An extensive guide for Twitch streaming with OBS

In this review we'll go through the encoders and optimal settings for recording and streaming together with you, show the key points and features for recording, streaming and re-streaming for multiple platforms, and take a brief walk through some interesting third-party services and plug-ins for OBS that help you realize a professional stream like your favorite streamers on Twitch.

Of course, the OBS software and third-party services in the review are not the panacea or the only option - it's a base that can be adapted to your needs.

This is a long-read, as an alternative we have a video version for you too.

OBS basics

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is free and open source software. The program grew out of a small project created by Hugh "Jim" Bailey in 2012. In 2014, it was fully rebuilt from scratch and got its current look. At the time of this video recording, the latest available version of OBS Studio was v28.

Thanks to the open code a pretty large and strong community of people has gathered around OBS. Though there is no centralized technical support service or anything like that. If you have any difficulties, you will have to solve them yourself or approach the aforementioned community. OBS is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Encoder type

The encoder you use for your specific hardware will depend on what you are actually doing - streaming or recording, and with what limits. Immediately after installing and running OBS for the first time, the Auto-Configuration Wizard window will open, which we simply close and proceed to manual configuration, but first I would like to talk a little about encoder types.

1. The NVENC NEW H264 encoder (NVIDIA)

The most popular and optimal encoder for most users who have a graphics chip (video card) from NVIDIA, starting with the GTX 600 for desktop GPUs and the GTX 660M for mobile devices (laptops).

This encoder is comparable to the “veryfast” preset of x264. A card based on the Turing family, such as the 1660 Super and newer, will give you a Turing nvenc encoder that is about “medium” x264 quality.

What is the advantage of this encoder, you may ask? The thing is that nvenc is a separate process from graphics processing in general, and thus it has little effect on system performance.

1. The AMD HW encoder

Let's just say this type of encoder is similar to NVENC, but for AMD graphics chips. Prior to version 28 of OBS Studio, the AMD Advanced Media Framework codec was used, which is also still available for use.

1. The x264 encoder

X264 Is the highest quality and most demanding one, encoding is performed with the help of your CPU. In complex tasks involving image capture, you will get a high CPU load. The general rule is that if you can't find an x264 preset that comfortably outperforms nvenc for your hardware, just use nvenc.

If you are going to record complex games with the X264 encoder, you will definitely need a powerful modern CPU with additional cooling. In my experience, I’d recommend Ryzen 7 5800X and better/higher, or the corresponding model by Intel, preferably i7 of the 12th generation.

The more cores/torrents and the higher the frequency, the less chance the preset will work properly. The lower the preset, the greater the load on your CPU and, accordingly, the higher the image quality.

As a rule, this type of encoder is used quite rarely, as it requires a large amount of resources and fine tuning. Some professional streamers build a separate streaming PC with flagship CPUs, others even having a good CPU still use the Turing nvenc encoder.

1. Other encoders

In addition to the previously listed encoders, there are still a large number of other encoders, both better and worse, but most of them are aimed for recording, not streaming.

Owners of new AND and 11th generation Intel processors (Rocket Lake and Tiger Lake) will face the HEVC encoder (H265). This encoder provides smaller file size and higher video quality due to its technology. According to my personal observations, I did not get a particular increase in quality, and the file size is really smaller, but there are some nuances.

Owners of older Intel CPUs will encounter the QuickSync H264 (QSV) encoder. You may also find such encoders as VCE, VCN, AMF, SVT, AOM etc. It is difficult to say which one is good or bad, since it all depends on the specific configuration of your device, but in general, we have mentioned the most popular encoders, so let’s proceed to configurations.

Bitrate, audio, other recording settings

Suppose we figured out the encoder, and specifically in my case, for recording, I will use the ADM HW H264 encoder. Perhaps some of you will ask why not H265? So here's a little note: unfortunately, there are certain issues while recording video using the ADM HW H265 HEVC codec.

Firstly, not every media player will open this file, the classic Windows player asks for a little money for the codec, the installation of K-Lite Codec Pack Mega is free and works with this codec without problems, and I also encountered the problem of editing the file in Adobe Premiere Pro in the form of artifacts.

I don’t know how everything would look after rendering the project, and even more so after uploading the video to YT, since the YT requirements state that the encoder must be H264. I decided that it would be easier to use the classic and universal H264. Surely the H265 codec is the future, but not as of now.

