OBS Studio Overview

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This guide assumes you already have a basic knowledge of streaming services and streaming
terminology, and aims to give you a quick overview of the most important options and features in
OBS Studio. However, even if you don't have any previous experience, don't be discouraged! This
guide can still be very useful. It may seem like a lot to take in all at once; just take your time and read
carefully.

This guide is broken into these main sections:

Quickstart

Settings

Scenes and Sources

Filters

Studio Mode

Testing/Finishing up

Resource Links
Quickstart

Getting started with OBS Studio is relatively simple, with only a few steps needed before you're on
your way to creating content.

Select your Streaming Service in Settings -> Stream, and enter your stream key information. If you
are only going to be recording, you can ignore this step.

Select your Base (Canvas) and Output (Scaled) resolutions and FPS in Settings -> Video. The Base
(Canvas) should be set to your primary monitor's resolution by default, and this is usually safe to
leave alone. Output (Scaled) is the resolution that the stream or recording will be output as. For
most cases, we recommend starting with 720p (1280x720) at 30 FPS as the starting point.

Set your streaming bitrate or recording quality in Settings -> Output:

For Streaming, set the bitrate you wish to stream at. Recommended for 720p 30 FPS is 2500. If your
internet cannot support this much bitrate, you may need to downscale resolution further to
accommodate a lower bitrate.

For Recording, select a Recording Quality from the dropdown menu. Indistinguishable Quality is our
recommended starting point. If you have an available hardware encoder (NVENC, QSV, or AMF), you
can select that here as well.

Add your Scenes and Sources for the content you wish to stream or record.

Click on Start Stream or Start Recording, and enjoy!

Settings

OBS Settings Window

Overall, most settings will be fairly self-explanatory. This will not cover everything, but will be an
overview of the basics and what you can do in each section.

General

Change theme (light/dark)

Enable automatic recording while streaming

Enable/disable system tray icon (required for hiding to tray)

Show confirmation for starting/stopping streams

Enable/Disable Source snapping

Enable/Disable automatically record when streaming

Stream

Select one of the included Services (Check "Show all services" to see the full list in the dropdown) or
set Custom Streaming Server

Select the server (or enter its URL for Custom Streaming Servers)

Enter your Streamkey

Output

Note: This section covers Simple output mode. Advanced output mode gives you further options to
configure your Stream and Recording independently if you want to. We will not be covering
advanced options in this guide (see links at the end). Generally, unless you know why you need to
change it, the default options are recommended.

For Streaming:

Set your Video Bitrate. This changes according to your upload speed and the limitations of the
service you use (for example, 6000kbps max for Twitch.tv)

Set your Audio Bitrate. Around 160kbps for streaming, or lower if you have a low upload speed

For Recording:

Set your Recording Path

Record using a preset (Same as stream, High Quality, Indistinguishable Quality, and Lossless) and a
different Encoder (if available)

Select a Hardware Encoder if available (only if you use a different preset than "same as stream" and
if a Hardware Encoder is available)[QuickSync, NVENC or AMD VCE]

Encoder option will not show up until you select a recording quality other than Same as stream
Enable the Replay Buffer (hotkey to save the buffer must be set under the Hotkeys section)

Audio

Change the Sampling Rate

Select up to two Desktop Audio Device's

Select up to three Microphone/Auxiliary Device's

Enable Push-to-mute or Push-to-talk for each device (keys configured in the Hotkeys section)

Video

Base (Canvas) Resolution

This is the amount of space you have to fit your sources. You usually want this to match your
monitor display resolution, or if you are playing games, the game resolution. Default is your primary
monitor.

Output (Scaled) Resolution should be the Stream Output Resolution (720p,480p,etc)

This is the resolution that the stream/recording will output at, using the selected downscale filter. If
you have 1080p sources, but want to stream at 720p, this is where you would set that.

Common FPS Value should match your desired output FPS (30/60 for example)

Note that 60fps streaming can be very taxing on your system compared to 30fps. Test ahead of time
and ensure your system has enough resources available.

