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Facebook now lets you broadcast live video from a PC

Facebook now lets you broadcast live video from a PC

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Taking on Twitch

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Facebook Live is making the jump from phones to computers, as Facebook announced today that it’s opening up its live-streaming service to desktop and laptops in addition to smartphones and mobile devices for all its users.

It’s a feature that’s been available to Pages for a while, but Facebook is opening it up to anyone with a Facebook account. Users will be able to simply broadcast straight from a built-in webcam. More advanced streamers can use external camera hardware or streaming software to make high-quality broadcasts with multiple cameras, on-screen graphics, and title cards.

By opening up computer-based streaming to everyone, it’s clear that Facebook is hoping to take live videos more seriously by making it possible for all its users to create more professional and robust broadcasts.

Every single Facebook account just became a Twitch account

And on the gaming side of things, Facebook just became another outlet for gamers looking to attract a streaming audience. In other words, every single Facebook account just became a Twitch account with a massive potential audience already subscribed to your channel.

Live video options will be built directly into Facebook’s News Feed and user profiles, making it as easy to start a broadcast as it is to post a status. Desktop broadcasts will appear in your friends’ News Feeds exactly like mobile broadcasts do now.