Let's go to the Video settings tab, by default if you have a FullHD monitor, the Output (scale) resolution field will be 1280x720. If you need to get the output file resolution to be the same as your monitor resolution, you’d have to modify this setting.

Say you have a 4k monitor and you need a 1080 file, then Downscale Filter is set to Bicubic by default, but if your device configuration allows I’d advise you to change this value to Lanczos. Below you set the FPS value for the recording (the optimal value is 30, while I use the highest value of 60 frames).

You can set the desired value - just remember the higher it is, the more load on your hardware, and the 60 FPS value is relevant only for dynamic scenes such as games. For various tutorials, foe example, 24-25 FPS will be enough.

Let’s move on to the Output item, and select Output Mode: Advanced for deeper settings, then go to the Streaming / Recording tab, depending on what we will be setting up. I will show the setting for recording, and you can already do it yourself for streaming by analogy.

The first thing to change if necessary is the path where our records will be saved. I prefer MKV for recording, others may prefer MP4 / MOV as it opens without problems in video editing programs, but if the recording crashes, the entire file will be damaged.

To open an MKV file in a video editor, first you need to play Remux Recordings in OBS. Just go to the menu OBS -> File -> Remux Recordings in the window that appears, select the video created using OBS (multiple files are possible), if necessary, change the path of the output file and click Remux. Remux speed depends on your device configuration.

The Audio Track field is always set to 1 by default, that is, audio recording happens from the first channel only. If we go to the Audio tab, we can see that this is the default playback device, that is, what you hear in speakers or headphones is also recorded in the audio track.

Using the Virtual Audio Cable application, we can record up to 6 audio tracks at the same time, for example: a sound recording from a game, a recording of Discord, your microphone and a master channel on which all sounds are recorded.

This layout is very convenient for recording the “letsplays” in cooperative modes, during editing you can easily remove unnecessary sounds and so on. YT has clear instructions on how to implement this feature, but we will possibly make a separate video on this topic.

Choose the encoder based on the capabilities and requirements, NVENC NEW for Nvidia video cards will always be optimal, if you don’t have one, choose the best one available :) In my case, it is H265 / HEVC (AMD HW) for recording and H264 for streaming.

Now we got to the main settings that affect the quality of our video. You can leave the Quality Preset Balanced or choose Quality if your device allows it. Rate Control Method is always CBR and Pre-Pass Mode is Disable.

Target Bitrate is one of the most important options responsible for the quality of the picture, the load on your hardware and the size of our recorded file.

For example, nowadays for YouTube (provided that we have 60 FPS at a resolution of 1080p (FullHD), we set the value to 12 Mbps, and for HDR projects this value is 15 Mbps, respectively, according to this table, you can choose a value according to your project parameters. And finally, we leave Keyframe Interval 2 and the rest of the default parameters as shown on your screens.

The last setting you need to configure is to change the audio bitrate in the Audio tab. The default value is 160, but YouTube supports 320 kbps, so we just change the value to 320 everywhere, then go to the Audio settings item and make sure that the Sample Rate value is 48 kHz, and Channels is set to Stereo. As YT points out: 44.1kHz recommended. Higher sample rates are accepted but not required (for example, 48kHz or 96kHz).

Congratulations, at this stage the basic setup for recording video via OBS is completed. Now we need to prepare the scene.

Scenes, recording/streaming sources

Scenes and sources are the essence of OBS Studio. This is where you set up the structure of your stream and video recording, add games, webcams, and any other devices or media you want. To hide or show scenes and sources, use a special menu at the top of the program for working with dock panels Top menu -> Dock panels.

You can create as many scenes as you like and give them names to differentiate between them. For example, "Welcome", "Desktop", "Game", "Break", "End". It is important to clarify that all scenes and sources in OBS Studio cannot have the same name.

Having created the scene, add the source from the list that you need. Whether you want to stream a specific window, a game, an image, text, or your entire display, OBS Studio offers several sources to choose from. You can rearrange sources in the preview by dragging them in the list or by using the up and down arrow buttons.

The source above the other in the list will have more priority and may hide those below it, similar to layers in Photoshop for instance. It can also be useful in situations where you want to stream something over another source, say, a webcam image. To show or hide an element, click on the eye icon (this also applies to filters).

