Every streamer strives to make his Twitch streams look as professional as possible. They think over the content, strategies of building a personal brand, sometimes even carefully choose the clothes in which they appear in front of the audience. Nevertheless, the most important certainly remains the technical equipment they opt in to improve their broadcasts on Twitch. In addition to a powerful router, audio mixers, lighting, you should purchase a must-have of 2021 – green screen for streaming. After spending hours examining various chroma key captures, talking to both professional Twitch “inhabitants” and just aficionados of the platform, testing several variants and noting their pros and cons, we are ready to announce that Neewer Pro Green Screen Backdrop is the best green screen for streaming, and Valera Creator 95 comes in an honored second place.
We are going to feature some other praiseworthy for all budgets in the article for you to choose the most suitable one.
Neewer Pro Green Screen Backdrop
- collapsible, easy to set up and pack up in few seconds
- wrinkle-resistant fabric
- auto-locking frame
- solid aluminium base
- portable and sturdy
Open Screen Size: 59.8(W)x77.5(H)inches/152(W)x197(H)centimeters
Retracted Size: 63×4.7×4 inches/160x12x10 centimeters
Weight: 17.2 pounds/7.8 kilograms
This very green screen has already collected a lot of positive feedback and for good reason. The backdrop of premium quality is designed for long-time use and both for streaming/videos and photos. It is optimized for instant immersion and helps easily remove the background in post-production according to your needs.
Neewer Pro Green Screen Backdrop is easy to carry and store: just retract it into the built-in aluminum case for compact storage.
Valera Creator 95
- wrinkle-resistant fabric that provides light distribution
- collapsible with 10-second set-up
- built-in carrying handle
- exceptionally light
- features ChromaBoost technology that allows creating flawless content in low-light conditions
- compatible with standard mobile apps and software
Screen area: 75”H x 58”W
Weight: 11.5 lbs
Valera Creator 95 is a large screen, and it usually attracts streamers who strive for flawless chroma key visual effects. It accommodates full-body green screen effects and therefore is a good option for multiple participants. ChromaBoost wrinkle ensures your video to look great due to the fabric that has been designed for excellent chroma key. Valera Creator 95 was tested for compatibility with such software applications as OBS, iMovie, XSplit, PS4 chroma key, Zoom Virtual Background, DoInk, WeVideo, and iOS/Android apps.
Fotodiox 5’x7′ Collapsible Chromakey Green + Blue 2-in-1 Background
- chroma key green + blue 2-in-1 background
- heavy duty construction with floor stand
- collapsible and flexible for portability
Size: 5×7 Panel + Support Stand
Product dimensions: 60 x 0.6 x 84 inches
Weight: 10 pounds
Keep in mind: the green side will need less lighting than the blue side.
Please note: make sure to have enough space between your subject and the background to avoid colour spill.
Everything We Recommend
Who Should Buy This?
Green screens for Twitch streamers are an irreplaceable thing. However, it might be very helpful for photographers, video makers, and other content creators who strive for more “fascinating” backgrounds. As well as for those people, who want to let their imagination get out, and make incredible videos, streams, and photos with a cool image behind the key heroes on the screen.
Best Green Screens for Twitch
ShowMaven More Wider 66.5″
- wrinkle-resistant fabric
- great value for the money
- the screen opens and closes with ease
- aluminum hard case
- collapsible chroma key panel's legs that allow lifting the handle to a suitable height, and the pneumatic x-frame that automatically locks the canvas in place
- designed for truly immersive broadcasts
Collapsible Green Chroma Key Screen: 169 x 205 cm / 66.5 x 80.7 in
Open Screen Size: 188 x 14 x 17 cm
Retracted Size: 74 x 5.5 x 6.7 in
Westcott 579K X-Drop Kit
- telescopic legs
- expandable carry case included that makes the backdrop for streaming perfect for travel
- easy to assemble and dismantle
- the fabric stretches slightly and provides with a flat background
- machine washable backdrop
Dimension: 5 x 7 Feet
Weight: under 3 lbs
Emart Green Screen
- the auto-locking air cushion frame
- solid safety aluminium base
- convenient for video streaming on the go
- wrinkle-free allowing for easy chroma keying
- the hard case that folds up small enough
Dimensions: 61.02 x 72.44 inch (open)/ 3.94 x 4.72 x 61.02 inch (retracted)
Weight: 19 Pounds
Elgato Green Screen
Dimensions: 1480 x 1800 mm / 58.27 x 70.87 in (screen); 1645 x 105 x 115 mm / 64.76 x 4.13 x 4.53 in (retracted)
How we Picked and Tested
The choice of the green screen for high-quality streams on Twitch is vital for any streamer, both for a beginner and an experienced member of the platform. We entirely support the desire to share quality and unique content and therefore have done a lot of search work. We discussed all the nuances of a perfect chroma key with people familiar with Twitch and streaming, went through a myriad of product videos, studied the distinctive features of each backdrop presented in this guide, and investigated lots of reviews. In addition to the selection of best streaming green screens, we have also included valuable recommendations into the article to make your experience with green screens impeccable.
