OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is a handy streaming software. In this guide, you will learn how to properly set up this utility.
Start over:
Click " Show key". Your key will appear. Copy it and paste it into the line Play Path/Stream Key in OBS.
Let's continue to set up.
Auto reconnect: check the box.
Auto reconnect delay: You can leave the standard value - 10. This figure shows how long the stream will resume if it has turned off for you.
Delay (sec): set the required value. For example, for Dota 2 games, they usually set 2 minutes (120 seconds).
Click "Apply". If red text appears at the bottom, click Optimize.
2.4. Go to the "Video" section.
Set the desired resolution. Frames per second (FPS) - 30.
2.5. Section "Audio".
Everything is simple here. Select the playback device and microphone. The rest of the settings should not be changed.
2.6. Section "Hot keys".
Much to explain, I think, is not worth it. Assign hotkeys as you like. For example, you can set a key to turn the microphone on / off.
2.7. Go to the "Advanced" section.
We will not focus on these settings for a long time. Install as shown in the screenshot below.
3. Now let's start setting up "Scenes" and "Sources".
"Scene" - a profile that contains one or more sources. You can name the game you are going to stream. For example - "Dota 2" or "Overwatch".
Then, for each scene, you need to set up sources.
Example: In the "Dota 2" scene, there will be a source with a capture of the game itself, then a source with your webcam, a source with a team logo, a source with text, etc.
The sources are arranged in this order: the topmost will be in the foreground, and those below in the background. And so in order.
How to add a scene: in the "Scenes" section, right-click -> select "Add Scene". Give the scene a name of your choice. In our case - Dota 2 Click-Storm.
Open Broadcaster Software or OBS (OBS) is a free and open source software designed for streaming (streaming and recording information). The application was released in 2012, and the developer of this application is Hugh Jim Bailey. The program has no distribution restrictions and is used to broadcast multimedia content on the Internet.
You can download OBS for free from the official website or our file portal. The latest version of the program is more stable on the latest version of Windows.
A distinctive feature of this software is its extreme ease of configuration, due to the minimum set of tools designed to directly perform the tasks provided by the program. This approach minimizes the time required for the user to set up the OBS and broadcast the stream, thereby increasing its efficiency compared to competitors. All this allows you to achieve quality indicators and add to the efficiency in performing the task.
OBS itself is just a set of tools, which are written using C and C++ programming languages. The principle of the application is to capture the broadcast source and the transmitting device in real time (this is called streaming).
In addition to this function, the application provides the creation of compositions from scenes, signal encoding, performs the recording function and broadcasts the signal. The data transfer itself is supported by the use of real-time instant messaging protocol. It is this function that allows you to transmit a signal to any point with RTMP support (for example, the well-known YouTube), while the user has access to simple setup for twitch streaming.
Software Options
The developers of the application provided their offspring with a number of options that significantly increase the efficiency of the program. First of all, these are:- Ability to configure the transmitted video and audio signal.
- The function of making changes and prescribing a URL.
- Possibility to change the resolution of the monitor.
- The function of resuming an interrupted broadcast.
Despite the fact that the program can be downloaded for free in Russian, it has significant advantages in comparison with its counterparts. So, thanks to the open source code, everyone can make their own additions and improvements to the application. Download obs for streaming means making the right choice and saving a lot of your time. All updates to the application are posted on the official page of the developer posted on Twitter. The software ensures high quality of the broadcast signal, while creating a minimum load on the operating system.
OBS settings and plugins
Setting up the program is easy, in addition, OBS has a huge number of plugins that allow you to increase the functionality of the application. Thanks to the use of the API, the participants involved in the development of the application can create their own unique plugins, include them in the program, thereby improving it. Such plugins include the ability to use a simple scene switcher, video source or browser, etc.
Open Broadcaster Software can be safely called one of the best software products used to transmit and record multimedia content. Thanks to a simple and accessible interface, free and, of course, effective tools, a large number of users give preference to this particular application, so we recommend downloading OBS for streaming in Russian directly from the link below.
Update: Fresh video on setting up OBS Studio from scratch (basic setup for beginners).
The main window of OBS Studio.
The main functionality of the main window
-(1) Scenes - Sets of sources. For example, you can make a separate scene for each game and different waiting screens.
(2) Sources- This is all that will be displayed on your OBS screen, as well as on the stream. Game, camera, widgets, pictures and more. Each source can be further configured and different filters can be used on it.
