Hello, dear readers of techpages.net. Today we will consider the initial setup of OBS and discuss how to improve stream quality obs.
I will try to tell you as quickly as possible and informatively about important points, choose the optimal settings for different computers for each encoder: NVENC, x264, Quick Sync, and AVC Encoder for AMD video cards.
Some may wonder why OBS and not Xsplit. First off, OBS is free. And secondly, less demanding on PC resources. And with the same presets, OBS will load the computer less. Let’s get started!
How to improve stream quality obs: Platform selection, stream key search
First, we need the “Broadcasting” tab, in which we select the platform for streaming. You can choose YouTube, Twitch, and others. For multi translations to multiple platforms, you can use the Restream.io service.
Each service has its own unique stream key, with which we connect the program for the stream to the channel.
To find it for Youtube, go to the “Creative Studio” and copy the “Broadcast Key.” Then in OBS, we insert in the corresponding line.
On Twitch, the broadcast key is in the “Control Panel,” a subcategory of “Channel. ” If necessary, it can always be reset.If you need help setting up your stream in OBS, the team at GamingVisuals.com do a great job!
It often happens that on the output servers are overloaded, and the stream can slow down. Therefore, additional servers are provided for receiving the stream.
Youtube has only two of them. And for Twitch, I recommend picking up a server with minimal ping. This can be done using the Twitch Inspector website, where you can check the stability of the test broadcast.
Let’s move on to the most important and interesting setting item – “Output.” All magic happens in it, and you will have to find the optimal values yourself in practice. I’ll give a couple of tips that will help to create a broadcast in maximum quality with a minimum load of iron.
Immediately turn on the “Advanced” parameter to get access to the maximum settings.
How to improve stream quality obs: Streaming through the processor codec x264
To begin, consider streaming using a processor through the x264 codec.
Pros: High-quality pictures on weak accelerators.
Cons: Heavy load on the processor with a high bitrate without loss of quality.
The optimal resolution for the stream is 1920 by 1080 pixels for medium and powerful PCs. If you have a weak PC or high resolution is not necessary, then you can leave 720p. With less watch stream will be uncomfortable.
Bitrate settings to improve stream quality obs
Bitrate Management – I recommend setting it consistently. With it, the picture will not periodically “crumble,” as it would be with VBR. Compression using ABR allows you to set the minimum and maximum bitrate values for which OBS will not go.
Bit rate is the amount of information that will be transmitted per unit of time. So it is this parameter that affects image quality the most.
However, I note that the bit rate must be selected based on your Internet speed and broadcast quality. You need to consider the transfer speed from you to the server.
Please note that
The quality criteria guide these values on youtube. Those. These values are largely consistent not with the gaming theme, but with the format of the videos shot on the camera.
“Super quality” is the maximum functional limit; when streaming games, it makes no sense to exhibit it, because visually, the quality will be almost the same as in “High quality.”
Therefore, for games, “Low Quality” is often acceptable. For example, on a tweet, it is considered normal to take a bitrate of 1800 for a stream at 720p – this is the default value in OBS for this platform.
Total, for streams on tweak, I recommend the following bitrate:
- 240p 500
- 360p 700
- 480p 1000
- 720p 2000 (if lags – 1500)
- 1080p 3500
Twitch increased the maximum bitrate from 3500 to 6000. So if you have a powerful computer, you can safely set, for example, 720 to 60fps with a bitrate of 5k.
It is also important to understand that the choice of bitrate depends on the particular game. If you play a pixel game like Realm of the Mad God, the high bitrate of the weather will not do, because the game itself does not shine with graphics. Also, high image quality is not important in static games like Hearthstone, where most viewers are already aware of what card does what.
My personal choice for most games is the bitrate for YouTube:
- 720p (resolution 1280×720), 30 fps – 2500
- 1080p (resolution 1920×1080), 30 fps – 4300
Adjusting the interval between keyframes can improve picture quality and make better use of the selected bit rate. The keyframe is fully encoded; the next one contains only the differences from the key, the third contains the differences from the second and so on until the next keyframe.
For not very dynamic games, the interval can be increased, because there the picture cardinally and quickly does not change. For dynamic more than one keyframe, I do not recommend setting it in 3 seconds – the picture will be very blurred.
The preset CPU usage is responsible for the processor load and picture quality. If the processor is powerful, then you can increase the parameter, getting a better picture.
And vice versa, if the machine does not cope with the stream and the game at the same time, then it is worth lowering the CPU usage so that the video is smoother — the recommended value for low to medium and Very fast processors.
The item profile directly depends on your iron. For older components, it is advisable to install the main, for newer ones – high. In this case, the loss of quality will be minimal.
