Setting up OBS Studio
Instructions for setting up OBS Studio.
Last updated
Instructions for setting up OBS Studio.
Last updated
There are several ways to set up a stream to broadcast to platforms like Livepeer. OBS Studio and Stream Labs are two platforms that offer easy to use tools to set up interesting streams.
This tutorial will cover the basics to create a stream in OBS Studio.
There are whole YouTube channels dedicated to creating live streams using OBS Studio such as :
They will go over all the fine details such as best audio and output settings, how to set up custom panels, improving your webcam display and all the other great stuff you can do to stream.
Download and install the correct version of OBS Studio for your computer from http://obsproject.com
Once installed, you should get an Auto Configuration Wizard that will try to set up your OBS Studio as best it can for your setup. If you want to run this again you can go to the Tools menu > Auto Configuration Wizard.
After the wizard is done, OBS Studio should be set to capture your desktop audio and microphone. You can verify this by looking at the volume meters in the mixer section of the main OBS Studio window. If these are not moving, or the wrong device is being captured, click on Settings / Audio and select the devices manually.
If you're on MacOS, you'll need an extra tool to capture desktop audio. Due to MacOS not providing direct capture methods for desktop audio devices. You can get more information on this here.
Add and label a Scene to the 'Scenes' category. This will hold all the different elements, called Sources, such as a webcam or desktop in it. It is possible to have multiple Scenes, and transition between them with simple fades or swipes, or even custom transitions that you make.
Next, we need to add some Sources to the scene. First, you need to label the Source, then define its properties. Each asset has a different approach to setting it up. The most common elements would include :
Display Capture - Places an asset with a display in the scene
Window Capture - Can add an application window as an asset
Game Capture - Adds your preferred game
Video Capture Device - will add a source such as your webcam
It is also possible to add visual elements to improve the visuals with the following :
Image - Adds an image to the scene
Text (GDI+) - Allows you to add text
Colour Source - Adds a block of colour to the scene
Media Source - Allows you to add movie files
There are of course other sources that you can use to help create the stream that you desire.
A useful technique is being able to crop Sources. For this just use the Alt key when positioning the source.
It is possible to reuse sources you have already created, and if you do this between Scenes you can get some fantastic transition effects as the source will transition to the 'same' one, depending on the transition type. The 'Move' transition is a good example.
If you have an Nvidia RTX card, you could use Nvidia Broadcast to add effects such as noise cancellation to your microphone or adding effects to your webcam background such as removal or blur.
You can add effects to your sources with Filters such as Chroma Key (for green screen background removal), Colour Correction, adding LUT, and many others.
Another popular method to enhance your stream is using the Image Mask/Blend filter to make sources more interesting. Create the mask in photoshop and use the filter to affect the source.
If the Configuration Wizard did not set everything up correctly, or you would like to update it manually, the settings of OBS Studio are at the bottom right which covers things like Audio and video input/output settings, among other things. This will also include the settings for sending the data to an RTMP server such as Livepeer to then feed into Mona. This will be covered in the next tutorial.
OBS Studio is also a great tool for recording your screen, or creating content. Note that under the 'Start Streaming' button is a 'Start Recording' button.
Note that the Record settings and the Stream Settings can be different. Make sure to set them accordingly. Generally speaking, the settings used depend on the graphics card you have (for example I have an Nvidia card therefore I use Nvidia NVENC H.264), as well as the processing power (CPU, RAM etc).
It is possible to set it to automatically record (among other settings) when you stream so you don't forget. This way you can live stream, but also have the content for use in editing or other promotion. Make sure to take note of where it saves to so you have enough hard drive space (streams can take a lot of data.
- It is possible to remux your stream from .mkv to .mp4 if you would like to save time in getting your content to different platforms (such as editing software). This can be found in the Settings / Advanced tab.