(3) Mixer- Adjust the volume of the microphone and sounds. Your audience will hear the difference.
(4) Filters/Properties- In filters, you can adjust noise reduction and microphone gain, as well as much more. In the properties, you can select the necessary devices.
(5) Transitions- Setting the transition between Scenes. Each time you move from one scene to another, a smooth visual transition will be made on the screen according to the settings.
(6) Information- Here you can see the duration of the broadcast / recording, the load on the processor, fps, as well as the bitrate, you can notice Internet drops or other technical problems by the bitrate. The bitrate should always be green. You should also have as little frame loss as possible, ideally zero.
(7) File- Here you can find the folder where the videos are saved, open the settings and use other useless functions.
(8) Profile— This menu allows you to manage your profiles and presets. This is especially useful when you occasionally change streaming services, record videos, or do test streams on an additional channel. Also here you can save and load all your settings, this will come in handy when reinstalling Windows or switching to another computer.
(9) Scene collection— Similar features as in the Profile section, but only aimed at working with scenes.
(10) Screen- The screen displays a preview of your stream along with all the add-ons that you add.
Broadcast settings.
I will not describe in detail each element of the settings, I will only talk about those that you need to successfully launch the stream. Therefore, I don’t touch some windows at all, if you wish, you can make various adjustments to the program settings, but deal with this yourself as you study the program.
Settings > Broadcasting.
Broadcast type- Choose a ready type from the list. For example Twitch for live streaming or Restream.io for restreaming. A custom broadcast service will target those servers that are not in the list, for example, to your personal server created with Nginx.
Server- The server to which your broadcast will be carried out. Use the program JTVPing or analogues (search in Google), in order to check to which server you have the best ping, this greatly affects the quality of the broadcast.
Stream key— Identifier of your account to which broadcasts will be made. If you're streaming live on Twitch, you can find the key by going to Dashboard > Settings > Stream Key. If you stream on Restream.io or a similar service, then take the broadcast key from it, and connect all your other accounts to it.
Setup > Output.
encoder- We put x264 is the encoding through the processor. You can still encode through a video card, but I do not advise. Most likely the quality will be much worse, but you can try. Personally, on my old card (GTX 660ti), the image was all in smeared squares.
Rescale Output- put 1280x720. This is the standard resolution for Twitch. Of course, you can stream in 1920x1080, but firstly, this is a huge load on the computer, secondly, most people watch streams in a window and will not notice much difference, thirdly, you will have to increase the bitrate, and this can cause lags for people with weak Internet. You say well they can lower the quality in the settings, most people want to watch at maximum and not lower anything. In addition, the reduced quality for them will most likely be worse than it could be with standard broadcast settings.-
Bitrate control- The default variant is CBR, this variant is recommended by Twitch. I personally didn’t understand the types of bitrate, I read articles, but I still didn’t really understand the difference. On the old computer, I constantly had problems streaming through CBR, so I turned it off in the old OBS. If you have problems with sub-submissions from viewers and so on, then the bitrate type is one of the things you can try to change and test the results.
Bitrate— Twitch recommends use a bitrate between 3000 and 6000 kbps. When streaming at 1280x720, I use a bitrate of 3500-4000, I think it makes no sense to set it higher. If you increase the resolution, then you need to increase the bitrate. The minimum bitrate on streams is 2000-2500, lower will be quite sad.
Keyframe interval- 2 seconds. Recommended by Twitch.
CPU Usage Preset- Responsible for the quality of the image on the broadcast. The lower the parameter is in the list, the greater the load on the processor and the better the quality of the broadcast. Initially, it costs Veryfast, this is the standard that should be used. If you have a good computer, then you can set slower settings, personally, I now try to stream on fast-medium.
Variable Frame Rate (VFR)- As with other types of bitrate, I could not fully figure it out. Personally, I put this checkbox, it seems to me that a variable frequency can smooth out some kind of lag or the like. In general, see for yourself whether to install it or not, as it is by default, it's better to leave it.
Settings > Video.
Base Resolution- your primary resolution
output resolution- the resolution that will be rescaled and displayed on the stream. I recommend 1280x720.
Zoom filter- Bilinear by default. In theory, the steeper the filter, the better the quality of the broadcast. I searched for information about this and basically people wrote that it gives almost nothing, except for extra load.
Total FPS- The standard is 30 FPS, if you have a good computer and can afford to stream at 60 FPS, then this will be a great improvement for your broadcast. Streaming at 60 FPS only makes sense if you have at least 60 FPS in your games while streaming.
