Configuring OBS can be a difficult task if you don’t know where and what to improve in your stream, in this tutorial we’ll go through the main tips to improve your live stream and configure OBS to achieve the best performance and quality.
First of all, it is important to know that one of the main elements of your stream is audio and it can cause you to lose the retention of your viewers on the stream.
Before changing OBS settings make sure that: you have a microphone with reasonable quality and a silent environment without an echo.
Keep the microphone close to your mouth and preferably with a structure to not receive vibrations from the environment.
If you don’t have a microphone or are considering buying one, we recommend the HyperX QuadCast, a cost-effective microphone that delivers superior quality at an affordable price.
How to configure OBS audio
Configuring audio in OBS for streaming is an important step in setting up your streaming software. Here are the steps to configure OBS audio for streaming:
First, we will eliminate the noise and hiss so that your voice comes out clean and with quality.
- Click sources “Add new source” and select “Audio input capture”.
- Under the “Mic/Auxiliary Audio” section, select the appropriate audio device that you will use for your microphone or any other audio input device.
- Set the appropriate audio levels by adjusting the sliders for “Mic/Aux Boost,” “Mic Time Offset,” and “Mic/Aux Volume.”
- Under the “Desktop Audio” section, select the audio device that you want to use for your system audio.
To add noise suppression in OBS select your microphone (Audio Input) and add a new filter, in this example, we will show the configuration of Streamlabs OBS:
Select “add new filter” and “noise suppression”.
Choose between the two options “Speex” which has a lower quality but consumes less CPU or “RNNoise” which has a higher quality but uses more CPU (Not recommended for weak computers).
Test and see which option suits you best, you can also choose the suppression level starting at 0 dB and increasing the suppression level until all the noise is eliminated.
It is important to note that audio configuration can vary depending on your hardware and software setup. You may need to adjust your audio settings based on your specific setup to achieve optimal audio quality for your stream.
Additionally, it’s always a good idea to test your audio setup by recording or streaming a short test stream to ensure that everything is working properly.
We will leave a tutorial below in case you use OBS Studio and have not been able to follow any part:
How to set up OBS scene collections
Now that you have your audio properly configured, let’s move on to the video, to start configuring the video, let’s create a scene.
It’s important that you separate each scene with elements that will be used during the stream, such as the gaming scene, intermission scene and stream scenes starting or ending.
If you don’t already have scenes like Starting Soon, BRB, and Stream Ending we recommend you to check our stream shop there you can find the perfect stream package for your style with everything you need for your stream.
Having all this set up helps the stream to be fluid and with variations making your audience hooked on your content.
How to set up OBS video settings
To configure your obs video for the best performance and quality start by selecting your video card in your encoder, this option may change depending on your video card.
Choose the best encoding settings for your stream. This will depend on the bitrate, resolution, and frame rate you want to stream at. You can experiment with different settings to find what works best for you, but some general guidelines are:
- For a 720p stream, a bitrate of 2500 to 3500 kbps is recommended.
- For a 1080p stream, a bitrate of 4500 to 6000 kbps is recommended.
- Use the x264 encoder for best compatibility and quality.
- Set your keyframe interval to 2 seconds.
- Choose a preset that balances quality and performance.
Tips to improve the quality and performance of your stream
To configure OBS for the best streaming results, you can follow these steps:
- Updating your OBS can improve performance and unlock new functions, outdated OBS can cause the performance and quality to not be 100%, so here is the updated link for the latest version of OBS download.
- Ensure your hardware meets the minimum requirements to run OBS smoothly. Check that your CPU, GPU, and RAM meet the recommended specifications for the streaming quality you want to achieve.
- Optimize your video settings. In the video settings, select the appropriate resolution and aspect ratio for your stream. You should also choose the right downscale filter to ensure that your stream looks good at lower resolutions.
- Configure your audio settings. In the audio settings, select the right sample rate and channels for your stream. You can also adjust the volume levels of your microphone and other audio sources.
- Configure your scene settings. Scenes are the different layouts of your stream that you can switch between. You should create scenes that make sense for the content you are streaming, and ensure that they are optimized for the resolution and aspect ratio you have chosen.
- Test your settings. Once you have configured OBS with your preferred settings, test your stream to ensure that everything is working correctly. You can do this by streaming to a private YouTube or Twitch channel and watching the stream on another device.
- If you need something more specific that the software does not have, we recommend looking for obs plugins that may meet the need for an extra resource.
By following these steps, you should be able to configure OBS for the best streaming results. Remember to experiment with different settings and to test your stream regularly to ensure that everything is working as expected.