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Setup guides / PS5 streaming setup

PS5 streaming setup

Stream a PS5 straight from the console with Broadcast, or through a capture card into OBS for your own scenes. What each needs, the HDCP setting, and game sound.

Updated October 18, 2026

Two ways to stream a PS5

The simplest way is from the console itself. Link your Twitch or YouTube account, press the Create button on the controller and choose Broadcast. No computer is involved.

The other way runs the stream from a computer. The PS5 goes into a capture card, and OBS adds your own scenes, overlays, webcam and microphone. Start with the console’s Broadcast; move to a capture card when you want more than it offers.

What differsBroadcast from the PS5Capture card and OBS
What you needThe PS5 and a linked Twitch or YouTube accountA capture card, two HDMI cables and a computer running OBS
CameraSony’s HD Camera or PlayStation Camera onlyAny webcam or camera your computer can use
What viewers seeYour game screen, your camera and chat overlaysWhatever you build in OBS: scenes, overlays, alerts
Settings to changeNone beyond the Broadcast settingsTurn off HDCP on the PS5

First step: Press the Create button on the controller and select Broadcast to stream straight from the console. See the steps →

Your signal pathFrom a console
ConsoleHDMI out
Capture deviceHDMI in · USB out
MicrophoneUSB audio out
Streaming computerUSB inputs · OBS
HeadphonesWhat you hear
Power supplyPower for each device
Router and platformEthernet · upload
Your displayHDMI passthrough
HDMIUSB dataUSB audio3.5 / 6.3 mmEthernetPowerHDMI out
ConsoleHDMI out
Capture deviceHDMI in · USB out
MicrophoneUSB audio out
Streaming computerUSB inputs · OBS
HeadphonesWhat you hear
Power supplyPower for each device
Router and platformEthernet · upload
Your displayHDMI passthrough
HDMIUSB dataUSB audio3.5 / 6.3 mmEthernetPowerHDMI out
━━ Video┄┄ Audio··· Network┄ Power
Every connection
  1. Console HDMI outHDMI cable → capture card HDMI in; capture card USB out → A USB port on your computer
  2. Capture card HDMI outHDMI cable · passthrough → TV or monitor HDMI in
  3. Microphone USB outUSB cable → A USB port on your computer
  4. Microphone / interface headphone out3.5 mm or 6.3 mm headphone connection → Headphones (what you hear)
  5. Computer Ethernet portEthernet cable → router; your upload → Platform (check the stream preview)
  6. Wall socketThe maker’s power supply, or USB power → Computer and devices that need their own power
Load this setup in the builder →

Stream straight from the PS5

Broadcasting needs a Twitch or YouTube account linked to your PlayStation account. You can link it the first time you start a broadcast. For Twitch, turn on two-factor authentication on your Twitch account first: without it, the broadcast stays stuck on “preparing”. Child accounts cannot broadcast.

  • Press the Create button and select Broadcast.
  • Choose Twitch or YouTube, and enter the title and details.
  • Open Broadcast Options to add your camera or your party’s voices.
  • Select Go Live.

Under Settings, Captures and Broadcasts, Broadcasts, you set the resolution and frame rate, whether your microphone and your party’s audio are included, the camera picture, and chat overlays. The resolutions on offer vary by service. If you include party audio, tell your party first: Sony asks you to, because their voices become part of the broadcast.

Only the game screen and its audio are shared; other screens and non-game apps stay hidden from viewers. For a camera, the PS5 takes Sony’s HD Camera (CFI-ZEY series) or the older PlayStation Camera (CUH-ZEY series). Elgato notes that the PS5 does not support third-party USB webcams.

Stream through a capture card and OBS

Turn off HDCP first. The PS5 has it on by default, and with it on the capture picture stays black. Connect the PS5 straight to the TV, go to Settings, System, HDMI, and turn off Enable HDCP.

  • Connect the PS5 to the capture card’s HDMI input.
  • Connect the card’s HDMI output to your TV or monitor. You play on this screen.
  • Connect the card to the computer over USB, or fit it inside a Windows desktop if it is a PCIe card.
  • In OBS, add a Video Capture Source and choose the capture card.

The PS5 can output 120 Hz at 1080p, 1440p and 4K. To keep 120 Hz on your TV, the capture card has to pass it on; 4K at 120 Hz needs HDMI 2.1. The capture card guide matches the current cards to each case, from 1080p60 streaming to 4K recording.

Game sound, headphones and party chat

The PS5 stops sending game sound over HDMI while headphones are plugged into the console or the controller. With a capture card, that means no game sound in OBS. Unplug them, and listen on headphones plugged into the computer instead, through the capture card’s audio: the monitoring guide shows how to hear it without an echo.

Party chat in a console broadcast is one setting: include party audio under Broadcasts. Through a capture card it depends on where the chat comes out; the party chat routing guide goes through the options.

Still no game sound in OBS? Capture card has no sound goes through the console and OBS settings in order.

Your camera

On the console’s own Broadcast, only Sony’s cameras work. Through a capture card, your webcam plugs into the computer, and OBS puts it on screen with the game. Check it first on the webcam test.

Test before you go live

Record a minute in OBS with the game running and your voice on, and play it back. A black picture means HDCP is still on or OBS has the wrong input: capture card black screen goes through it. Missing game sound usually means headphones are still plugged into the controller. The pre-stream checklist covers the rest.

Questions

Can I stream a PS5 at 4K? Through a capture card with 4K capture, yes, to a platform that takes 4K: YouTube lists outputs up to 2160p60, while Twitch’s published settings stop at 1080p60. On the console’s own Broadcast, the resolutions on offer depend on the service.

Why is my PS5 stuck on “preparing” when I go live on Twitch? Turn on two-factor authentication on your Twitch account; Sony lists it as required for Twitch broadcasts.

Can I use my webcam with the PS5’s Broadcast? No. The PS5 takes Sony’s HD Camera or PlayStation Camera. Use a capture card and OBS for any other camera.

Do I need a capture card to stream a PS5? No, Broadcast works without one. You need one to stream with your own scenes, overlays and camera in OBS.

Load this setup and swap your gear

Load an editable example with Game Capture Neo, Wave Neo microphone and Facecam Neo webcam in the setup builder. These are starting choices, not a purchase list. Swap a device in Your gear and check the new connection requirements.

Equipment for these connections

Start with the kind of gear you’re missing, and read its full profile before adding it to your setup.

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Settings for the platform you stream to

Once it is wired, each platform’s own figures for bitrate, keyframes and audio, with the date we checked them: Twitch · YouTube Live · Kick · Facebook Live · TikTok LIVE. The bitrate calculator gives the number to type into OBS for your output.

Going live for the first time? Follow the steps to stream on Twitch, go live on YouTube, stream on Kick, go live on Facebook or go LIVE on TikTok, from the account to ending the stream.

Sources