Scenes, sources and adding various elements.
You can see what a fully configured OBS Studio window looks like with a description of all elements, widgets, etc. in one of my articles. You can also find more detailed information on specific widgets and settings. In this article, I will just briefly describe the possibilities of adding various sources.
First of all, you need to add a scene, for example, name it "HearthStone". Already inside this scene, you begin to add various elements that will be displayed together on the screen. Thus the scene is a set of Sources. This is done on purpose so that you can switch between different sets of sources depending on what you are streaming.
You can move each source in the list by giving it a certain priority, so the sources will overlap each other depending on the priority. This is important enough, all pop-up notifications like donations, subs and other things should always be at the very top so that they are not blocked by other interface fragments. Some fragments can, for example, be shoved with the edges behind the webcam, if they are on top of the camera, then it will no longer be beautiful.
OBS Studio has added the ability to apply various filters to sources. There are a lot of such filters and why most of them are needed for me is not yet clear. For example, I often use a filter that allows you to change the transparency of an element. In addition to sources, filters can also be applied to sound and other elements of the broadcast.
By adding a source to the screen, you can resize it, rotate it, move it around the screen, align it, and so on. A rather obscure possibility to crop windows by holding down the ALT key and pulling the corner of the window. If some elements stop working, then try disabling them and re-enabling them or clicking properties and then ok. If you have pictures, gifs and other files that are used in OBS stored on your computer, then make sure that the path to them is unchanged, otherwise they will not be displayed.
List of possible sources.
BrowserSource- With the help of this source, all interactive services work. Any alerts, information from various sites, chats and so on. You need to insert a special link into the properties of this source. This link can usually be found in the same place where you set up the widget you need.
Capturing the input audio stream- Didn't understand. Most likely, if you have advanced sound settings and many different sound streams are going on, then you can add which ones will specifically go to the stream and which ones will not. But it is not exactly.
Capturing the output audio stream- Didn't understand.
Game capture- The most standard option for capturing a game is capturing a separate window, select the game from the list when it is already running. You can also check the "Use an anti-cheat compatible interceptor" checkbox, in some cases this checkbox helps to capture a game that has not been captured before.
Window capture- You can capture any window, including the game. Use this method if the game is not captured in the standard way.
Screen capture- You can capture any of your monitor screens. You can also capture the game in this way, but most likely there will be quality problems.
Image- You can upload any pictures and then apply filters to them.
Media source- Personally, I have not used this source yet, but I can assume that it can be used to launch various animations, gifs, and so on from a computer or the Internet. Well, it goes without saying that you can set it up in different ways. For example, you can probably make dynamic advertising for your social networks.
Slide show- You select a set of images and they are displayed one by one on the screen with the specified parameters.
Scene- You can add another scene to the current scene. In this way, you can make various cool screen designs and transitions.
Text (GDI+)- Text that you can add to the screen with a large number of different settings, it is also possible to add text from files, this function is necessary to work with Stream Labs.
Video capture device- Webcam. There seems to be an unlimited number of active cameras. I'm not sure, but perhaps not only the camera works through this source, in one of the guides for setting up the console for streaming through a capture card, a person added an image from the console using a video capture device.
Background color- I don't know what it's for. You can just add a background. In my opinion, the same thing can be done by adding a regular picture and stretching it to full screen.
By the way, I saw a rather cool thing in XSplit, where you could use a certain source to turn the screen into a drawing panel and draw directly on top of the image, well, or under certain elements, setting the right priorities. I hope OBS Studio will also have such a thing.
So, you have built a decent computer for yourself, learned the Tao of Dota 2 mid-laner and decided to start your first broadcast. Or comment on someone's match. Of course, on Twitch.tv.
Congratulations, you have just plunged into an incredibly turbulent river with a steep channel and a bunch of pitfalls for the first time. Fortunately, tricky questions like broadcasting with a green screen or commenting on major events can be dealt with later, but for now you can deal with basic problems.
For example, choosing the optimal bitrate.
We offer you a translation of the blog of one of the commentators of the Moonduck.TV studio Pimpmuckl, dedicated to the basic settings of the Dota 2 stream.
Bitrate is the most important aspect of a stream. We will try to squeeze out the highest possible quality for you.
