Best OBS Recording Settings
In this step-by-step tutorial, learn what the various OBS record settings mean and what to select to ensure that you record the best quality videos. In this video, I don't recommend one set of settings as there is no one size fits all. Instead, I walk through what settings are most appropriate for a high end machine and what settings are best for a low end machine. I start by showcasing how to use the wizard and then go through how to select more advanced settings, if you want full control.
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Summary of video:
1. Walk through of the auto configuration wizard - 1:20
2. Pros and Cons of the different file formats - 4:38
a. Flv (Recommended) - This is an Adobe Flash file format. The benefit is that if OBS crashes, everything recorded up to the crash will be preserved. With mp4 and mov, this is not the case. To edit an flv file, you can easily remux the recording from flv to mp4 in OBS after you complete the screen recording. It's a little extra insurance for very little overhead.
b. Mp4 - commonly used format, however, if the recording fails part way through, the entire recording will be lost.
c. Mov - Apple format that is commonly used, however, similar to mp4, if the recording fails part way through, the entire recording will be lost.
d. Mkv - typically used for DVDs where there is a menu structure. Not recommended for general recording.
e. Ts - broadcast media files. Not recommended for general recording.
f. M3u8 - Playlist file format. Not recommended for general recording.
3. Encoder - 8:15
a. X264 - this uses your CPU. I recommend starting with this if you have a high end machine. This offers the best quality. Monitor your CPU to see what the load looks like. If the load is high, fallback to NVENC. When playing games, the game will also place heavy demands on your CPU.
b. NVENC - Nvidia encoding, relies on the graphics card. Try this as your second option. This does not place any additional load on your CPU and is typically best for low to mid-tier machines and will output very high quality videos.
c. Quick Sync - Intel, integrated graphics. This does not place any additional load on your CPU.
d. Learn more about encoding here: obsproject.com/forum/threads/..., obsproject.com/forum/threads/...
4. Advanced - All about rate control: 11:00
a. X264
i. CRF - constant rate factor, ensures constant quality, 15 - 25, 23 default (Recommended for recording)
ii. CBR - constant bitrate, good for streaming (twitch), however, waste of bandwidth
iii. ABR - average bitrate, quick and dirty encodes, not the best quality
iv. VBR - variable bitrate
b. NVENC
i. CQP - Constant Quantisation Parameter, 15 - 25 (Recommended for recording)
ii. CBR - constant bitrate
iii. VBR - variable bitrate
iv. Lossless - massive use of space
v. Preset: Quality
vi. Profile: high
c. Quicksync - obsproject.com/forum/resource...
i. LA ICQ (Recommended), ICQ, CQP, LA (VBR), AVBR, VBR, CBR (Recommended in this order, LA ICQ best to CBR worst)
ii. Target usage: quality (balanced if your system requires it)
iii. Profile: high
d. Learn more about rate control: slhck.info/video/2017/03/01/r..., obsproject.com/forum/resource...)
With those settings, whatever content you record, the encoder will be able to just increase its bitrate if necessary to reach a high quality.
Пікірлер: 276
This was exactly what I am looking for. Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with anyone who needs it.
Thank you so much! Always knew about settings for streaming but never about recording, so this video was a great help!!
See the description for an overview of the best settings for recording and for timestamps in the video.
@NabilCp4
Жыл бұрын
Love from Bangladesh and first reply
i was looking for this everywhere. thanks so much for your time, this was very helpful. i'm about to test it and see if it works well
This is a very nice and detailed tutorial with lots of helpful information. I would recommend zooming in on the UI elements like the config wizard or settings windows, because they are a bit hard to see without going fullscreen or almost illegible on smaller screens. Especially since you recorded in such high resolution, so the text ends up a bit smaller then on a 1080 screen, and the zoom shouldn't make it lose any quality. Just something to keep in mind if you do more of these types of videos.
excellent video1!!! thank you!!!!
nice tutorial, I spent a lot of time learning OBS but this helped me
Great video, Explained everything very well and in detail!