Why Use a Green Screen?
Сhromakey usage is a matter of taste for each individual streamer. However, this relatively cheap tool can easily do wonders with your content presentation, and therefore can’t be ignored.
Primarily, a green screen lets anyone drop in whatever background images. If you want to appear in a futuristic, fictional, or alien location, a green screen is definitely the thing you need. It is constantly used by filmmakers to create incredible worlds to convince us as if these very worlds are real. And we would say it works!
Just imagine that you are some kind of powerful character in the game who is going to an important battle. The picture of the game occupies half the screen. However, there is a small square below where your viewers see you sitting in your room, and suddenly their look fall on the mess in the background. To save them from seeing your socks drying on the radiator or paying attention to other odd stuff, it is appropriate to use a green screen, and change the background of the room to any other.
It is highly recommended for everyone to invest in such an upgrade which has broad powers: it greatly increases engagement and gets the audience glued to the screen.
We are sure that you would agree that it’s much nicer to see you harmoniously fit into the picture of the game than in a separate box on the background of the wallpaper.
It is highly recommended for everyone to invest in such an upgrade which has broad powers: it greatly increases engagement and gets the audience glued to the screen.
To crown it all, the chroma key makes your stream look more professional, and the risks of having a “boring background” are completely eliminated.
Just feel the difference:
Image credit PROGAMERHUB
You should not be like hundreds of other streamers, and a green screen contributes to your standing out from the crowd.
Streaming With Green Screen Recommendations
As far as you might understand, Twitch green screen helps you have an advantage over other streamers. It is necessary you should include this tool in your streaming career expenses. Once you have purchased it, follow particular recommendations of streaming with a green screen to completely benefit from the tool.
- Avoid matching colors. Do not put on green apparel while using a green screen for streaming, and remove all the green objects from you. Otherwise, these areas will become transparent once chroma-keyed.
- Reflective materials like shiny objects are also undesirable. They will also be rendered transparent.
- Make sure there aren’t any wrinkles on the screen fabric before starting the stream.
- Mind at least six feet distance between the background and subject to distribute the light correctly.
- It would be great if you purchase a web-camera with a high resolution to separate the streamer from the green backdrop. The higher the resolution, the better the webcam will handle.
- When you are ready to invest in professional lighting, softboxes (or “umbrella”) is the best match with green screens. Just make sure the green screen is not backlit to avoid heterogeneity.
- If you are not a novice at streaming, your camera and a computer are with a software encoder installed. However, let us remind of the most widely used software encoders. They are OBS, XSplit, vMix. It is obligatory to set up the chroma key with one of them.
- Green screens require less light than blue screens. Mind it when you have bought 2-in-1 backgrounds and would like to use both.
- It is advisable to buy a slightly bigger green screen than you think you’ll need. You never know how your stream setup may change in the future, and what additional ideas for content will cross your mind.
- Set and check the lighting with the subject (in our case, the streamer) in front of the chroma key to make sure that everything as it has to be.
How to Make a DIY Green Screen for Twitch
There several variants of doing a green screen for Twitch yourself. The key thing is the material you are going to use: fabric or paper. In a word, you can buy A4 paper of light green color, glue it with tape, and then glue all that to a wooden frame. Another variant is to buy light green fabric and hang it like curtains.
It would be no exaggeration to call the process of manufacturing a chroma key a very complicated one. Check out several potential pitfalls that you are likely to face if decide on making a DIY green screen:
- It is time- and energy-consuming. What does it take just the selection of the right material? Once you have selected one, then it is the time of measuring everything accurately, carefully gluing the sheets, if you choose paper, or ironing the fabrics. Later you will have to spend a lot of time over looking for a suitable holder. It is not enough to have gold hands, platinum at least, and infinite patience.
- You know for sure that a green screen should be smooth without wrinkles and bends. As soon as one wrinkle has appeared, consider that all the work has been done in vain. And as ill luck would have it, they appear at the most inopportune moment.
- Usually, handmade chroma keys are not collapsible. Get ready to have new green paper or fabric curtains in your room. What is more, the chances are to spoil the chroma key very quickly if you leave it in the starting position.
- A new item follows the previous one. Being not collapsible, a green screen will take much space and will clutter up your room. If you have a separate streaming room – this is a different story. In such a case, this item is invalid.
To cut a long story short, the process of making a DIY green screen is a tedious work. Think twice before signing up for it. We consider that it is much relevant to invest once in tailor-made chroma key and focus on more important nuances such as your content, for example.
Sources
https://patents.google.com/patent/US5249039A/en
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/40835
