Streamlabs (formerly ''TwitchAlerts'') is a California-based software company founded in 2014. The company primarily distributes

livestreaming Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...

software. Streamlabs was acquired by

Logitech Logitech International S.A. ( ; often shortened to Logi) is a Swiss multinational manufacturer of computer peripherals and software, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Newark, California. The company has offices throughout Europe, ...

in 2019.

Overview

Streamlabs was founded in 2014 as TwitchAlerts, an

Open Broadcaster Software OBS Studio (also Open Broadcaster Software or OBS, for short) is a free, open-source, and cross-platform screencasting and streaming app. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux distributions, and BSD. The OBS Project raises funds on the ...

-based software that allowed live streamers to add visual alerts on the screen that were triggered by viewer interaction such as new followers, subscribers, and donations. TwitchAlerts was later renamed to Streamlabs in 2016, while the name of their live-streaming service, Streamlabs OBS was changed to Streamlabs in late 2021. These re-brands were due to having no affiliation with their namesake. Streamlabs also produces CrossClip, a video converter; Melon, a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

; Oslo, a video editing tool, and Willow; a website builder.

History

Streamlabs was founded in 2014 as TwitchAlerts but changed it due to having no official affiliation with

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

purchased the company for $89 million on September 26, 2019.

Criticism

On November 16, 2021, Streamlabs released 'Streamlabs Studio', a cloud capture software for the

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

Xbox Series S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, ...

, and the

Xbox Series X The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...

. After the release, the streaming service Lightstream accused Streamlabs of plagiarizing their promotional materials. Later that same day, the

OBS Studio OBS Studio (also Open Broadcaster Software or OBS, for short) is a free, open-source, and cross-platform screencasting and streaming app. It is available for Windows, macOS, Linux distributions, and BSD. The OBS Project raises funds on the ...

team

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that Streamlabs used the name "OBS" for their products, giving the false appearance of being in partnership with them, despite OBS Studio already denying Streamlabs permission to use it upon request. Streamlabs OBS had been considered a "hostile

fork In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tines with which one can spear foods ei ...

" (a fork which has been done without permission or consultation of the main project) of OBS by members of the

libre software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...

community prior to this controversy. The permission is however not required to do a fork as both softwares are open source. OBS Studio's tweet resulted in

streamers including

Pokimane Imane Anys (; Arabic: إِيمَان أَنِيس, born 14 May 1996), better known as Pokimane ( or ), is a Moroccan-Canadian Twitch streamer and YouTuber. She is best known for her live streams on Twitch, broadcasting video game content, most ...

and

Hasan Piker Hasan Doğan Piker ( , ; born July 25, 1991), also known as HasanAbi ( abi meaning ''big brother'' in Turkish), is a Turkish-American Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator. He has previously worked as a broadcast journalist and p ...

threatening a boycott of their product if changes were not made. Other companies, such as

Elgato Elgato is a brand of consumer technology products. The brand was manufactured and designed by Elgato Systems, founded in 2010 by Markus Fest and was headquartered in Munich, Germany, until 2018 when the brand was sold to Corsair. History ...

and 1UpCoin, have also spoken up on Twitter about Streamlabs copying their products. The company has subsequently promised to remove "OBS" from the name of its product.

Products

Streamlabs Desktop (formerly Streamlabs OBS) is a free and open-source streaming software that is based on a fork of OBS and, for its user interface,

Electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...

is used. Streamlabs distributes their user's content over platforms such as

YouTube Live YouTube Live was a 2008 event streamed live on the Internet from San Francisco and Tokyo. It was launched November 22–23, 2008. It was hosted by a variety of YouTube celebrities, including The Black Eyed Peas rapper will.i.am, Tom Dickson of ...

, and

Facebook Live Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...

. Crossclip is a video converter website that allows users to convert, edit and share live streaming content across multiple platforms. Willow is a link-in-bio link tool that aims to help users increase

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

and make their links more discoverable. It includes a tipping feature and allows users to tip directly on the page. Melon is a browser-based live streaming studio. Users can broadcast their live streams to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

Linkedin LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

, or a custom RTMP destination. Oslo is a tool for video review and

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

. Users can

upload Uploading refers to ''transmitting'' data from one computer system to another through means of a network. Common methods of uploading include: uploading via web browsers, FTP clients], and computer terminal, terminals (SCP/ SFTP). Uploading c ...

and share projects in the cloud, and Oslo's project management and annotation tools provide ways for teams to receive and review feedback, as well as

videos directly to

. Streamlabs Charity is a free

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

platform that assists charities in raising funds and connecting with streamers. Excluding standard processing fees, the platform takes no cut from donations, allowing everything to go to charity.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://streamlabs.com 2019 mergers and acquisitions C++ software Cross-platform free software Free and open-source software Free software programmed in C++ Livestreaming software Logitech products Screencasting software Software that uses FFmpeg Software that uses Qt Streaming software Technology companies established in 2014 Video recording software Windows software