Katt Phloxworthy Ch. FAQ

- General

- Streaming

- Gaming

- Culture and Conduct

- Contacting

- Updates

Here are some generalized frequently-asked questions (FAQs) about me and my general streaming operations.If you do think there should be something in the list that is yet to be there, let me know by way of any of the contacts on my signposting page.Last revised: October 12, 2024

Katt Phloxworthy Ch. FAQ

General

Q: When did you start streaming?
A: I started streaming on November 15, 2020, when the first operational mission of Crew Dragon, Crew-1, launched to the ISS.Q: Where do you stream?
A: I stream mainly on Twitch, though I occasionally stream on YouTube. Lately, I have been simulcasting on both. I had also simulcast on the now-defunct VStream.Q: What do you stream?
A: In addition to streaming the usual gaming streams, I frequently stream spaceflight streams, such as rocket launches as well as major events, such as the landing of the Mars rover Perseverence.I also plan to do tech streams, whether for modern, legacy or vintage technology. I am an IT professional by trade and a computer/network/professional video/television broadcast enthusiast by hobby.Q: What kind of schedule do you have?
A: Schedule? What's that?All joking aside, I presently do not have a set schedule. My work schedule as well as the fact I stream rocket launches make it somewhat difficult to schedule streams.All that said, I will make concerted efforts to create and, more importantly, adhere, to something resembling a schedule.Q: Do you have social media?
A: Yes! Here're my Twitter, Instagram, Threads and TikTok links.Q: I'd love to do some fanart of you. May I?
A: Yes, though I ask that you do not depict me in any compromising situations. If you post your art on Twitter, please use the hashtag #kattpics so I can find them.Q: I'd like to collab with you! How do I contact you?
A: Likewise, I would love to collaborate with you as well! You can contact me in the following ways (in order of preference):

Katt Phloxworthy Ch. FAQ

Streaming (Technical)

Q: Why are there bars/tone/countdown at the head and foot of your streams?
A: This refers to my desire to become a television broadcast engineer when I was younger. The stream is made to resemble a satellite feed from the days of C-band/Ku-band satellites carrying analog video signals. Traditionally, these were used to calibrate VTRs to make sure the material is recorded correctly during downfeed and broadcast correctly during playback. For my stream, it verifies two of PCs involved are working as they should.Q: Um... PCs (particular stress on the "s")?
A: Yes, PCs.I use a total of five PCs to build, render and deliver the stream.They are as follows:

I plan to draw up a diagram and/or shoot a how-to video at some point.For more details on the gear and software this monstrosi... *ahem* arrangement uses, please visit my Gear & Soft page.Q: I managed to figure out that you are streaming at 59.94fps. Why not a full 60?
A: It's part of ATSC, the standard for US terrestrial broadcast television. The framerate is a holdover from analog NTSC video. NTSC was originally a monochrome signal with color added later, which took up about .1% of the full frame rate. PAL and SECAM were designed with color as part of the specification from the outset and run at 25fps with HD variants running at twice the framerate.I figure, if any of you are going to watch on a TV, why not adhere to established standards?Q: What're those "whirring" sounds I hear near the beginning of your streams?
A: Those are Ampex 1" Type C VTRs spinning up and playing video tapes. These machines were used at TV studios and production facilities, taking over from 2" quadruplex VTRs starting in the mid to late 1980s. 1" Type C was later superseded in broadcast stations and studios by formats like Betacam SP, itself based partly on the consumer home video format, Beta(max).Also, in my early adulthood, before I moved out on my own, we got a ten-foot C-band satellite dish from my father's supervisor at his workplace which was, interestingly enough, a TV station. We never got the gear so we could get premium channels like HBO, Cinemax, Showtime or The Movie Channel or other cable channels, like CNN, MTV, or the like. Instead, I mainly watched so-called "wild feeds". An example of which is where production houses would deliver their completed materials over a satellite link so TV stations or networks can record the programming to tape for later rebroadcast. An example in my life was during the final seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I would watch it at the same time the various TV stations were recording it since they got it from the same source, Telstar 301 (I forget the transponder). The net result was I got to see ST:TNG a full week before anyone in Sacramento got to see it.In addition to prerecorded material, wild feeds included live events either in studios or on location are also delivered via satellite. Both live and prerecorded feeds often use the SMPTE color bars to calibrate video levels and chroma phasing to make sure that the video levels are correct and within tolerances and to make sure the chroma, or color, is sent accurately. Audio tones are used as references, like a "do not exceed" level. Countdowns are included so an operator can wind the tape to cue it up for a predetermined start time or to give a floor director to give an on-screen talent time to wrap their speech up before going to a prerecorded segment.This and the overall format of my streams as a television satellite feed tie into both my (currently-under-development) lore and my actual life. When I was younger, I wanted to be a television broadcast engineer. However, my real-life career took a completely different direction, headed to computer/network administration, technical support and general IT.Q: IOS vs iOS?!
A: I use both. The difference is that IOS is a Cisco product, loaded on many of its routers, switches and other equipment. iOS is an Apple product, loaded on iPhones and iPod Touch media players. The OS loaded on iPads is now called iPadOS.Q: How do you pronounce their names?A: This is rather... subjective. Due to both names' using the same letters but different capitalizations, to alleviate confusion, I pronounce them differently.Anyway, here is how I pronounce them:iOS (Apple): "eye-oh-ess"
IOS (Cisco): "EYE-ahss"Q: Do you plan to do vertical streams, like shorts on YouTube?A: Not at present. Presently, I just do not see the point in doing such streams. That said, I may still install Aitum Vertical to play around with it for other purposes, but I don't see any real point to doing vertical streams.