A separate item “Settings” under the profiles is a certain optimization for your broadcast. I recommend setting the parameter to zero delays, which is just designed for streaming video.
Stream setup via video card and NVENC H.264 codec
Now let’s look at the broadcast settings through NVENC H.264 codec for NVIDIA video cards. There are no special differences. All the same line with bitrate, presets and profiles.
Presets are already designated humanly, and from the name, you can understand how to improve image quality and how to reduce the load on the video card. However, the level parameter (why?) Is already a more accurate sub-adjustment, where it is still too early for us, noobs. Therefore, we leave it in the “auto” mode.
Using two-pass encoding, the picture quality will improve, but the load on the GPU will increase. But this is a fair price, so we tick off.
If you are a major and you have several video cards in SLI, then in the next paragraph of the GPU, set the value to “one” for two video cards, the value of two – for three, and so on. If you have only one video card, then leave the value “zero.”
The use of B-frames means that this frame refers to two neighboring frames – the previous and the next. This speeds up rendering and reduces the load on the iron. Leave the value at 2.
Streaming via AMD AVC Encoder Graphics Cards
Streaming through AMD graphics cards. There are also your own presets, in which it is enough to change the bitrate to the desired one under your permission.
If you switch to the “Expert” viewing mode, you can configure the encoder as much as possible to fit your needs. However, I will not focus on this, because, firstly, it will stretch the video for an hour, and secondly, few people use AMD video cards for streaming.
Quick sync to improve stream quality obs
It is also possible to encode broadcasts via Quick Sync and an integrated video core to Intel processors. However, the quality will be below average, although the main load on the processor will decrease.
To enable the technology, you need to go into the BIOS and change the multi-monitor item in the integrated video core section to allow it to. The name may differ on different motherboards. Further, the setting is the same as for streaming through the processor.
Audio settings
The next item is the Audio. Here you can connect several audio devices for playback in the broadcast, select the quality, determine the number of channels, set the delay on and off the microphone.
The audio bitrate for the stream should also differ depending on your resolution, otherwise the sound may lag. I recommend the following audio bitrate values:
- 240p (426 x 240) – 32 kbps (mono)
- 270p (480×270) – 40 kbps (mono)
- 360p (640×360) – 48 kbps
- 480p (854×480) – 64 kbps
- 540p (960×540) – 96 kbps
- 720p (1280×720) – 128 kbps
- 1080p (1920×1080) – 128 kbps
When streaming at low resolutions (up to 720), you can try a higher audio bitrate experiment.
Advanced video settings to improve stream quality obs
In the “Video” section, the native screen resolution is set, the output resolution for broadcasting and the maximum FPS value is determined.
The scaling filter is a handy feature. I will explain how the methods differ and which is better to choose for your computer.
The first method is bilinear. It is suitable for weak computers and medium broadcast quality. The picture will be slightly blurred, especially in dynamic scenes. But the resources consumed will be significantly less.
The second method is bicubic. His streamers are used most often — the optimal combination of load and image quality.
The third and most resource-intensive method is Lanczos. Broadcast quality will be maximum, as well as the load on the PC. I do not recommend using Ryzen 5 1400, Intel Core i5 6400, and video cards younger than GTX 1060 with 6 GB with processors weaker.
In the “Hot Keys” section, you can specify combinations or individual binds to enable certain functions or change broadcast scenes quickly.
In the Advanced Settings, I advise you to set the process priority to high, so that background updates or other software do not take up the necessary resources. The color format, space, and range are best left untouched.
Setting the first stream
Now create our first scene with the game and our webcam. To start, click on the plus at the bottom left and create the first scene.
To the right are the sources that we will gradually fill.
Let’s start by adding a game that we will broadcast. Click on the plus sources, select “Capture the game.”
In the “Mode” set “Capture a separate window.”
And in the future, when displaying a chat on the screen, this will help to display it on the broadcast. In the “Window” item, select a game already running in the background and click “OK.”
Next, we need to add a webcam. In the sources, select the item “Video Capture Devices,” and the setup window will open. We choose the device, set the desired resolution, and the number of FPS for your camera.
In the main OBS window, set the size and location of the image from the webcam. While holding ALT, you can crop the picture.
Now add your microphone to the sources. In the same place, in the “Sources” plus sign, select “Capture the input audio stream,” from the drop-down list we find the microphone and confirm if it is very phonetic and captures all extraneous noise, use filters, and noise reduction, as shown in the video.
Everyone will have to choose their own settings because the microphone is different for the microphone. And do not forget to turn off unnecessary audio sources; otherwise, there will be an unpleasant echo.
The basic settings for creating the first broadcast I told you. Next time I will explain how to connect a donation system, display a chat, and show exciting programs for interactivity on your streams.