Hotkeys

Here you can set hotkeys that do a variety of things. Some examples:

Start/Stop Streaming/Recording

Hide/Show Sources

Switch to a specific Scene

Push-to-talk/Push-to-mute

Capture active window for Game Capture

Start/Stop/Save Replay Buffer

Advanced

Most of these settings should not be changed unless you understand exactly why you need to
change them. However, some settings can be useful for new streamers, such as:

Change the Filename Formatting (or use folders: %CCYY%MM%DD%hh-%mm-%ss = 2016 \ 07 \ 10 \

12:35:25.flv)

Hover over the field for a popup that explains each available variable for naming

Activate Stream Delay

Configure Automatic Reconnect

Do not touch anything else in Advanced unless you absolutely know what you're doing. Really, we
mean it. If you have questions, search around or hop in the support chat and ask!

Scenes and Sources

Scenes and Source

Scenes and Sources are the meat of OBS Studio. These are where you set up your stream layout, add
your games, webcams, and any other devices or media that you want in the output.

Right click in the box under Scenes (or use the plus at the bottom) to add a scene if there are none
listed yet. You can create as many Scenes as you want, and name them to easily distinguish between
them. For example: Welcome, Desktop, Game, Break, End. The arrow buttons can be used to change
the order. As an important note, all Scenes and Sources are global in OBS Studio, so they can not
share a name. This means if you name a source Game, you can't have a Scene with the name Game.

Once you have created a Scene, right click in the Sources box (or use the plus at the bottom) to add
what ever you want to capture. Whether it's a specific window, a capture card or game, image, text
or your entire display that you want to capture, there are several different sources available in OBS
Studio for you to choose from. Try them out!

Sources List
You can re-align sources in the preview and change their order by using drag and drop in the list, or
using the up and down arrow buttons. A Source that is listed above another Source in the list will be
on top and might hide what's beneath it. This can also be useful for situations where you want
something on top of another source, like a webcam to show over your game play. Any time you see
an eye icon, you can click it to show or hide the associated item with it (this applies to filters as well)

Visible: Visible

Hidden: Hidden

When a Source is selected in the Sources list, you will see a red box that shows up around it. This is
the bounding box, and can be used to position sources within the preview as well as make the
source larger or smaller.

Source with bounding box

If you need to crop a source, hold the Alt key and drag the bounding box. The edges will change to
green to show it's being cropped. You can see both techniques being used here to crop and enlarge
only the part of the screen we want to show:

Cropped Source

If you later on change the Base (Canvas) Resolution of OBS Studio, you will have to re-align or re-size
the sources. Changing the Output (Scaled) Resolution does not have this effect.

The following Hotkeys are available in the preview to tweak the source position and size:

Hold CTRL to disable Source/Edge snapping

Hold ALT to enable cropping

CTRL+F for fit to Screen

CTRL+S for stretch to Screen

CTRL+D for center to Screen

CTRL+R to reset a source size/position

You can also right-click each source in the list to access further options. This is also how you access
filters, which is discussed in the very next section!

Right Click Menu

Edit Transform menu:

Transform Menu

Filters

Filters Window

Filters can be added to each Source/Audio Device, and even to a Scene. You add a filter by right-
clicking onto the desired Source or Scene in the list, and then selecting Filters. For Audio devices,
click the little cogwheel next to the volume bar in the Audio Mixer and select Filters. Clicking the eye
icon next to an added filter will enable/disable that filter, similar to showing/hiding a source. See the
OBS Studio Filters Guide link for a more in-depth guide on Filters and their specific function.

List of Effect Filters:

Image Mask/Blend

Crop/Pad

Color Correction

Scaling/Aspect Ratio

Scroll

Color Key
Sharpen

Chroma Key

List of Audio/Video Filters:

Gain

Video Delay (not available for Window, Display, or Game Capture)

Noise Suppression

Noise Gate

Studio Mode

Studio Mode

Studio mode can be a bit confusing. First, let's understand what the purpose of Studio mode is.

Activating Studio Mode allows you to change your Scenes in the background without your viewers
being able to see you making those changes. After you click on the Studio Mode button, you will see
the current Live Scene (what your viewers see) on the right while your edit Scene on the left.

