Best OBS Studio Settings for Broadcasting Live Streams [Updated for 2021]

Best OBS Studio Settings for Broadcasting Live Streams [Updated for 2021].

Many businesses are experimenting with broadcasting as live video streaming grows increasingly prevalent in our daily lives. For those who are new to live streaming, this entails learning how to cope with the numerous complexities that come with doing so.

Today, it’s quite simple to establish high-quality live streaming, but successful live broadcasts necessitate a little know-how and technical understanding.

Live stream encoding software and the encoding process are important technical topics in broadcasting. For a variety of reasons, professional live broadcasting requires encoding.

This tutorial will show you how to set up your OBS studio settings for professional broadcasting. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite OBS settings for live broadcasting. We’ll start by going over what OBS Studio is and what it can do.

After we’ve gone over the fundamentals, we’ll go through the best OBS Studio settings for your broadcasts.

Download OBS Studio for Windows 11/10

Table of Contents

  • What is Encoding?
  • What is OBS Studio?
  • How to Configure Your OBS Studio Settings
  • Best OBS Studio Settings for Streaming Audio and Video
  • OBS Studio vs. Streamlabs OBS
  • Conclusion

What is Encoding?

Simply said, encoders convert RAW to digital video files in order to prepare them for transmission from your camera to your live streaming platform host. A working encoder is required for broadcasters, in addition to recording equipment and stable internet.

Encoders are available in both software and hardware formats. Software encoders are usually free or inexpensive, however hardware encoders can be rather costly.

According to studies, 67 percent of viewers consider quality to be the most significant component in a live broadcast. You can ensure high-quality content for your viewers as a broadcaster by selecting the finest OBS Studio settings before going live.

What is OBS Studio?

OBS Studio is a free, open-source RTMP-enabled encoder that is ideal for both beginner and seasoned broadcasters. Users can capture and stream live video from any Mac, Windows, or Linux computer with this open-source live streaming program.

The “Real-Time Messaging Protocol,” or RTMP, is a component of the technology that enables live broadcasting. The fundamental function of RTMP is to transport content from an encoder to an online video server. “RTMP ingest” is the name for this RTMP function. For OBS, the RTMP protocol acts as a link between its encoding and streaming capabilities.

Professional live streaming, as previously stated, necessitates the use of either a software or hardware encoder. This device converts a live video feed into the proper format for streaming on your internet video platform (OVP).

For beginner broadcasters who are just getting their feet wet with live broadcasting, OBS Studio has a lot to offer. To offer the best live broadcasting experience, the software requires a list of OBS-specific system requirements. The ability to combine numerous sources with unique transitions, employ audio/video filters and correction tools, and more are among these options.

Because Dacast has designed a unique OBS Studio gateway that is free for our users, OBS Studio is exceptionally simple to use.

How to Configure Your OBS Studio Settings 

The OBS Studio settings for live broadcasting on an HTML5 live channel must be configured in a certain way.

To begin, click the “Settings” button in the bottom-right corner of the application window to access the OBS Studio settings.

The first tab, titled “General,” has nothing particularly important to examine. You can, however, choose your language and a bright or dark theme here.

Despite the fact that the language and topic may appear trivial, it is critical to have all of your bases covered in order to avoid any problems in your stream. To avoid mistakenly starting or stopping your stream before you’re ready, check both options.

After you’ve gone through these options, go to the next tab in the OBS Studio settings window, which is labeled “Stream.

By default, you should see “Custom…” for “Stream Type.” If it isn’t already selected, please do so.

Then, add your online video platform’s streaming credentials, which include the stream URL (server), stream key, login, and password. These credentials can be found on the encoder configuration page of your OVP.

For example, fetching these credentials looks something like this:

1. Open or create the channel you want to live stream with OBS in your account. Open the “Encoder Setup” window.

2. You’ll select “Stream Name,” copy the key and return to OBS to put it into the Stream Key area.

3. Then, for “Server,” which is copied in the Stream URL, repeat the process. Do the same thing with the username and password.

If you still have questions about customizing your OBS Studio settings, check out our OBS quickstart lesson or watch our video on how to choose the best OBS Studio settings.

Option with iFrame Embed Code:

<iframe src=”https://iframe.dacast.com/vod/3b67c4a9-3886-4eb1-d0eb-39b23b14bef3/08cebf46-2960-07df-89bf-4479e6b4be0e” width=”590″ height=”431″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no” allow=”autoplay” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>

Option with JS Embed Code:

<script id=”3b67c4a9-3886-4eb1-d0eb-39b23b14bef3-vod-08cebf46-2960-07df-89bf-4479e6b4be0e” width=”590″ height=”431″ src=”https://player.dacast.com/js/player.js?contentId=3b67c4a9-3886-4eb1-d0eb-39b23b14bef3-vod-08cebf46-2960-07df-89bf-4479e6b4be0e”  class=”dacast-video”></script>

Option with Share link:

https://iframe.dacast.com/vod/3b67c4a9-3886-4eb1-d0eb-39b23b14bef3/08cebf46-2960-07df-89bf-4479e6b4be0e

Best OBS Studio Settings for Streaming Audio and Video

It is critical to select the appropriate encoder settings in order to stream with the highest quality possible.