First of all, you need to download the quality tester for your traffic from Twitch.tv from the Team Liquid website. We launch the program and remove all regions from the test, except for the “home” one. A test for Europe, for example, would look like this:
Great, now we choose a server with the best bitrate / quality, take its test results and subtract 500kbps from them. The resulting figure is recorded as the “maximum bitrate”. In short - max-bitrate.
If you have managed to become a partner of Twitch.tv (for example, you are broadcasting a tournament), then you can safely set the same max-bitrate as "maximum bitrate" already in the settings of your streamer program (for example, Open Broadcaster Software > Settings > Encoding ). One caveat: it makes no sense to set more than 3,500 kbps for the simple reason that Twitch will not let such a large stream through.
If you don't have partner status, your ceiling is 2,500. Beyond this border, the stream will begin to lag.
You should also think about your target audience. There are regions on the globe where the Internet is not as good as in some Moscow, and if the main viewers of some local event do not have a connection faster than 2Mbps, then it’s better to “calm down” your stream to 1,500kbps to save the audience from buffering.
Permission
We will set the video resolution based on the bitrate:
- 500-1,000 kbps: 480p 30fps
- 1,000–1,500: 540p 30fps
- 1,500-2,000: 720p 30fps
- 2,000-3,500: 720p 60fps
- 3,500: 900p 60fps
We remind you that now we are talking about the Dota 2 broadcast. Do not even try to set CS:Go or Overwatch 900p60 or any other FPS on the stream.
720p 60fps is the gold standard to aim for. And the quality will be good, and any devices like Chromecast will have no problems with the transfer of such a stream.
All sorts of little things
In the "advanced settings" of OBS, you can additionally play around with optimization. For example, tweak the x264 CPU preset by changing the default value from veryfast to fast. This, roughly speaking, will give an increase in video quality due to the greater load on the CPU.
True, in 90% of cases it is still better to stay on veryfast and play with this parameter only if your computer has a very good processor.
Another trick for owners of GCN AMD CPUs: put opencl=true in the advanced settings, and the system will start working a little faster.
Nota bene: never check the box next to "Encode in Full Range". Previously, this option was needed, as some programs like VLC could incorrectly display colors in the video, but now this problem does not exist at all.
If your computer does not have a very powerful processor, you can change the "Encoder" parameter. NVENC/AMD VCE load the computer much less, however, in this case, you will have to sacrifice the quality of the video stream. Installing Intel QuickSync also makes sense: in terms of stream quality, this option noticeably outperforms the previous two, but still falls short of x264.
And finally, for gamers playing on a map with a modified landscape (recall again, we are talking about Dota 2), it is better to switch to a standard map on relatively weak PCs. The landscape from the latest The International's Battle Pass will choke any attempt at streaming on a budget PC.
True, if your hardware can handle this landscape, the x264 encoded video stream will turn out even a little better in quality. The point is that the Battle Pass arena itself is very light, and at x264 bright colors "weigh" less in bitrate/quality than dark tones. Accordingly, a “light” stream will look neater than a “dark” stream with the same bitrate.
However, my main choice is still the default landscape.
Properly configuring OBS is not as difficult as it might seem. But if you have difficulties, then read our detailed guide.
Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is the most popular program for streaming on twitch. It is free, has good functionality and allows you to make high-quality streams - what else is needed for happiness?
Getting started setting up OBS for streaming on Twitch
It is best to download the program from the official website https://obsproject.com/, and not look somewhere on torrents and file exchangers. So it is more reliable and guaranteed, you will install a clean program without unnecessary viruses and other dirt.
After installation, we begin the initial setup process. To do this, select the item "Settings -> Settings" in the top menu.
General settings
Here we select the interface language and add a profile for broadcasting. Profile - will store all settings. In fact, we are setting up a profile. Accordingly, there can be several profiles with different settings. This is convenient in order not to change all the settings in the future, but simply switch the profile to the desired one.
Multiple profiles can come in handy if you plan to periodically stream to different platforms, not just Twitch.
Coding
One of the most important items in the settings. It is from these values that the quality of the picture and sound on the stream will depend in the future.
Twitch has been requiring streamers to set a constant bitrate for a long time, so both CBR checkboxes must be active.
Depending on what stream resolution you plan to set, you need to enter the bitrate value. Twitch recommends setting the following values:
- 1080p: 3000-3500
- 720p: 1800-2500
- 480p: 900-1200
- 360p: 600-800
- 240p: up to 500
The buffer size must be the same value as the bitrate. Keep in mind that the higher the bitrate, the better the picture will be on the stream, but at the same time there will be more load on your computer, the network and the computers of viewers. Not all viewers have enough internet to normally watch a 1080p stream with the maximum bitrate. Therefore, this indicator needs to be tested.