After you are done editing the Scene you can click on "Transition" (or use a Quick Transition/Hotkey
if you added one) to swap the left and right, making the Scene you were editing the live Scene. If you
are changing Scenes, the last active Scene will be shown in the edit area on the left. After you are
done with everything and transitioned to the changed Scene, you can deactivate Studio Mode until
you need to edit again. Viewers cannot see when Studio Mode is enabled or not.

Scene Transitions

Some Transitions in OBS Studio are available from the first launch: Fade and Cut Transition. You can
add more using the plus button in the Scene Transitions section. Currently Swipe, Slide, Fade to
color, and Luma Wipe (with several wipe options) are available. More may come in the future.

You can switch the currently active Transition with the drop-down menu and change its duration.
After you have configured a Transition, you can also add it as a Quick Transition in Studio Mode. For
Quick Transitions, you can configure the duration(length) of the transition as well. For example, you
can add the same Fade to your Quick Transitions Menu with 500ms and 1000ms if you wanted. Also,
you could configure a Swipe left and a Swipe right transition, then add them both as Quick
Transitions and use them to first swipe left in your Scene A to change Scene B, and then swipe right
back to your newly configured Scene B when you are done.

Testing

There are many more options and functions inside OBS Studio, but I hope you got a good idea of the
different things that are possible with this great tool.

Test, test, test!

Now it's time to start testing! Are the settings working? Is the stream running smooth? Are all your
Scenes configured how you want them? It's strongly recommended that you test everything as best
as you can before starting your first live stream. This can help work out any kinks or performance
issues you might be having ahead of time, and save the embarrassment of any issues on the stream
itself.

If you have problems, start a thread in the Support section of the forums. Be sure to include a log
file. Alternately, you can join our community chat to get live help from community volunteers.

If you want more control over your Recording settings or want to record multiple audio tracks,
switch the Output Mode to Advanced and check out this guide: High quality recording and multiple
Audio Tracks

Resource Links

Advanced local recording guide

Video guide for OBS Studio

Buffering issues
CPU overload/High Encoding issues

Dropped Frame issues

Laptop troubleshooting

In-depth filters guide

Enabled CoreAudio encoder for better audio quality

Original guide created by Jack0r, edits/updates by Fenrir

Note: This guide is a work in progress, and any updates/contributions are very welcome!

OBS Studio Filters Guide

Joel Bethke edited this page 10 days ago · 3 revisions

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OBS Studio Filters Guide

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Using Xcode

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In OBS Studio we have the ability to add filters to our Sources, Scenes and even our Audio Devices.
The following filters are available in OBS Studio 18.0.1:

Scene and Source Filters

Image Mask/Blend

Crop
Color Correction

Scroll

Color Key

LUT Filter

Sharpen

Chroma Key

Audio Device Filters

Gain

Noise Gate

Noise Suppression

Compressor

VST Plugin

You can add them by right-click your desired Scene, Source or Device and selecting "Filters" (for
Audio Devices, click on the gear icon next to your device). But let me explain what the different
filters allow you to do.

Scene and Source Filters

Image Mask/Blend

Image Mask

The Image Mask/Blend filter gives us the option to use the Color or Alpha Channel of an Image as a
Mask or to Blend an Image (multiply, addition, subtraction) over your Scene or Source. This can be
used to give your webcam a round border for example: Image Mask Example

Crop

Crop Filter
The crop filter should explain itself but in short it lets you cut off the top/left/right/bottom of your
source/scene to only show the parts you want.

Color Correction

Color Correction Filter

Again, the name says it all. You can change the contrast, brightness and gamma of your source and
even provide a color overlay.

Scroll

Scroll Filter

The scroll filter gives us the ability to give our text for example a scrolling effect, left-to-right and top-
to-bottom. Negative and positive values will change the direction in which your source will scroll and
you can limit the height and width if necessary.

Color Key and Chroma Key

Color Key:

Color Key Filter

Chroma Key:

Chroma Key Filter

Both the Color Key and Chroma Key filter can be used to remove a certain color of your source and
make it transparent. This can be used for green screens and similar stuff. They behave slightly
differently, so you will need to experiment and see which works best for your personal use case.

LUT Filter

This filter allows you to apply a LUT to your video sources.

Sharpen

Sharpen Filter

The sharpen filter should explain itself as well, if you feel your webcam input for example is a bit
blurred and you want to improve the overall sharpness a bit, add the filter and test with different
values.