The best OBS tutorial out there. Even the flv format and Remux trick is game changer no other tutorial mentions. Thank you for this :)
@darrenvarley105
2 жыл бұрын
I cant believe theres so many videos out there recommending mp4 when remux converts so quickly!!
don't get me wrong from my other message this is a great tutorial and I apreciate the time and effort you have put into it ...
Here's a question: Which recording formats require the most to least space in an overall recording. In other words, which has the best quality?
Brilliant, really helped me a lot - thank you very much.
Very detailed video and useful. Just a suggestion, if you would have zoomed in on the screen for the settings menu, near the cursor, it would be so much better bcz your screen is huge and the text were really tiny.
Thanks a lot for your help :) Just wish I came across your efforts sooner, like a week ago :)
What a clear, engaging walkthrough. Thank you.
This is very helpful! I was using VLC to convert .mkv to mp4. Never tinkered with that Remux Recording. Thanks also discussing the difference between .flv and .mp4.
Thanks Kevin, You're doing a Great Job for content creators!! Appreciations for you. (From Pakistan)
So clear. So informative. Thanks!
Thanks for the tips!!! Turned out noticeably better!
This was tremendously helpful. Thank you
superb its so clear for me and also works perfect
perfect, i was getting this wavy type inconsistent blurring of the recordings until reading this! Thank you thank you!
Well. I am currently wrestling with OBS so this is GREAT, and thanks very much. So clear and I like the way you break it down into simple and advanced. Incidentally, and unsurprisingly, your vid looks good as well. Can I ask what sort of lighting you are using for that? Great work. PMD.
nailed it. awesome video thank you Kevin
after 14 vids this one actually helped me
and this is the reason you have 3 million + subs man, thanks again!
Thank you so much for this video Kevin! Really appreciate it man!
thanks dude! great content
Hi Kevin. Continued thanks for all the help you are sharing with the world. Can you do a video on the problem of audio/video non-synchronisation? I have experienced audio lag a number of times with OBS. All the best.
Top help thank you kevin
Perfect! Thanks Kevin...
@KevinStratvert
4 жыл бұрын
of course, thanks for the note :)
this was a hard video to find but once found, I was thankful. Thank you for making this video.
Thank you so much for explaining this in a way that even I can understand :)
Fantastic, will go and try now
Thank you so much!
AWESOME video! Thanks.
Hi Kevin, thank you for the wonderful tips really helps me a lot. absolutely many thumbs UP for this video...
Hi! This is awesome. Really helped me a lot. One question though, will the settings we just did in the Simple mode effect after going to the Advanced mode?
everyone must learn from you how to make tutorials on OBS
Thank you so much
OMG it worked! Thank You Kevin.
Thanks. this helped. I thought I was gonna end up like many others that couldn't solve this problem unless they basically had a newer laptop/ computer.
@RobertoCampoliOfficial
2 жыл бұрын
What computer do you have out of curiosity?
Fantastic, pure and simple.
works soo well,thx soo much
i subbed and liked ur the best you helped me in shotcut and now obs and now i can make my seris i always wanted to do with better peformance❤❤❤
First-class video and explanations, Kevin
yay thank you!
thank you Kevin for this video...
man u are the top when its come to recording.
Thank you very much
Thanks love it
Thank you for your effort, it will a lot of people. God bless you.
Kevin: Instead, what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna walkthrough what the different settings mean, so depending on your machine, if you're on a high-end machine or low-end machine, you can make the choices what setting works the best in your scenario... so your video looks fantastic. Me; *Fantastic.*
KEVIN THE LEGEND SO HELPFUL FOR MY CHANNEL!!!
This helped a lot thanks
do you really need a program to change extensions? i just do it manually and i have no problem. that aside, nice tutorial. got one for audio settings?