Katt Phloxworthy Ch. FAQ

Gaming

Q: What kind of games do you play?
A: Here's a more generalized list:

I tend to play FPSes, RPGs (especially JRPGs), simulators, and retro games. Some retro games may require me to simulate a DOS setup, for which I'll use DOSBox or DOSBox X depending on various factors.If there's a title you'd like me to try, let me know on my Discord server or on Twitter!Q: Are there any games you WILL NOT play?
A: I will not play any of the following classes of games:

I used to have the following in this list:

More details of recent upgrades I've made are available on the Updates page under the date of 11/20/2022.Q: Why VR?
A: I cannot afford the gear right n...(Looks at Meta Quest 3 on my main PC)(Blushes intensely)More seriously, I got my first VR rig in January 2024 in the form of the abovementioned Quest 3. As of this updated writing (February 16, 2024), I have yet to stream any VR.Q: What's your favorite Pokémon?
A: NEXT QUESTION... *AHEM* Actually, I do like Sprigatito from Pokémon Scarlet/Violet

Non-gaming contentQ: What kind of non-gaming content do you stream or plan to stream?
A: I presently stream spaceflight and technology streams for entertainment and education.I plan to do some hands-on streams which mainly include building electronic kits and the like.And, of course, I do the occasional chat streams. However, I am not the greatest chatter in the world, but I do my best.Q: What kind of non-gaming content will you not stream?
A. Mainly music streams because I do not want to risk raising the ire of any or all the following entities:

Katt Phloxworthy Ch. FAQ

Culture and Conduct

Q: I notice you are asking that I speak in "standard English". What exactly does this mean?
A: I ask that you use standard English because I would rather not have to build a lexicon of streamer jargon or slang that could end up being code for something a little more sinister at worst, and wasting my time at best.That said, however, I do like some of the terms, such as "scuff".Q: You are so poggers! Why can I not say that word on-stream??
A: I appreciate the sentiment, but I would rather you not use this term now or ever in my channel or any venues I "own" or, at the very least, have a "substantial amount of control over".While I realize and concede that the term is very much part of "Twitch culture", I am under absolutely no obligation to welcome it in my channel in whole or in part, like and especially this aspect in particular.That said, I have a few variants of this term blacklisted on my Twitch channel for a couple of reasons:

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((*)DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer.)Q: I noticed that BetterTwitchTV (BTTV) and FrankerFaceZ (FFZ) emotes don't work. What's up?
A: This is deliberate. I do not want Pepe emotes on my stream. Further, I have also added the core BTTV emotes as banned words. The result is that I do not have to see them in my chat on OBS Studio and you cannot use them.I realize that this disables other channels' BTTV/FFZ emotes, a necessary evil. I also realize this will not block other streamers' Affiliate or Partner emotes which may have Pepe in them, so I ask that you not use those emotes.The Pepe the Frog character has been used by anti-Semitic individuals and groups against the author's wishes. I want to foster an environment of inclusiveness, which such abuses of the character do not foster.Again, this goes back to my refusal to accept bits of Twitch culture in my channel, which is entirely my prerogative. Re-enabling these emotes is not planned any time soon and is not open for debate.Furthermore, please do not use the slang that normally puts them on-screen. Again, USE STANDARD ENGLISH!SUMMARY: You only have as much "freedom of speech" as I will allow you to have. It happens to exclude a lot of that which is part of "Twitch culture". It all comes down to what I'm willing to welcome being said in my channel. This is also how "free speech" works in the real world as well, even in the U.S. Constitution. In the Constitution's case, there are types of speech that are not protected even at a very basic level, e.g. libel/slander, sedition, incitement. Basically, there is no such thing as "absolute freedom of speech".

Katt Phloxworthy Ch. FAQ

Contacting

Q: I'd like to get in contact with you about something!
A: All my contact information, including e-mail addresses, are located on my signposting site.Q: Do you have a phone number I may use?
A: Not presently. Should this change, I will add this to the abovementioned signposting site and revise this entry.Q: I'd like to collab with you! How do I contact you?
A: Likewise, I would love to collaborate with you as well! You can contact me in the following ways:

Katt Phloxworthy Ch. FAQ

Trademarks and Brands Disclaimer

Q: You cite the names of a lot of people and companies in your stream's creation! Do they endorse you in any way or do you endorse them?
A: No. Absolutely none of these are endorsements by or of said companies.* They have, however, played some role either in the current makeup of my streaming infrastructure or have served as inspiration of the aesthetics of my stream.Citation of these are simply to indicate who owns these trademarks and brands. Inclusion of said trademarks and brands constitutes in no way any manner of endorsement by or of these companies who own them, whether tacit or explicit.These companies and their registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks include:

This list, while pretty exhaustive, is by no means complete. That said, any registered trademark, trademark, or service mark not specifically cited belongs to its respective owner.

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* At least not yet, anyway (as of June 16, 2024).