Audio Device Filters

Gain

For very quiet audio sources you can add some gain to increase the volume using this filter.

Noise Gate

The Noise Gate allows you to cut off all background noise while you are not talking. Select a close
threshold above the noise volume and an open threshold slightly below your voice input to get good
results.

Noise Suppression
The Noise Suppression filter can be used to remove mild background noise or white noise that may
be in any of your audio sources. While this is generally not effective at large amounts of background
noise (i.e. in a loud room) it can be quite effective at reducing things like PC fan noise or other
environmental noises.

Compressor

A compressor is very useful if your input (usually a microphone) is tuned for a normal volume, but
can sometimes spike to much louder levels, such as impromptu shouting or getting into a heated
discussion. It will automatically turn down the input's volume so that it doesn't peak, which can
cause distortion and other audio artifacting, and then turn it back up once the volume is back to
normal.

In order, the sliders do the following:

Ratio: The amount of compression to apply. For example, 2:1 will be a weak compression (this
translates to an audio level 6dB above the threshold will be 3dB above after the compression), while
6:1 will be a much stronger compression.

Threshold: Once the input reaches this volume, the compressor will kick in.

Attack: How quickly, in milliseconds, you want the compressor to kick in when it detects high
volumes.

Release: How quickly, in milliseconds, you want the compressor volume to return to normal once
loud volumes calm down.

Output gain: This acts similarly to the standalone [Gain Filter](#Gain Filter). When you compress a
signal, usually it ends up quieter, so you apply make-up gain to compensate and bring the overall
volume of the source back up.

VST Plugin

OBS Studio supports many VST2.x plugins. Adding a VST plugin is as simple as adding any other audio
filter, but there are some limitations. VST1.x, VST3.x, MIDI control/input in VST plugins, and shell VST
plugins are not supported at this time. We have not tested all plugins, and some VST plugins may
cause crashes. Make sure you save and back up any settings to avoid loss of data when
experimenting with VST.
Lastly, always keep an eye on CPU usage, some VST plugins can be very CPU hungry!

OBS Studio will search for plugins in the following locations:

Windows (*.dll)

C:/Program Files/Steinberg/VstPlugins/

C:/Program Files/Common Files/Steinberg/Shared Components/

C:/Program Files/Common Files/VST2

C:/Program Files/Common Files/VSTPlugins/

C:/Program Files/VSTPlugins/

macOS (*.vst)

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/

~/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST/

Linux (*.so and *.o)

/usr/lib/vst/

/usr/lib/lxvst/

/usr/lib/linux_vst/

/usr/lib64/vst/

/usr/lib64/lxvst/

/usr/lib64/linux_vst/

/usr/local/lib/vst/

/usr/local/lib/lxvst/

/usr/local/lib/linux_vst/

/usr/local/lib64/vst/

/usr/local/lib64/lxvst/

/usr/local/lib64/linux_vst/

~/.vst/
~/.lxvst/

NOTE: If the user has set the VST_PATH environmental variable, OBS will ignore the other search
locations and just use the locations listed in VST_PATH.

A short list of free plugins that were used to develop and test the VST support in OBS Studio can be
found below. Your experiences may differ, but these are the ones we know have been tested to
work in our environments:

http://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/

https://www.meldaproduction.com/download/plugins

Untested, but highly reviewed:

https://varietyofsound.wordpress.com/

http://www.vst4free.com/index.php?dev=Kjaerhus_Audio

In the future more filters will be added to OBS Studio, so always keep an eye out for the next update
of the software.

Original guide by Jack0r, updates/edits by Fenrir and the #obs-dev team

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Troubleshooting Guide

Joel Bethke edited this page an hour ago · 4 revisions

Pages 6

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Install Instructions

OBS Studio Filters Guide

OBS Studio Overview

Troubleshooting Guide

Using Xcode

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https://github.com/jp9000/obs-studio.wiki.git

Clone in Desktop

This section will be updated as new troubleshooting guides become available. See the table of
contents for the planned topics and progress. If you have any suggestions or ideas for further topics,
join us in #obsproject on irc.quakenet.org.

