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04-streaming/obs/obs-studio-setup-encoding.md

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+---
+title: "OBS Studio Setup and Encoding Settings"
+domain: streaming
+category: obs
+tags: [obs, streaming, encoding, twitch, youtube, linux]
+status: published
+created: 2026-03-08
+updated: 2026-03-08
+---
+
+# OBS Studio Setup and Encoding Settings
+
+OBS Studio is the standard for streaming and recording — open source, cross-platform, and capable of everything you'd need for a production setup. The defaults are fine to get started but getting encoding settings right matters for stream quality and CPU/GPU load.
+
+## Installation
+
+**Linux:**
+```bash
+# Fedora
+sudo dnf install obs-studio
+
+# Ubuntu/Debian (flatpak recommended for latest version)
+flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.Studio
+
+# Ubuntu PPA (if you want apt)
+sudo add-apt-repository ppa:obsproject/obs-studio
+sudo apt update && sudo apt install obs-studio
+```
+
+**Windows/macOS:** Download from obsproject.com.
+
+## Encoding Settings
+
+The most important settings are in Settings → Output → Streaming.
+
+**If you have an NVIDIA GPU (recommended):**
+
+| Setting | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Encoder | NVENC H.264 (or AV1 if streaming to YouTube) |
+| Rate Control | CBR |
+| Bitrate | 6000 Kbps (Twitch max), up to 20000+ for YouTube |
+| Keyframe Interval | 2 |
+| Preset | Quality |
+| Profile | high |
+| Look-ahead | Enable |
+| Psycho Visual Tuning | Enable |
+| GPU | 0 |
+| Max B-frames | 2 |
+
+**If using CPU (x264):**
+
+| Setting | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Encoder | x264 |
+| Rate Control | CBR |
+| Bitrate | 6000 Kbps |
+| Keyframe Interval | 2 |
+| CPU Usage Preset | veryfast or superfast |
+| Profile | high |
+| Tune | zerolatency |
+
+NVENC offloads encoding to the GPU, leaving CPU free for the game/application. Use it whenever available. x264 on `veryfast` is a reasonable CPU fallback if your GPU doesn't support hardware encoding.
+
+## Output Resolution and FPS
+
+Settings → Video:
+
+| Setting | Value |
+|---|---|
+| Base (Canvas) Resolution | Match your monitor (e.g., 1920×1080) |
+| Output (Scaled) Resolution | 1920×1080 (or 1280×720 for lower bitrate streams) |
+| Downscale Filter | Lanczos (best quality) or Bilinear (fastest) |
+| Common FPS | 60 (or 30 if bandwidth-limited) |
+
+For most Twitch streams: 1080p60 or 720p60 at 6000 Kbps. 1080p60 at 6000 Kbps is pushing it for fast-motion content — if you're seeing compression artifacts, drop to 720p60.
+
+## Scene Setup
+
+A basic streaming setup uses two scenes at minimum:
+
+**Live scene** — your main content:
+- Game Capture or Window Capture (Windows/macOS) or Screen Capture (Linux/Wayland)
+- Browser Source for alerts/overlays
+- Audio input (mic)
+- Desktop audio
+
+**BRB/Starting Soon scene** — a static image or video loop for transitions.
+
+Add sources with the + button in the Sources panel. Order matters — sources higher in the list appear on top.
+
+## Audio Setup
+
+Settings → Audio:
+- Desktop Audio: set to your main audio output
+- Mic/Auxiliary Audio: set to your microphone
+
+In the mixer, use the gear icon per source to apply filters:
+- **Noise Suppression** (RNNoise): reduces background noise significantly
+- **Noise Gate**: cuts audio below a threshold — stops background hiss when you're not talking
+- **Compressor**: evens out volume levels
+- **Gain**: boosts a quiet mic
+
+Apply them in that order. Noise suppression first, gate second, compressor third.
+
+## Linux-Specific Notes
+
+**Wayland capture:** OBS on Wayland requires either the PipeWire screen capture plugin or using X11 compatibility mode (`obs --use-x11` or setting the env var `QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb`). The Flatpak version handles this better than the native package on some distros.
+
+**Virtual camera on Linux:**
+
+```bash
+# Load the v4l2loopback kernel module
+sudo modprobe v4l2loopback devices=1 video_nr=10 card_label="OBS Virtual Camera" exclusive_caps=1
+
+# Make it persist across reboots
+echo "v4l2loopback" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/v4l2loopback.conf
+echo "options v4l2loopback devices=1 video_nr=10 card_label=OBS Virtual Camera exclusive_caps=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/v4l2loopback.conf
+```
+
+## Gotchas & Notes
+
+- **Test your stream before going live.** Record a short clip and watch it back. Artifacts in the recording will be worse in the stream.
+- **Keyframe interval at 2 is required by Twitch.** Other values cause issues with their ingest servers.
+- **High CPU Usage Preset for x264 makes streams look better but uses more CPU.** `veryfast` is usually the sweet spot — `fast` and `medium` are noticeably heavier for marginal quality gain.
+- **NVENC quality has improved significantly.** Old advice says x264 is better quality. That was true in 2018. Current NVENC (RTX series) is competitive with x264 at reasonable bitrates.
+- **OBS logs** are in Help → Log Files. When something isn't working, this is where to look first.
+
+## See Also
+
+- [[linux-file-permissions]]
+- [[bash-scripting-patterns]]