Let’s look at some of the most effective OBS Studio settings for streaming audio and video.

1. OVP-Specific Setting Requirements

Different encoder settings are required for different internet video platforms. This is due to the fact that each platform’s technology for bringing streams to life is different.

For example, Dacast has a few mandatory OBS settings that apply to this and any other encoding program you might use.

The following are the live encoder parameters that must be used:

2. OBS Output Settings

To make changes to your OBS Studio settings, go to your OBS Studio account’s “Output” options.

The output mode is set to “Simple” by default. Follow the configuration parameters offered in the “Encoder Setup” window, depicted below, to ensure your live broadcast is stable and completely functional:

When using this output option, all you have to worry about is the video and audio bitrates.

The OBS audio bitrate and video bitrate parameters are set to low definition by default. Of course, if you like, you may choose higher video quality.

For various resolutions, we recommend the following video bitrate settings:

To make changes to your OBS Studio settings, go to your OBS Studio account’s “Output” options.

The output mode is set to “Simple” by default. Follow the configuration parameters offered in the “Encoder Setup” window, depicted below, to ensure your live broadcast is stable and completely functional:

3.  Bitrate and Internet Speed

It’s crucial to keep your internet connection in mind while you adjust your bitrate settings.

If you wish to produce a high-quality stream, your connection speed must be at least double your bitrate. You’ll run into buffering issues if you don’t.

If your internet upload speed is 2000 Mbps, for example, your audio and video bitrates should not exceed 1000 Mbps.

To test your internet speed, type “internet speed test” into Google and click “RUN SPEED TEST.”

You may also use the website testmy.net to check the speed of your internet connection.

4. Advanced Output Mode

If you choose the “Advanced” output mode, you’ll have more options for optimizing your OBS Studio settings. Use the following settings to ensure a high-quality stream:

Make sure that your output mode is set to “Advanced,” your rate control is set to “CBR,” and your keyframe interval is set to 2.

The second option on the Output OBS Studio settings page is to record your broadcast. You can use this function to record the live stream to a local drive as you watch it.

We recommend enabling the auto-archiving feature on your live streaming platform if you haven’t already. For recording quality, choose “Same as Stream” or “Indistinguishable Quality,” “mp4” as the recording format, and “x.264” as the encoder.

5. Hotkeys

Within your live stream encoding program, you can use hotkeys to create distinct scenes. You’ll be able to move between the scenes throughout your live broadcast this way.

The way you set up your hotkeys will be determined by your individual requirements. You could, for example, create hotkeys for various overlays and inputs.

On OBS Studio, there are various default hotkeys, but they are all disabled by default. On GitHub, you may find documentation for using hotkeys for streaming with OBS Studio.

6. Video Sources

Click the “+” button in the “Sources” widget to add a video source. You can then choose a display capture, video capture device, image, recorded video, and so on. When you’re ready to start streaming live, click “Start Streaming.”

7. OBS Recording Settings

The ability to record streams is a key feature of OBS Studio. It is quite simple to use this tool. Simply click “Start Recording” in the control panel in the lower right-hand corner of the screen to begin recording.

To access your stream recordings, go to the top left-hand corner of the screen and select “File,” then “Show Recordings.” If you’re using Windows, the stream recording will be saved to the “Video” folder on your computer.

OBS Studio vs. Streamlabs OBS

Let’s talk about Streamlabs OBS, which is identical to OBS Studio, while we’re on the subject of streaming software.

Streamlabs OBS is a free and open-source streaming software that allows you to customize broadcast layouts, record selectively, and control your streaming from afar.

Premium features can be accessed by uploading to Streamlabs Prime. This upgrade will set you back $19 per month or $149 per year.

Because it features a graphical user interface, Streamlabs OBS is a better choice for beginners or broadcasters with less technical knowledge (GUI). The command-line interface (CLI) in OBS Studio, on the other hand, requires users to utilize coded commands to execute functions.

Despite the fact that Streamlabs is easier to use and offers the option to purchase for premium features, many broadcasters prefer OBS Studio since it is more expandable.

Conclusion

At initially, selecting the proper encoder settings can be difficult. Fortunately, OBS Studio is a free program that allows you to try out the capabilities without having to spend any money.

If you follow these recommendations for the finest OBS studio settings to begin started, we feel you’ll have a pleasant experience. You’ll have no trouble traversing the platform after a little practice.

Getting comfortable doing live streaming should be simple and entertaining if you use these recommended settings as a starting point.

You may always refer to our guides on how to stream using Dacast OBS for Mac or using Dacast OBS for Windows for further information on streaming with OBS Studio.

In this video, we are gonna show you the best OBS recording settings 2021 for both high-end PCs and low-end PCs:

Are you interested in trying out our streaming solutions but haven’t yet done so? Our video hosting and live streaming platform are feature-rich as well as cost-effective.

Do you have any more questions, comments, or suggestions? Please let us know in the comments box, and we will respond as soon as possible. We love hearing from our visitors!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and good luck with your live broadcasts.

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