OBS Settings Guide for Beginners

Where to start: the Auto-Configuration Wizard

When you first install OBS Studio, run the Auto-Configuration Wizard (Tools → Auto-Configuration Wizard). It tests your hardware and internet upload speed and recommends a starting set of settings. This is a good baseline, but the wizard often sets conservative values. After running it, use this guide to verify and optimize the settings it chose.

Video settings

Go to Settings → Video. These three settings control what gets streamed.

Base (Canvas) Resolution

Set this to your monitor's native resolution. If you have a 1080p monitor, set it to 1920×1080. If you have a 1440p monitor, you can set it to 2560×1440 and then downscale for streaming. This is what OBS “sees” as its working canvas before scaling for output.

Output (Scaled) Resolution

This is what actually gets sent to Twitch or YouTube. Your output resolution should be chosen based on your internet speed and PC performance:

Use the Canvas Size Calculator to find the right combination for your hardware.

Downscale Filter

When downscaling from a higher base resolution to a lower output resolution, set the filter to Lanczos. It produces the sharpest image. Bicubic is acceptable. Bilinear is the weakest — avoid it.

FPS

Use 60 FPS if your PC can handle it and your upload speed supports it. Use 30 FPS on a budget PC or limited upload. Twitch and YouTube both support 60fps, but a clean 30fps stream looks better than a choppy 60fps stream. The framerate only matters if your PC can maintain it without dropping frames.

Encoder settings

Go to Settings → Output and set Output Mode to Advanced. Under the Streaming tab, this is where you configure your encoder.

Choosing an encoder

If you have a modern Nvidia GPU (RTX 3000, 4000, or 5000 series), NVENC quality is now competitive with x264 at medium preset. Use hardware encoding — it frees your CPU for your game and runs cooler.

NVENC recommended settings (2026)

• Rate Control: CBR
• Bitrate: See the bitrate section below
• Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds
• Preset: P5 (Quality) for most users; P6 (Slower) for RTX 4000/5000 series where GPU headroom allows
• Tuning: High Quality
• Profile: high
• Look-ahead: On
• Psycho Visual Tuning: On
• Max B-frames: 2

AMF recommended settings (AMD)

• Rate Control: CBR
• Bitrate: See the bitrate section below
• Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds
• Quality Preset: Quality
• Profile: high
• B-Frames: 3 (if your GPU supports it — RX 6000/7000 series)

x264 recommended settings

• Rate Control: CBR
• Preset: veryfast or superfast (faster preset = less CPU usage but lower quality; find the fastest preset that keeps CPU under 80%)
• Profile: high
• Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds
• Tune: none (or film for non-gaming content)

Bitrate

Bitrate is the amount of data per second sent to the streaming platform. Higher bitrate produces a sharper image but requires more upload bandwidth. If your bitrate exceeds what your connection can sustain, you'll drop frames.

The golden rule: never exceed 75–80% of your stable upload speed. If your upload is 10 Mbps, cap your streaming bitrate at 7,500–8,000 Kbps. Use the OBS Bitrate Calculator to get the exact number for your connection.

Test your upload speed at fast.com or speedtest.net. Run the test 3 times at different times of day and use the lowest result — you want a bitrate that works at your connection's worst, not its best.

Audio settings

Go to Settings → Audio.

• Sample Rate: 48 kHz (matches Twitch, YouTube, and most platform requirements)
• Channels: Stereo
• Desktop Audio: Your sound output device (headphones or speakers — what you hear)
• Mic/Auxiliary Audio: Your microphone

Essential mic filters

Audio filters are the most overlooked setting for new streamers. A budget USB mic with proper filters sounds dramatically better than an expensive mic with no filters. To add filters: right-click your microphone in the Audio Mixer and click Filters. Add these in order, top to bottom:

1. Noise Suppression — RNNoise
   Removes background noise: keyboard clicks, fan hum, HVAC, street noise. RNNoise is the best algorithm available in OBS — use it over Speex whenever possible. Set it and leave it at default; it adjusts automatically.
2. Noise Gate
   Silences the mic completely when you're not speaking. Set the Close Threshold just above your room's ambient noise floor and the Open Threshold just above that. This prevents your mic from transmitting keyboard clicks and breathing when you're quiet.
3. Compressor
   Evens out your volume — quiet speech gets louder, loud reactions get quieter. Ratio: 4:1. Threshold: around -18 dB. Attack: 6ms. Release: 60ms. Adjust threshold until your normal speaking volume triggers compression slightly.
4. Gain (if needed)
   If your mic is still too quiet after the above filters, add a Gain filter at the end. Boost in small increments (3–6 dB) until your voice is comfortably audible. Your mic meter in OBS should peak around -12 to -6 dB during normal speech.

