well as having monitors mounted at eye level to reduce neck strain. You really don't notice how much strain you're putting on your body until you've streamed for 8+ hours and you're sore the next day.
And what software?
Streaming software is pretty simple. I use Open Broadcast Software, AKA OBS. It's basic and easy to use but it does exactly what I need it to.
For music I tend to use Spotify. I've also been using Pretzel Rocks recently for royalty-free music to avoid muting on my VODs and avoiding content-ID claims.
My backend alert system is run through Layer One. It was developed by a team of people who work with streamers and know their needs. They're really open to listening to feedback and I find they really take it to heart, and the service is constantly improving. It's totally replaced the need to use other third-party alert websites by having all the information I need in one place.
What would be your dream setup?
My dream set up is basically exactly what I have right now. In September 2016, streaming became my full-time job and since then I've found it very important to spend money on good equipment dedicated to improving the quality of my stream, because I want viewers to have the best possible quality and experience when watching.