Table of Contents

Completed Sections:

Dropped Frames/Connection Issues

Stream Buffering/Lag

Laptop Performance/Black Screen

Work in Progress:

Source Capture Issues/black screen

Audio Capture Issues

USB Device Issues

Encoding Issues

Dropped Frames and General Connection Issues

This guide contains every piece of dropped frames / disconnect / network related advice we can
give. If you really truly honestly super duper actually 100% tried everything in this guide (including
replacing hardware), and you still have issues then the problem is somewhere along the route
between you and whichever server you are trying to stream to. In this case, there will not be
anything you can do to resolve the issue as an end user, and it is recommended that you contact
your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Also, please note that dropped frames are near impossible to be
caused by OBS itself. This means if you just updated and you're seeing dropped frames, they are not
related, even if you think they are.
"Dropped frames" means that your connection to the server isn't stable, or you can't keep up with
your set bitrate. Because of this, the program was forced to drop some of the video frames in order
to compensate. If you drop too many frames, you may be disconnected from the streaming server.
Again, dropped frames are nearly impossible to be caused by OBS itself. You may also have
connection problems such as random disconnections due to firewall / anti-virus / security software,
routers, etc. This guide covers the most common solutions to these issues.

Try changing servers

If you think the issue is not with your connection speed, the first thing you should do when trying to
diagnose a dropped frames/disconnection issue is to try other ingest servers to see if you can get a
stable connection. Sometimes the server you are trying to stream to is having an off day or is
overloaded when you are trying to stream. Switching another server will resolve many dropped
frames/connection issues. Just because the server you have selected is the "closest" to you, or pings
the best to you, does not mean it will give you the best connection. In fact, there have been times
where Europeans have found US servers most reliable to stream though. So give a wide variety of
servers a try, and make sure you try several servers, not just one or two before you give up.

TWITCH.TV USERS: You can use this tool to find the server that you have the best bandwidth to, and
the max bit rate you can stream to that server at. For the best results, set Duration to Medium and
uncheck any regions you're not in. After the test runs, look for the server with the highest quality
rating. If two or more are tied, use the one with the most bitrate. Note that a quality score of at least
80 is the general baseline for a stable stream. TwitchTest can be downloaded here

Try lowering bitrate

The next thing to do is lower bitrate until the dropped frames stop. Network conditions aren't
always the same from day to day, and what worked yesterday isn't guaranteed to work today.
Sometimes there's just not much else you can do except lower bitrate to compensate for the poor
connection at the given time.

Don't stream over wireless

In many cases, wireless connections can cause issues because of their unstable nature. Streaming
really requires a stable connection. Often wireless connections are fine, but if you have problems,
then we are going to be very unlikely to be able to help you diagnose it if you're on a wireless just
because it adds yet another variable. We recommend streaming on wired connections.

Try another streaming service (Just as a test)

It can be helpful to try a different streaming service just to make sure the issue isn't with the
provider you're trying to use. For example, if you are having connection problems with Twitch.tv, try
streaming on YouTube.com or Hitbox.tv to see if you have the same issues. If the issues disappear,
the problem might be with the streaming service. If the problem remains, then the issue is more
likely with your connection in general.

Check your firewall / router

If you are getting disconnected and you've already tried other servers, then another thing to check is
your firewall/router/antivirus software and make sure that they're not interfering with the
connection. If you suspect the problem is your firewall/router, make sure outbound TCP port
number 1935 (the default port used for RTMP, but note that your service may use a different port) is
allowed. Note that you do NOT need to use any kind of port-forwarding to stream.

Check your anti-virus / internet security software

In some cases, anti-virus or firewall / security software can be a cause. You can usually temporarily
disable it or add an exception for obs32.exe/obs64.exe to check to see whether it's the problem. If
disabling it works, simply add an exception for obs32.exe/obs64.exe to your anti-virus and then re-
enable it. (The process for adding an exception will vary, you will have to find out from the vendor's
website or Google on how to do so. Remember to add exceptions for both 32 bit and 64 bit versions
of OBS).