When a source is selected in the list, you see a red frame around it. This is a bounding frame that can be used to move sources around in the preview window, as well as to increase or decrease the size of the source. If you want to crop the source, hold down the "Alt" button and move the bounding frame. The cut edge will change to green, indicating that the source is being cut.

You can also right-click on each source in the list to access other options. This will take you to the filters submenu and, for example, for your webcam, you can use background removal when using chroma key.

In a similar way, you can create additional scenes with various animations and other goodies. As for working with scenes, we can shoot a whole separate guide, but here I will not describe in full detail all the possibilities, because this video would become too large. Still, I will tell you a little about useful third-party services.

Streaming and connecting external services

The main disadvantage of OBS while streaming is the inability to simultaneously stream to multiple platforms properly (!), that is without lags and errors. It is also worth noting the impossibility of changing the bitrate during the broadcast. If there are problems with the Internet channel during streaming, you will have to stop the broadcast to reconfigure.

1. Multistreaming

Many novice streamers are wondering “what platform is better to stream on?” so, I advise you to stream your content on each possible platform at once.

I have not yet been able to find a better service than restream.io, of course, using this service without a subscription you will lose quality, since the maximum bitrate is limited to 6000 kbps, and in the free version you are limited to streaming only on two platforms, for example YouTube, Twitch. If you need to add more platforms, you will have to purchase a subscription or use alternative services.

In addition to using the restream service, there is Switchboard, though I have no experience in using it. ALso, a large number of users prefer the “Multiple RTMP outputs” plugin, since this method allows streaming to multiple services for free, has a simple interface and the ability to pre-configure.

Connecting the Restream.io service is simple: go to the website, register / log in, click Add Destination, select the desired platform, click the connect button and grant the necessary rights to the service. Same with the other platform. After a successful connection, you can edit the information for your streams (title, description, category, etc.).

Next, go to the settings for OBS, copy the RTMP server link and the stream key and paste it into the appropriate fields in OBS Studio. Just in case, we check the broadcast settings: encoder and bitrate and we can start broadcasting. Once you start streaming, you should be able to stream on both platforms.

1. Multichat

When streaming to multiple platforms, there is often a need to display multi-chat, and the coolest solution, in my opinion, would be RutonyChat, since it has support for a large number of platforms, dynamic support for emoticons, colored nicknames, polls, sweepstakes, icons for subscribers, more than 100 themes, etc., but this application is paid, and today we are focusing on free solutions.

Multichat by Restream is free and will cover the basic needs of most users. For users with a single monitor, a particularly useful feature will be the ability to pin a chat over any program or game and it will not be captured by OBS. Let’s look for the Restream chat, so go to the website and download the application.

After successful installation and signing up, we see the application window of our multichat, in the lower left corner we see the status of the platforms connected to the Restream chat, now our task is to bring the chat to the stream, for this we go to settings -> embed in stream.

Configure the stylization and copy the link for integration into OBS. I select my scene, add browser as the source, and paste the link, then tweak the window size and its location. As you can see, chat is working, it displays messages on the stream.

To pin the chat window on top of all windows, go to the Appearance settings and turn on Always On Top and Click through mode at the bottom. Set the background opacity to 0% and change other settings as you deem fit.

This configuration will allow you to see the total number of viewers on your stream, as well as chat messages from different platforms without disturbing you in the game itself. Please note that in order for viewers to see no chat overlay, you need to capture a specific window or game, and not the entire display.

1. Donations Setup

Donations while streaming is what most streamers wish for, so how does one integrate donations while streaming? There are a large number of services for such tasks, which one is the best - I am not ready to answer, yet I will try Donationalerts.

This platform is also used to receive subscription notifications, including Twitch Prime, call to vote, roulette, multi-chat and other functions. I’ll explore the “donation” function, with a fundraising goal, displaying the last donation and top donations, and I’ll add notifications about new subscribers, and you can familiarize yourself with the rest of the platform’s functions.

Disclaimer: Be careful, as there are reviews indicating problems with the withdrawal of funds and blocking accounts without due process; on the other hand, I often see this particular service with many popular and old streamers.

Immediately after registration and authorization, you will need to go to the general settings and connect the necessary platforms, in my case Twitch and YT that have been already connected by me earlier.

