As the leaves change colors in this part of the world, it marks the beginning of a new season. And today on Mixer, you’ll also be seeing some fun new colors (and a bit more).

The entire team has been hard at work over the past few months, listening to your feedback and also trying out some new ideas of our own. All with the goal of taking livestreaming to the next level. Everything we do, from our investments in sub-second latency with FTL, to the introduction of MixPlay games, co-streaming and HypeZone….it’s always centered around building the most engaging and interactive livestreaming experience for you. Because we believe that livestreaming shouldn’t just be a one-way, static video experience. It should feel more like hanging out with friends playing games on a Saturday night, than watching a recording of someone millions of miles away who can’t hear you. It should be immersive and interactive, not shallow and passive.

Today, we embark upon the next major evolution of Mixer…. a journey we’re calling “Season 2.” We’re specifically calling it a Season because it’s not just a one-day thing. Season 2 reflects the living, breathing nature of Mixer with new experiences and new things to try all the time. As part of Season 2, we’re continuing to grow and refine our existing experiences with new video capabilities for streaming and viewing. And then we’re also investing in three big new areas: expression, supporting creators through new monetization opportunities, and strengthening streamer communities. Excited? Us too! Let’s take a deeper look at what’s coming today and on the horizon for Season 2:



The first and most visible change you’ll notice are new forms of expression. There are now way more ways to participate in your favorite stream than just typing a message into chat. From sending Stickers and GIFs, launching celebratory Effects like fireworks and confetti, or rallying the community to keep digital beach balls bouncing, Skills provide completely new ways to express yourself while watching a stream. Want to tell a streamer they’re awesome with a GIF? Now you can. And better yet, every time you use a Skill on a partner’s channel, it supports that partner financially. Skills also update frequently, so there’s always something new to use, unlock and collect, helping you stand out and express your unique point of view.







One of the most rewarding feelings in any community is supporting a streamer. But, we know that not everyone who wants to contribute can always afford to do so. Now, you can support your favorite streamer without breaking the bank by using Sparks. Earn Sparks just by watching streams, spend them on Skills and help partnered streamers reach milestones that give them real money payouts.





Celebrate and show support with Mixer Embers, a new virtual currency that you can buy and use on high-value Skills. Embers will be a paid currency that goes a step further than Sparks and provides your favorite streamers with direct financial rewards and bigger celebrations.





On other platforms there are really only two forms of status in a streamer’s channel: you’re either a subscriber, or you’re not. But, we all know that this isn’t really a complete picture of someone’s loyalty and value to a streamer’s community. Your status in a community should represent more than just your financial contributions. The Mixer progression system will reward your entire engagement with a streamer’s community and on Mixer as a whole. Level up by participating in chat, using Skills, earning Applause from other users (stay tuned for more details on how Applause works), or simply coming back each day. Show your support for the community, unlock new Skills and stand out from the crowd.



In addition to those three major areas of innovation, we are also continuing to grow and invest in making Mixer a great broadcast and viewing experience with several fundamental improvements to our video capabilities:

• We’re going to turn on automatic bitrate switching. Viewers have varying bandwidth at home or on mobile, and this feature will allow us to provide a more graceful viewing experience as a viewer’s bandwidth fluctuates.
• We’re also providing more options for creators to use FTL streaming on a broader array of streaming software and devices by adding support for ingesting via the RTMP standard.
• Lastly, we’re adding a feature on Mixer to allow viewers to easily report any video-specific issues they see. We’ve seen so much passion from viewers around giving us suggestions to improve, and this will help us troubleshoot specific problems encountered in playing back video.

Today, you can dive into Skills and Sparks Patronage on Mixer. And then in the coming weeks and months, you’ll continue to see new updates, including the addition of Mixer Embers and Progression. We’ll introduce new features and Skills and refine the existing ones based on community feedback, so please share your thoughts with us. Let us know what you love and don’t love. You can check out the FAQ for more info. And stay tuned here on the blog and @WatchMixer on Twitter for future updates.

But right now, head over to Mixer to celebrate the first day of Season 2 with us, launch your first Skill and check out our digital launch celebration. It may be a bit crazy this first week of the Season – we hope so!

Source: Welcome to Season 2 - From the Myxer

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Posted By: Brink
01 Nov 2018