Check bundled network software

In rare cases, some software/drivers/programs claiming to "optimize" or "enhance" your network

connection can actually cause more problems. Try uninstalling any extra software / drivers related to
your network card other than the core driver that needs to be installed for Windows. Avoid using
any "optimization" or "tweak" programs. Certain network cards come with custom configuration
utilities (most notably Killer Networks) that can cause issues and need to be removed for a drivers
only install.

Speed Testing

Speed tests are a very rough estimate - they mean very little with regards to streaming. Just because
a speed test says you have 5Mb/s upload doesn't mean you can upload to anything at a stable
5Mb/s. That's just not how the internet works unfortunately. You're never guaranteed to be able to
maintain a stable connection to a server if the server or routing points to the server are unstable.
Your "stable" bitrate is more likely about 70-75% of your "estimated" speed test upload (and that's
only if you're not being throttled). If anything, a speed test will tell you the theoretical maximum
speed that you could stream at under perfectly ideal conditions, but conditions are never perfect.

Update Network Adapter Driver

In some rare cases, dropped frames can be caused by an old network adapter driver doing a poor job
of handing the high speeds being consumed. It's not a bad idea to just check to see if there are any
new drivers for your network adapter, just to be sure.

Bad router or bad networking hardware

Faulty hardware is usually quite rare, but if you suspect your hardware is malfunctioning, plug in to
your modem directly, bypassing the router, so you can check to see if that's the issue. If you have
another network card available (including the one in a laptop or other PC you might have lying
around) try that plugged into the modem to check for network card problems on your streaming PC.
Try using different Ethernet cables too.

Stream Buffering Issues

To answer this question we first have to ask another one: Are we dropping frames? Check the
counter at the bottom of the OBS Studio main window:
Dropped Frame Counter

If this counter is showing dropped frames, the issue is likely with your own connection and you
should try our general connection issue troublehsooting steps.

Often, you will not drop frames and still have viewers complaining about lag, buffering, or the
stream constantly loading. Why is that and what can we do against it? First of all let us take a look at
the why.

Why does my stream lag/buffer/load for my viewers?

Connection Paths

Let's analyze the above picture, which shows two possible scenarios.

Provider A has no (or does not always do) balancing of its streams. This means that all streams are
served to all viewers from a single server. Twitch.tv for instance, does not use its full Content
Delivery Network (CDN) for non-partnered streams. This can lead to very mixed results. User Z can
watch your stream just fine, because the route from your Provider to him is very fast or no server on
the route is overloaded. But User X might experience problems. He could live in the same country as
you, but if the route between him and the provider is too long or is overloaded, he might have
problems watching your stream.

Provider B has different servers all around the world (YouTube, for example) and can send the
stream within their own system to their servers. When User Y asks to watch your stream, Provider B
will automatically choose the best route (in most cases) to ensure there is no buffering or lag.

There are more ways for your streaming provider to handle the streams, but these two examples are
the most commonly used. Provider C might use a combination of both systems, or some form of
centralized load balancing other than a CDN.

There's also another simple explanation on why your stream might be buffering:

YOU USED TOO MUCH BITRATE

This is a very common mistake that new streamers make. Streamers will tend to use as much bitrate
as they have upload available, with no regard to how that might affect their viewers. Of course, we
understand you want your stream to look good. Upping your bitrate is a simple way to accomplish
that, but it must be within reason. Check the information here provided by Akamai and summarized
by OBS forum member RytoEX:

According to Akamai's Q4 2016 State of the Internet Connectivity Report, in Q4 2016, 63% of
Internet connections in USA were above 10 Mb/s. The average connection speed in USA was 17.2
Mb/s. Average mobile speeds in USA were 5.1 Mb/s. Even mobile users who have access to fast
mobile networks would still need to be concerned about bitrate if they are on a data plan with limits
and the stream(s) they are watching does not have transcoding.

As bad as that may sound, especially when compared to South Korea or Singapore (or any other
nation in the top 10 in any category), connections in much of the rest of the world are still further
below those levels (most of the Asia Pacific region - including China and India - most of Europe, all of
Africa, all of the Middle East, all of Central America, and all of South America). Russia's average
Internet connection speed only clocks in at 11.6 Mb/s with 48% of their connections above 10 Mb/s.
Germany's average average Internet connection speed is only 14.6 Mb/s with 50% of their
connections above 10 Mb/s.

