Green Screen Leaderboard 2017:
The best Green Screens in comparison
The final touch of every Twitch stream is to highlight the streamer with a green screen. With a green screen the background is completely hidden and it seems as if the streamer is floating freely over his game. In this way, the stream looks even more professional, although the effort is minimal. In this article, we’ll not only look at the most popular green screen models, but also explain how to use OBS to place a so-called « Chroma Key » filter on the image of your webcam.
One thing in advance: If you have just started streaming, it is usually not worthwhile to invest directly in a green screen and suitable accessories. For the appropriate support and lighting equipment you will quickly have to pay over 100€, which doesn’t pay off at the beginning. Only if you think that your stream doesn’t need any more improvements, you can use the green screen for the final optimization of your stream.
Using a green screen for streaming Lighting and setting up OBS
The effort to set up a green screen for streaming is comparatively small. Especially when it comes to illumination, however, many things can still be optimized in order to keep image errors to a minimum, even with less expensive green screens.
The lighting of the scene
When lighting your green screen during streaming, make sure that you or surrounding objects do not cast shadows on the surface. Lighting from above would be ideal, as even as possible from both sides.
Furthermore, the lighting of the green screen should not be too bright, so that it doesn’t reflect in shiny surfaces and thereby rips « holes » in objects or even the streamer itself. The best, but probably also most expensive solutions are screens for indirect lighting, as used in photo studios. The result is an absolutely even light that does not cast any shadows when positioned correctly.
Setting up a Chroma key filter with OBS
Setting up a Chroma Key filter in OBS takes just a few steps. If not done yet, first add a camera to the scene in the Sources box. Now right-click on the Camera Source and select « Filter » in the context menu.
In the « Effect Filters » section you can now add a new filter by clicking on +. Then select the « Chroma Key » filter and configure the color so that your background is no longer visible. To do this, select « Custom » from the Key Color menu and click on « Pick Screen Color » in the pull-down menu. With the cursor you can then select your green screen.
Now you’ll probably have to turn down the similarity. The default value is usually set too high here. A value of 70-80 should be sufficient with good lighting and a high-quality green screen. In case of doubt, you can also experiment with the values. Then close the window and check the preview to see if everything looks good.
Tip: With high-quality cameras you should deactivate functions such as automatic light adjustment. The constant change of brightness by the camera interferes with the color detection of the Chroma Key filter.
Green screens for streamers Our recommendations
The price you have to pay for a green screen, together with its mounting and lighting, can be a deterrent at first glance. This is why such a purchase is not necessarily recommended for newcomers to streaming. For all those who already have more experience on Twitch & Co. we will now present two particularly suitable products.
Elgato Green screen: Extendable Chroma Key Panel [amazon_link asins='B06XQ72SXG|B0743Z892W|B06XQ72SXG' template='PriceLink' store='own3d-de-greenscreen-21|own3d-en-greenscreens-20|own3d-uk-greenscreens-21' marketplace='DE|US|UK' link_id='bedf7019-22fb-11e8-9c9c-afda3d81e4de']
The Game Capture HD60 Pro by Elgato is probably the best capture card for console streaming. With this green screen especially for streamers, the manufacturer can now also score points in this area. Thereby Elgato proves once again that they know what streamers need. Thanks to the pop-up technology, the Elgato greens screen is always wrinkle-free and easy to transport. Furthermore, unlike many photo studio solutions, it also has the perfect size for home use.
The colouring is very even and therefore optimal for Chroma Key filter. The Elgato green screen is quite expensive, but the performance offered quickly makes you forget about the price.
Dynasun Collapsible background reflector [amazon_link asins='B0031IQJA8|B001CABRJK' template='PriceLink' store='own3d-de-greenscreen-21|own3d-uk-greenscreens-21' marketplace='DE|UK' link_id='17d63ff6-22fc-11e8-b65f-05101fe97b9a']
The practical 2-in-1 solution by DynaSun comes with a blue and a green side and can be turned around if necessary. The green or blue screen has a sturdy folding frame similar to a pop-up tent and can be set up and dismantled just as quickly. The scope of delivery also includes a bag in which the screen can be stowed for possible transport.
Unfortunately, the green screen is delivered without a mounting bracket. Here the DynaSun H2258 telescopic stand is particularly suitable. It costs about 50€, which makes the package about 60€ cheaper than the complete solution from Elgato.
Tip: The fabric may show slight wrinkles on delivery. These are no problem for the Chroma Key filter, but if they bother you, you can get rid of them with a wet towel placed in between.
Beware of cheap alternatives! Cheap is not always good
The presented solution by DynaSun still seems to be quite expensive and in fact we found much cheaper green screens during our research. All of these, however, had comparatively bad reviews in which the following points, among others, were criticized:
- Uneven colouring
- Strong wrinkles and creases
- Poor processing quality
In addition, at a price of 20€, it can hardly be assumed that the necessary background support equipment is included for installation. In this case, for example the green- blue screen by DynaSun with its sturdy frame, even without telescopic stand, is the better alternative.
