Nvidia took to the stage and announced not only the incredibly powerful GeForce RTX 3000 Series of graphics cards, which it’s calling the biggest generational leap in performance ever, but a new piece of software for livestreamers too.
Nvidia Broadcast is a new suite of tools for gamers that want to make their livestreams look and sound more professional without the need to buy expensive additional hardware like a greenscreen and noise-absorbing panels, utilising the AI Tensor cores of the company’s RTX GPUs to perform audio and video magic.
Here’s all you need to know about Nvidia Broadcast, from a breakdown of the key features, its release date and GPU support too.
What is Nvidia Broadcast?
There’s a suite of features, but one you may recognise is RTX Voice – the beta software uses AI to remove background noises, and it works amazingly well, removing most noise without a noticeable effect on vocal quality. Nvidia has built that functionality directly into the Nvidia Broadcast software, complete with an improved interface.
But, of course, broadcasting is about more than great-sounding audio, and that’s where the software’s AI-powered video tools come into play. As with the audio features, RTX Broadcast utilises the AI Tensor cores to detect the person on camera and either blur the background, add a static image or video or even remove the background completely, without the need for a green screen or simple background, with impressive results.
Beyond background removal, Nvidia Broadcast can also crop your webcam view and track you as you move around, ideal for the more excitable streamers out there.
The best part about Nvidia Broadcast is that it isn’t limited to livestreaming – the tools are universal, so you can use them with just about any software that uses a webcam. That includes streaming software like OBS, XSplit and Streamlabs, but also video conferencing apps like Zoom, Google Hangouts. It’s presented as a virtual camera, so simply select that as the video input and tailor your settings within the Nvidia Broadcast app.
There are, admittedly, other tools that offer similar features: Logitech Capture can auto-track you, Zoom can remove and blur your background and Krisp can remove background audio. But, Nvidia does it all in one simple interface, and the results are much more impressive than that of the competition.
Nvidia put together a short video to showcase how the main features look, which you can watch below:
When will Nvidia Broadcast be released?
As confirmed by Nvidia during the GeForce Event, Nvidia Broadcast is set to be released later this month. Nvidia is yet to confirm a hard release date, but we assume it’ll be around the launch of the next-gen GeForce RTX 3080 on 17 September.
Which GPUs support Nvidia Broadcast?
It should come as no surprise that Nvidia Broadcast only works with Nvidia cards – sorry AMD fans – and it needs the RTX-powered AI to operate. With that being said, Nvidia Broadcast is compatible with any Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU, be it the RTX 2060 or the recently announced RTX 3080, but older GTX owners will have to upgrade to take advantage of the AI-powered software.
It is worth noting that Nvidia has widened support for Nvidia Voice, the noise-cancelling feature of Nvidia Broadcast, allowing older GTX graphics card owners to access the tech, although performance will vary depending on the power of your GPU.
For more on kickstarting your livestreaming career, take a look at how to stream on Twitch and the best webcam.