Basically, this means that just because you can upload 20mb/s constantly without dropping a frame,
it does not mean your viewers will be able to download it. Most streaming services impose bitrate
limits in part due to this.

In the end while your 1080p 60fps 9mb/s stream might look glorious, and 3 people can watch it fine,
either your stream provider or the rest of your viewers very well might have issues.

And finally...

What can I do to fix this?

There is unfortunately no perfect cure for this. Let us make it clear once more: Unless you drop
frames, the stream you send out arrived at the server of your provider. From this point, it is between
the provider and your viewers and out of your control.

But we have a few options we can try:

Lower your bitrate (and if necessary resolution/framerate)

Try different servers of the same Provider (will probably not help, but especially with Twitch this
sometimes can)

Try a different Provider (might have a better balancing or content distribution)

Accept that some viewers can encounter problems

Try again later. The time of day, or the usage amounts of your Provider, can cause your viewers to
watch the stream fine one day but not the next.

The Internet is a big amount of highways connected with junctions, at each of the junctions,
something can possibly go wrong. We can only make sure to use reasonable bitrate values and not
drop frames. Then it is on our providers to do the best they can.

Laptop Performance Issues

Laptops are notoriously difficult to work with when it comes to capture applications like OBS Studio.
Since most modern laptops will ship with two GPUs - typically an Intel iGPU and a discrete graphics
chip (either NVIDIA or AMD) - this means that certain applications have the possibility to run on
either GPU, where as OBS can only run on a single GPU at a time. An applications that is, say, running
on the Intel GPU will not be able to be captured by OBS running on the discrete (NVIDIA or AMD)
GPU. Additionally, if OBS is not running on the discrete GPU, you might run into performance issues.
Unfortunately, this is not an issue with OBS, but rather a design choice by laptop manufacturers and
there's little that can be done on our side. However, we do have several troubleshooting suggestions
to try and assist with any issues.

If you are getting a black screen with Window or Game Capture Sources or are otherwise having
performance issues with OBS on your laptop, read the following:

If you have an NVIDIA discrete graphics card

Close OBS if it is currently open

Go to the NVIDIA Control Panel by right clicking on your desktop, and then clicking on "NVIDIA
Control Panel"

Click on "Manage 3D Settings" if it is not already selected

Under the Program Settings tab, click the Add button under where it says "Select a program to
customize:"

Navigate to the .exe path for OBS and add it to the list

Default paths are: C:\Program Files (x86)\obs-studio\bin\32bit\obs32.exe and C:\Program Files

(x86)\obs-studio\bin\64bit\obs64.exe)

Make sure it is selected in the drop down list

Then, under where it says "Select the preferred graphics processor for this program" open the drop
down and select "High-performance NVIDIA processor"

Re-open OBS and test again

Alternate directions, but note this sets the global default so all applications will run on the NVIDIA:

Close OBS if it is currently open

Go to the NVIDIA Control Panel by right clicking on your desktop, and then clicking on "NVIDIA
Control Panel"

Click on Manage 3D Settings on the left, and then the Global tab on the right

Click the drop down box below that, select "High-performance NVIDIA processor" and click Apply,
then OK

Re-open OBS and test again

NOTE: If you are planning on using QuickSync (QSV), Set QSVHelper.exe to run on the the Intel
instead of the NVIDIA.

If you have an AMD discrete graphics card

A guide can be found here to set OBS to run on the proper GPU if you are experiencing issues:

https://community.amd.com/docs/DOC-1581#jive_content_id_Configuring_Switchable_Graphics

Window and Game Capture and "multi-adapter compatibility" mode

If you cannot set the GPU (AMD laptops typically), or wish to cross-capture an image from the other
GPU after that (example, League of Legends lobby window), use Window or Game Capture with the
"multi-adapter compatibility mode" option enabled to force a capture. "Multi-adapter compatibility
mode" requires a bit more CPU usage, however. Compatibility mode is not recommended for
capturing games, but it basically guarantees a capture.

Special note from Jim

I know it's annoying. I'm not happy that this is the case either. Unfortunately, there's nothing anyone
can really do about it. This is just the way laptops are designed.

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