Microsoft Renames Beam To 'Mixer,' Adds New Features To Streaming Service

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dusty13

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Jan 20, 2014
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never used beam ... but why change a perfectly good name into something that sounds like a kitchen appliance?

microsoft special needs department ... err microsoft marketing is at it again it seems.
 

Malicex64

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Apr 25, 2017
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Honestly, even though I like and use Twitch regularly ( even more so now that they merged with Curse ), this is a great option. Just recently, I was playing on the XB1 with some console buds, and one of the guys couldn't join but asked me to stream so he could sort of participate.

I had never tried Beam ( now Mixer ), but it was as simple as hitting the stream button from the xbox menu and telling him the URL. I was impressed TBH. This weekend is a LAN party where multiple guys can't attend ( mid-thirties, wives and kids, etc ) but the idea that we could stream a channel with 4 of our screens? That's pretty damn cool.
 

ammaross

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Jan 12, 2011
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Multi-channel viewing has existed for a while now; albeit enabled via 3rd-party sites that would basically just frame multiple streams into a single webview.

Beam (bleh with "Mixer") is an interesting service that allows sub-1sec streaming lag behind realtime, so you can near-instantly respond to chat during your stream, rather than the awkward asking a question and waiting 40 seconds for responses to come in. Yes, a delay is understandable for competitive gaming to prevent watchers (who may also be participating) from "looking over your shoulder," but that should be a configurable option, not a default. The biggest problem is viewership; there's simply more people on Twitch.
 
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