Hi Kevin, Thanks for introducing this amazing software at the right time. I mean during the COVID situation. Can we add on-screen Text like using this software ?
god damn you just earned a sub you have a lot of potential
seriously beast explanation. refreshing to have someone explain and include the "why" behind what they are explaining. thanks for the upload!
thanks,man
thanks you rock!!!
Thank u Kevin your the BEST
Thank you so much! If it wasn't for this, I'd still be using CBR to record gameplays, appreciate it.
Great video! I don't have CRF under rate control, though, only CBR, CQP, VBR, or lossless.
OH MY GOD YOU HELPED ME SO MUCH.I LOVE YOU I WAS SO UPSET CAUSE I FIXED IT BEFORE BUT IT GLITCHED AND TURNED WEIRD SO THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU JUST MADE MY DAY HAVE A AWESOME DAY/NIGHT/EVENING SIR! -a 9 year old,aspiring to have a successful roblox channel Edit: This might be quick but it glitched again..so i have to do it all again..Any tips on making the resolution the same every time you hit record?
I use Software (x264 low CPU usage preset, increases file size) works best for my recording. When I use Hardware (NVENC), the final rendered clip is laggy.
OOo! I am looking for some tips to Roblox-videos! And this as rlly helpfull;) Thank you!
Hi! Very nice video! I would like to record raw pcm or lossless audio from my computer. My graphic card is a MSI R5450, which settings would you recommend me? Thanks :)
just downloaded and tried it out, thanks. How do i record without the obs infinity type mirror showing up. even if i minimize the window i still have to bring it up to stop recording....Never mind just found the settings to use hotkeys, this is great
I followed your video and it helped, im am still getting screen tearing though any tips?
thanks!
Good video, finally someone that explains why rather than just listing options like a drone
@PaulVoorberg
3 жыл бұрын
Just tested the LA ICQ recommendation with QuickSync and it stutters like crazy even when set to a low quality. So the lesson I learned from this: Don't trust any of the OBS settings guides, just do your own testing to find out what works best.
Thx 👍
@Kevin Stratvert The video/tutorial is great but... none of the settings help me with the problem I have. What can one do to avoid having the black bars on both sides of the video without stretching the scene?
Thanks for many videos about OBS, I want to make my videos less glitchy... My video card isn't that good...
Thanks Kevin
Hello Kevin. I watch two of your videos but I still when I go to the file menu to play it's not there. What do I do next?
thanks!!!
Hi.. I installed OBS and want to record screens while I play my DAW music software. I have set up everything, and installed and enabled "Stereo Mix" and selected this for the Input Audio. When I record, the video looks great but there is NO audio. For Desktop Audio I do see the meters move even listening to your video. BUT when I play the DAW, the meter does not move. What I am doing wrong? Please help...
I have a reason why i loved your channel
I am having issues with my bluetooth headset. I cannot hear anything when I open up obs studio. Any solution for this? I am hoping to record both the screen/desktop audio and my mic as well
@mekkismart7198
4 жыл бұрын
I believe you need a specific app to record desktop audio thats for Mac I don't know for windows but I think you still need another app so ye
thanks very much I still have weird black background. what to do please??
How would you get your video out of 60 FPS do you have to use another editing software and transfer the video or change the video file type?
Do you have a video for OBS streaming?
I know this is a pretty old video. I just tried your settings suggestions in OBS, FLV etc. I am getting a lot of echo in the audio recording. As soon as I switch to MOV recording format the echo goes away. Any ideas what could be the cause?
Very Useful information, it would have even better if the OBS contents were zoomed.
thanks you
Hi Kevin. Can you zoom in on what you're talking about so we can see it? I couldn't see what you were pointing at because it was too small and out of focused. Thanks
Hi Kevin, I'm using Windows and mostly Chrome when I use OBS, but I don't understand what kind of settings I should have to get my screen to scroll using the bar on the page!
When I choose the "presenter view" instead of the "slide show" presentation in Powerpoint, the quality of images in OBS gets really bad. Would you have any thoughts about it?