Audio encoding is better to use AAC and bitrate within 64-128. This is recommended by Twitch and again we believe him.
Broadcast
Everything is quite simple here. We select the mode “Live”, the service is “Twitch / Justin.tv”, it is better to choose the closest server, but here you need to test and watch. Not always the geographically closest server will show the best results.
Always leave auto-reconnect enabled. It is recommended to set the auto-reconnect delay in the range of 5-10, but everyone sets 10 and the norms.
The delay is a cool thing if you're playing a game and don't want your opponents to burn something important. For example, when playing DotA, it is common to set a delay for the duration of the wards, so that opponents who will quietly shoot the stream do not see where the wards are. But then look and decide for yourself whether to do so or not. Considering that the delay is set in seconds, so if you need to set a delay of 5 minutes, you need to write 300 in this field.
Also pay attention to all the lines that OBS writes in red. There are some great tips and comments there.
You can set the rest of the settings as you wish - they do not affect the quality of the stream. For example, you can additionally save the stream to your computer, this will ensure that the stream is saved, because anything happens on Twitch and the record can be deleted. Therefore, if you, in addition to streaming recordings, then upload them to YouTube, it is better to check this box and save everything on your computer. You can always remove the excess.
Video
Here you need to choose the resolution and frame rate for your broadcast, which will reach the audience. You need to rely on the quality of your hardware and Internet connection. Optimal are 720p and 1080p at 60fps. If even 720p lags at 60 frames per second, then set it to 30 frames, the picture will be very good, but still not perfect.
It is better to never enable scaling, as this cuts the quality very much.
Audio
An important section for beginners, because very often on their streams everyone complains not so much about the quality of the video, but about the quality of the sound. So let's try to figure out what to do. So.
We select the device for sound playback (speakers, speakers or your headphones) and a microphone.
Further, if you want the sound to be recorded from the microphone not constantly, but only at the moments when you press a key, check the necessary checkbox and in the field to the right of it, select the key that will do this. You can choose 2 different keys, but it makes little sense.
NiG delay allows you to record audio to a buffer, rather than broadcast it immediately online. This is necessary if the Internet is not very good for you, and the audience complains that the endings of phrases are simply cut off. Here it is best to increase gradually by 100 ms, if the problem is serious and test.
The keys to turn on / off the microphone and sound are understandable.
Default apps amplification 1. You need to increase or decrease this value if you want the stream to also have sound not only from the game and microphone, but also from other applications. For example, from Skype or some music playing in the background. With amplification, you need to carefully, increase by 1 and look. A strong increase will make it much louder, but can also distort the sounds a lot, reducing the quality.
Microphone gain - the same as the previous one, only for your microphone.
Offset allows you to eliminate out of sync in audio and video. Need to test. Someone plays without, someone, on the contrary, without this setting, gets a bad stream. Test, verify, tweak.
Please note that the changed parameters will be used only on the next run. Accordingly, if there are any problems with the sound, then simply changing something in the settings will not work. For them to take effect, you will have to restart the stream. Therefore, it is better to first practice and set everything up well, and then go with your stream to the masses.
Advanced settings
An important point, but here, ideally, leave almost everything by default. Multi-threaded optimization is set to active, buffering time is 400 ms (this is a Twitch requirement). The process priority is Medium.
The default x264 CPU preset is best left to veryfast. But, if you have a very powerful top-end processor, then you can lower this value. The quality of the stream will increase, but the load on the CPU will also increase significantly.
Keyframe interval - 2 (Twitch requirement). CFR ticked. The rest can be left untouched.
Someone check the box to fit the sound to the timing of the video, but this is rather optional and not necessary. It is needed only if the sound is far behind or ahead of the picture.
noise gate
Here you can set the limits in which the microphone will work and perceive sound. This allows you to filter out unnecessary sounds and noises that can get into the stream (noise from neighbors, sounds from the street, etc.). You need to test and adjust for yourself, because they stream with different emotions and, accordingly, different sound indicators.
Setting up OBS to stream on Twitch
This completes the basic OBS setup. Further, in order for the streamer to turn out to be normal, you also need to make a scene and , but this is another story and will be discussed in another article. If you have any questions - ask in the comments.
