Introduction to Elgato Stream Deck

What is it? — It’s a collection of buttons that you can configure to do a variety of things on your computer.

But really what is it? — It was originally a device created with the intention for video streamers to have a way to quickly and easily change things while streaming live, such as changing camera views or opening different apps and screen sharing.

So it’s for video streaming, Twitch and all that stuff? — It’s great for that but so much more. Now so many people are using it for general productivity and other use cases, Elgato themselves have been extremely responsive by leaning into that and adding more functionality and improvements.

Who is Elgato? — Elgato is a hardware brand that specializes in streaming and content creation hardware for the end consumer level. They were bought by Corsair, a larger pc component and gaming hardware manufacturer. Elgato continues under its own brand and has only kept improving and providing great products for a much wider range than just “streamers”.

So I should get a Stream Deck? — If you use a computer you would find it useful. It’s equally great on Windows or Mac. But it’s not just a single product. It’s starting to become an ecosystem unto itself.

There are different Stream Decks? — The biggest difference is the number of buttons and the cost is more associated with those different sizes:

Stream Deck Mini (6 Buttons)

Original Stream Deck (15 Button)

Mark 2 version (15 Buttons again but improved construction)

Stream Deck XL (32 Buttons)

Stream Deck Pedal (with 3 adjustable Buttons for your feet! Don’t just use your hands like a productivity chump)

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