Game/desktop audio levels

Your game audio should be noticeably quieter than your voice. In the Audio Mixer in OBS, lower your Desktop Audio to around 70–80% volume. Your voice should sit in the forefront; game audio provides ambiance. This is a common mistake — new streamers often leave game audio at 100% and their voice gets lost in the mix.

Scene setup

Scenes in OBS are collections of sources that you switch between during a stream. Each scene is a different “view” — think of them like camera angles on a TV broadcast. Build these four scenes as a starting point:

Starting Soon scene

A static image or looping video with “Starting soon” text and your stream schedule. Add a browser source with a countdown timer overlay if you want. Use this when you're going live but not ready to show your game yet. Having this scene prevents viewers from arriving to an OBS-black screen while you boot up.

Gaming scene

Your main scene. Add sources in this order (bottom layer to top in the Sources list):

• Game Capture — captures your game directly. Right-click Sources → Add → Game Capture → select your game from the dropdown. Game Capture is more performant and produces better quality than Display Capture or Window Capture.
• Browser Source — for stream alerts (follow, sub, donation notifications). Connect to Streamlabs, StreamElements, or Twitch's built-in alerts via a browser source URL.
• Video Capture Device — your webcam (if using one). Position it in a corner. Right-click → Transform → Edit Transform to resize and reposition.

BRB / Break scene

An image or short looping video for when you step away mid-stream. Add a text source with “BRB — back soon” or a countdown timer. Never leave a live stream running unattended on your gameplay scene.

End Screen scene

A card with your social handles, Discord link, and a “Thanks for watching — next stream [day]!” message. Use this for the last 2–3 minutes of every stream. It reinforces your schedule and gives late-arriving viewers something to grab.

Studio Mode

Enable Studio Mode (click the button in the lower right of OBS) to separate your Preview window from what's actually live. In Studio Mode, you can arrange sources in the Preview panel without affecting what viewers see, then click Transition when you're ready to push the change live. This is essential for preventing accidental scene switches mid-stream.

Before you go live — checklist

Run a 5-minute test before clicking Start Streaming. Check the status bar at the bottom of OBS:

• Dropped Frames: 0% — any percentage above 0 means your bitrate is too high for your connection. Lower it by 500–1,000 Kbps and test again.
• CPU: under 80% — if OBS is maxing your CPU during encoding, switch to a faster x264 preset (veryfast → superfast → ultrafast) or switch to hardware encoding (NVENC or AMF).
• Encoding overload warning — a red warning in the bottom right. Fix by lowering preset, resolution, or switching encoders.
• Mic level showing in the mixer — if your mic meter isn't moving when you speak, your mic isn't selected correctly in Settings → Audio.

Troubleshooting common issues

Dropped frames

Dropped frames happen when your internet connection can't keep up with your bitrate. Fix in order:

1. Lower your bitrate by 500–1,000 Kbps
2. Switch to a server closer to you in Settings → Stream
3. Use wired ethernet instead of Wi-Fi
4. Close any background applications using your upload (cloud backups, torrent clients)
5. Enable Dynamic Bitrate in OBS advanced settings (adjusts automatically to connection fluctuations)

Encoding overload

OBS can't encode fast enough — your CPU or GPU is the bottleneck. Fix in order:

1. Switch to hardware encoding (NVENC or AMF) if you haven't already
2. Use a faster x264 preset (veryfast → superfast)
3. Lower your output resolution (1080p → 720p)
4. Lower your FPS (60 → 30)
5. Close background applications to free CPU

Black screen in Game Capture

This usually means a permissions issue or the game is running in a different mode. Fix:

• Right-click OBS → Run as Administrator (common fix for anti-cheat games)
• In Game Capture properties, try switching from “Capture specific window” to “Capture any fullscreen application”
• Run your game in Borderless Fullscreen or Windowed mode instead of Exclusive Fullscreen
• If the game uses DirectX 12, try the Display Capture source instead

Recording vs streaming settings

If you also record your streams locally for later editing or VOD uploads, use different recording settings than your streaming settings. Go to Settings → Output → Recording tab:

• Recording Format: MKV (safer — if OBS crashes, MKV files can still be recovered; MP4 files are corrupted on crash). Remux to MP4 after recording via File → Remux Recordings.
• Encoder: Use the same hardware encoder as streaming, or x264 for maximum quality recordings.
• Rate Control: CQP (for GPU encoders) or CRF (for x264) — these produce variable bitrate recordings that are higher quality than CBR at the same file size.
• CQP/CRF value: 18–20 for near-lossless quality. Lower number = higher quality = larger file size.