Is there an HUD overlay option one can use when recording a game to see when recording is on or off? Nvidea Geforce has a little green button on your screen that turns green when you record. Without that indicator, I'll probably forget to stop my recordings.
for around 600-700mb file size is it good to go for indistinguishable quality?
hey im on a hp labtop what setting should i put on it for obs
could you create a video on noise gate, noise gate, noise suppression and expander and how they best could be used with different audio recording devices?
What software do you recommend if you would like to create an MP3 file from the audio? Or, can OBS create a separate MP3 file in addition to the flv file?
Thanks for the upload and share. I've been using OBS to mostly record then upload via you-tube/face-book and having not really played with the setting in, OBS that much. I notice the video quality isn't great via playback on the source file (not uploaded or converted). The file size is for 45 min recording is 1.93GB, at 1920x1080. I left most for setting, for streaming set up (MKV - X264 - CBR- 6000 kpbs) I'm currently using a full AMD set up 3950X - 5700XT - 64GB system ram - Nvme 2TB boot / Nvme 2TB games / 8TB Seagate Exos 7E8 for internal recording & storage. A few questions: I'm not using NVENC, (due to the 5700XT) which are the best setting X264 with any changes that mite suit my current setup? After uploading most site convert the file, so should I be recording higher quality or not? After recording will changing from FLV, to mp4 etc, via remux make uploading any faster or just better for editing software, in DaVinci Resolve etc.
@KevinStratvert
4 жыл бұрын
For recording with X264, use CRF - constant rate factor as this ensures constant quality. Set it to 23, which is the default. Always record in the best quality as KZread/Facebook/Twitter will apply some compression when you upload the video. The original source content is always the best quality. FLV to mp4 via remux has no impact on the quality. You'll want it in mp4 so you can edit easily. Hope that helps and good luck!
@qrogueuk
4 жыл бұрын
@@KevinStratvert Thanks for the reply and details. I will edit my setting to match.
@dukey567
4 жыл бұрын
@@qrogueuk Ayy what file sizes are you getting for a 10-20 min video with CRF?
@qrogueuk
4 жыл бұрын
@@dukey567 with current setting 22 mins = 1.35GB / 25 mins = 1.88GB / 30 mins =2.04GB /
what if my obs doesn't have the CQP options what will I use as an alternative?
how we need to record content browser screen when i am recording content browser obs is recording only audio but it is not recording video from content browser, can you please post one video for my ask.
Main concern: What are the settings we need to tweak using OBS recording when OBS is making the files too large? Meanwhile keeping quality as high as possible. For instance: OBS recording a 2 hour movie at 1080p/ 60fps while staying under 2gb? Is this possible? ----- Concern details: I really need a tutorial for recording (VHS or DVD's, games, screenshot, whatever) using a capture card but with OBS recording. Especially the quality settings vs file size settings. I have been using an old VCR to digitize my family's homevideo VHS tapes plugged into an Elgato HD60 S+ and then converting them digitally using OBS recording as a VHS converter, but it's making the files sizes up in the 7GB to 12GB range for a 1 to 3 hour video!!! Most digital movies I have bought are only 600mb to 2gb for a 90 to 120min movie with menu subtitles etc. Even the store purchased digital copy of Avengers Endgame was 3 hours long but is only 5.6GB. So what the heck is going on with OBS recorsing a VHS tape at over 10gb for a 1 to 3 hour movie?! The special effects and audio is insane in Endgame... I'm just recording kids playing in the yard, people skiing behind a boat and family reunions...😒 Can anyone help me find a video for understanding the quality vs file size for OBS recording? Also software for compressing already recorded OBS files like .mkv, .mp4 or .flv without diminishing quality would be awesome to so I don't have to re-record them again. That would be really awesome!!!
I have a R7 3700x and a RX 5700 XT, should I use the software encoder? AMD seems to present different options than the Nvidia encoder.