Immediately after connecting the platforms, on the Donation page you can get a QR code or just a link to the donation page. Also on this page, you can customize its appearance and specify the minimum amount for a donation in different currencies. I hope you figure out where to insert the link to the donation page on your own :)

In order to receive a donation notification during the stream, we need the appropriate widget. By default, your group will already have several notification options, but I deleted everything and will show you how to quickly create the desired notification.

Press “ADD NEW VARIATION”, specify the title, for example simply “Donation”. You can also play around with other widget settings, such as general appearance or change the notification image and sound from the library, or upload your own. I have prepared my version of the sound and my animated picture. After setting up, save the widget. I have to create two more widgets for notifications to YT and Twitch.

After you get all the necessary widgets, I take the link of my widget group, paste it into OBS as a browser source and check. In my case, everything works, yet I can also check using a fake donation with the text and see what happens.

I go to the “My donations” tab and click on the add donation button, fill in the required fields, to imitate someone donating during the stream. This way some streamers create fake donations to launch a so-called chain reaction, i.e. to prompt users to donate for real.

This type of fake donations is also taken into account in the In-stream statistics widget and other related widgets related to donations, except for donation goals, for some reason fake donations are not taken into account there.

Go to the “donation goals” widget tab and click “create goal”, style it as you wish and add it as a browser source to your scene. In-stream statistics - everything is similar, in my case, two widgets have already been created, which I called Top Donate and Last Donate, you can display a different number of elements for different periods of time, set the output method, and so on. In general, everything is simple, you can play around with the settings and adjust the channel design to your style (template).

1. Scene design, overlays

The design of scenes is an important component for a streamer, and still I have to say there are a large number of services that provide ready-made templates, PSD source files and overlay constructors. I would like to tell you about one such constructor, namely Streamelements.

Firstly, the advantage of Streamelements overlay themes is that all components are processed not by your device, but by the Streamelements server, thus removing the load from your CPU. For strong PCs, this may not be a significant indicator, but for weak devices, scenes with animations, glitches and other effects can significantly reduce the load.

As always, let me give a short and quick guide to this service, and you, in turn, will do the rest as you prefer. Go to the Streamelements.com website, log in through a platform convenient for you and go to Streaming tools -> Overlays gallery. I’ll use a neutral one, the popular Blue Flare theme and click Create my overlay. I get links to my overlays, create a scene and add the overlay of choice. For complete immersion, I will use a prepared blank for the background and webcam.

Then I go back to Streamelements and edit the overlay in My Overlays, in my case “IN GAME SCENE”. As you can see, this is a simple constructor, I can customize it, change the text, the positions of the elements, save and voila, the changes have been automatically applied in OBS. Now I have to add the necessary widgets: chat, last donation, best donation, donation notifications etc. and do the same for other scenes.

Thus, you can quickly create a rather beautiful design, perhaps not the most unique, but if you try, then by replacing the images of frames and other components you can make it unified, it all depends on your desire, imagination and time.

1. Additional plugins

As I said at the very beginning, a large community has formed around OBS Studio and this community is actively developing various plugins, there are more than 1000 of them in total, however with the release of version 28 of OBS, I assume that more than half of them will not work. To list them would not be appropriate in this video, still I have identified two plugins that are interesting to me in terms of stream design.

Advanced Scene Switcher is a handy plugin that helps to automatically switch scenes, for example, when changing windows in the system. This plugin allows you to set up switching scenes using "Macros". Macros consist of a list of conditions under which an action will be performed. Move transition is a plugin to move sources to a new position during scene transition.

Using these plugins will help you automate and stylize scene switching. In this video, I will not go into detail about installing and configuring these plugins, but only give ideas for your potential creativity in organizing the space of your professional streaming scenes.

Summary

Alright, we have come to the end of our brief guide and review of OBS Studio, in this video we figured out the basic OBS setup that will allow you to set the optimal settings for recording and streaming, and also you can organize the workspace in your scenes.

I hope many of you have understood that the main power of OBS Studio is streaming. OBS for me personally is the #1 solution for live streaming, with almost unlimited possibilities, a huge number of services that interact with the application and a bunch of plugins that are created by the application community.

Despite the fact that this guide turned out to be quite large, I can say with confidence that we have only touched on the basic necessary functions and features of OBS Studio, and also considered a small part of third-party services that provide excellent opportunities for the streamer.