Many people who are just starting to stream on Twitch or other resources, and at the same time looking for exactly which program is optimal for them, often choose based on the following criteria: simplicity, efficiency and, of course, cost. Under all these criteria, the Open Broadcaster Software utility fits perfectly . Setting up this program is not as simple as it might seem at first glance, but in fact all of its advantages provided by such a detailed setting completely compensate for its complexity.
OBS and XSplit
Immediately it is worth noting the fact that if you compare this utility with XSplit, then in fact it is not so easy to learn. After all, if the latter does almost everything instead of us, then when you use OBS, you most likely will have to either understand all sorts of nuances for a long time or go to the Internet for advice on Open Broadcaster Software. Configuring this utility is sometimes complicated also because their site periodically crashes, as a result of which users have completely lost access to it. In this regard, quite often there is such a situation that it is impossible to enter the forum of the site itself.
What are the benefits of OBS?
First of all, considering the advantages of this utility, it is worth noting how simple the interface has Open Broadcaster Software. Setting up this program is difficult only because of its detail, while mastering the main points is extremely simple and straightforward. Of course, this interface does not differ in some incredible beauty, but in such things, convenience is much more important.
It is also impossible not to say how small a number of resources is requested by Open Broadcaster Software. Setting with detailed summarizing of various parameters allows you to achieve the ultimate availability of streams and minimal resource consumption of the program itself. If you correctly set all the characteristics, then in this case even the most demanding games will start and go without any problems, however, for beginners, such a detailed setting is, of course, a problem. Indeed, how to configure Open Broadcaster Software, not everyone will figure it out on their own, because there are a huge number of points here, and the utility itself quite often can impose far from the best configuration for a user computer.
What do you need to know?
When downloading the utility from the official site, you should carefully select the version that is suitable specifically for your operating system. Stream programs are offered in two variations - x32 and x64, and a shortcut in this case can be created by default. If you mix up the bitness, then in this case during the stream the program will “lag” you quite a lot or will not even work at all. To make it easier for you, it is best to just remove the shortcut that is inappropriate for you so that in the future you do not accidentally launch OBS, which may "lag".
But such problems are not only a consequence of the fact that people launch incorrect shortcuts, some still do not know how to configure Open Broadcaster Software. Indeed, when working with this utility, it is very important to pay attention to all the little things.
OBS or free XSplit?
Many people think that because of the complexity, you should not use OBS, but you can just use, for example, the free version of the program for streaming XSplit. But in fact, not everyone understands that the free version of this utility is fundamentally different from the paid one, it is extremely badly cut, while Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is used very well and does not block our access to any features.
In principle, the utility appeared relatively recently, and the developers of XSplit or to this day have not realized that they have a very, very serious competitor (which is unlikely), or they just continue to be paid by those people who are used to this utility, because literally For several years the total monopoly of this program reigned in this area, since there were no alternatives to it.
Streaming is expensive
But in any case, regardless of which program you will download, you should immediately decide how much you will be devoted to stream management, because one way or another you will need to invest here certain funds for the development of both computer and the Internet . If just for fun, untitled Open Broadcaster Software is fine, but if you want to ensure maximum performance and stability, you can try the premium version of XSplit.
However, most users who use OBS and have experience with paid XSplit say that there is practically no difference.
Download the program
Naturally, before using Open Broadcaster Software, we will need to download this program from the official site. While it will be downloaded and installed on your computer, you can go to the main page, select the approximate configuration of your computer, and then click on the Recommend Settings button. Initially, you can use just such a set of characteristics that during the tests you can already change for yourself.
General program settings
After the Open Broadcaster Software program is installed , you will need to go to the "General" settings tab. For convenience, it is recommended that you initially create a profile so that you have the opportunity at any time to switch between several sets of settings.
