OBS
OBS is the backbone of my (and most other) streams/recording process.
I have also experimented with SLOBS, XSplit and Meld - but OBS is simple, infinitely customisable, runs as lean as you configure it to and is free.
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I use a 2-PC Setup, with OBS running on PC2. This allows PC1 to be used exclusively for creating the content (gaming, music, whatever), while PC2 handles recording and streaming it.
For general OBS tips I recommend the incredible EposVox and Nutty, as well as good old Reddit and Google searches if you’re after something specific.
Rather than write a crash course on OBS, I’ll assume some level of familiarity and discuss just the specifics of my install/usage.
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Canvas
Since my main/nicest monitor is 1440p, (and Youtube is rumoured to encode videos at 1440p and above using the superior VP9 codec) - I run my base canvas size, video captures and outputs at 1440p. This minimises the amount of scaling being performed at any point in the process, which keeps things quick.
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Settings
OBS
Twitch
YT
Record
Source
Labelling
Keeping OBS organised makes it easy to find what I’m after and cleanly automate things.
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I keep the Master Scenes, Feed Scenes, Baseline/Overlays and whatever else in their own categories - nicely labelled so future me knows what’s what.
Nested Sources
I use my sources in nested scenes where possible, to reduce effort and keep things consistent.
Specifically, I have all of my Audio sources in a “Baseline” scene, and the same for Video sources. These 2 Baseline scenes are then nested within other scenes for an easy transplant.
Screenshots
I also do this for my “overlay”, which just floats atop the video capture. It’s made of many parts, but looks and acts as 1 in this way.
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Finally, everything in OBS is nested in a Twitch and Youtube feed scene via Downstream Keyer, the platform specific chats/alerts/gubbins are added, and these 2 scenes go out to their platform when streaming.
Combining all these, and toggling sources as required: we have a modular, multiplatform, yet easily tweaked “baseline” stream that’s ready as soon as I open OBS.
This was alot of work.
Screenshot
Master Scenes
I use a few “master” scenes with their own little details.
Live - Generic
Live - Cutscene
Live - X
BRB, Starting Soon, Ending
Chatting
Specifics
Automations
Streamerbot
Deep Dive - Audio
Hardware/ADAT
Music Gear
VBMatrix/Windows
OBS inputs, scenes, filters, audio tracks
Deep Dive - Video
Hardware
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Deep Dive - Alerts
Streamerbot/GDrive
OBS
Deep Dive - Overlay
Components
Deep Dive - OBS Docks
Streamerbot Chat
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