It is worth noting that initially you are provided with Open Broadcaster Software in Russian, but you can change the language if necessary in the settings, if that is more convenient for you. Installing the tray icon or minimizing the program is not necessary if you have an additional monitor. It’s best to maintain control over the stream rather than annoy viewers with continuous window switching. The cursor display should be turned off without fail if you are going to show a certain movie or video, but in the case of the predominant majority of games, it can be left completely, and sometimes even necessary for more information.
Coding
Here, the most controversial feature is CBR, which maintains a constant bit rate. This parameter forces users to download the broadcast at a certain speed throughout the stream, which ranges from 2000 to 5000 Kbps, which is not optimal in some cases, but in fact, recently setting this parameter is a mandatory requirement on Twitch. Open Broadcaster Software gives you the opportunity to not only meet this requirement, but also to do it fully automatically.
The only drawback of this constant bitrate is the inaccessibility of your stream for those people who use an unstable connection (for example, a 3G modem) or have limited traffic.
We set quality at the level of 6-8. It’s not worth the joy of immediately setting the value to 10, since visually you will practically not see any difference, but at the same time, users who will view it can have all kinds of lags. The maximum bit rate is recommended to be set at approximately 2500-3500. Firstly, streaming services are not very willing to accept higher values when starting to “lose” packets, and secondly, using a bitrate of more than 3500 is required only if the image is provided in Full-HD format. It should also be noted that the value of the maximum bitrate must be equal to the size of the buffer, so you should not even set a mark next to the item “Another buffer size”.
In "Audio" select the "AAC" codec, as well as the "Bitrate 128".
Broadcast
There are two modes available - local recording and live broadcasting. Local recording provides a great opportunity to fully independently evaluate the quality of the future stream before using Open Broadcaster Software in a live broadcast so that in the future you do not bother the audience. At the same time, it is recommended to use this function before the start of the stream, and in particular this applies to situations where you are going to hang all kinds of pictures and other extraneous elements over the image. Now you will need to specify the path where your test video will be saved, and set a hot key, after which the broadcast will be launched in the OBS window. Among other things, this option can be used as a worthy alternative to all kinds of programs like Fraps.
After you are done with choosing the optimal settings, you should set the live broadcast back. The latest versions of the utility provide a fairly large number of the most diverse services through which it will be possible to broadcast, but, of course, Twitch and Cybergame were optimal and remain. The first is the most common portal of this type to date, and the second is more aimed at the Russian audience. It is worth noting that both services are currently unobtrusive in terms of monetization, and are also entirely dedicated to gaming topics.
Which server to choose?
For Twitch, you should choose London, Amsterdam or Frankfurt. Quite often, such situations occur when one of the servers is overloaded, constantly “lags”, and for this reason simply does not receive all the packages from us. In this case, you will need to choose a different server. If we consider Cybergame, then there are no special options - this is a paid or free server.
In order for you to be provided with your own Play Path / Stream Key, you will need to go through the registration procedure on one of the channels, and then create your own channel. The services themselves are extremely understandable and affordable. In the profile you will be provided with an individual key for the channel, which will need to be entered in this field.
Video
In this section, you will need to choose your own video card, as well as the resolution that you consider optimal. In this case, you can simply select a monitor so that the program uses the resolution you selected. It is recommended to set scaling at the level of 1280x720, since HD is more than optimal for broadcasting video or various games. For Full HD, more fine-tuning of the program will already be required, since it will be necessary to find the optimal balance between the bitrate used, as well as the capabilities of the computer and the receiving ability of the service you selected.
It is best to leave the filter bilinear, since other options give almost nothing visually, in addition to the extra load. To set the value of frames per second, you should remember exactly what parameters the OBS evaluator offered you on the official website. In the predominant majority of cases, it’s enough to set the number of frames per second to 30. It is worth noting that the installed FPS is most noticeably responsible for how much load the program will give to your computer, and if you notice any slowdowns in the PC during Stream time, first of all, you should lower this parameter, but definitely not worth setting below 25 FPS.