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04-streaming/obs/obs-studio-setup-encoding.md
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04-streaming/obs/obs-studio-setup-encoding.md
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title: "OBS Studio Setup and Encoding Settings"
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domain: streaming
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category: obs
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tags: [obs, streaming, encoding, twitch, youtube, linux]
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status: published
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created: 2026-03-08
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updated: 2026-03-08
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---
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# OBS Studio Setup and Encoding Settings
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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.
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## Installation
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**Linux:**
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```bash
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# Fedora
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sudo dnf install obs-studio
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# Ubuntu/Debian (flatpak recommended for latest version)
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flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.Studio
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# Ubuntu PPA (if you want apt)
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sudo add-apt-repository ppa:obsproject/obs-studio
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sudo apt update && sudo apt install obs-studio
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```
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**Windows/macOS:** Download from obsproject.com.
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## Encoding Settings
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The most important settings are in Settings → Output → Streaming.
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**If you have an NVIDIA GPU (recommended):**
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| Setting | Value |
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|---|---|
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| Encoder | NVENC H.264 (or AV1 if streaming to YouTube) |
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| Rate Control | CBR |
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| Bitrate | 6000 Kbps (Twitch max), up to 20000+ for YouTube |
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| Keyframe Interval | 2 |
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| Preset | Quality |
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| Profile | high |
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| Look-ahead | Enable |
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| Psycho Visual Tuning | Enable |
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| GPU | 0 |
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| Max B-frames | 2 |
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**If using CPU (x264):**
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| Setting | Value |
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|---|---|
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| Encoder | x264 |
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| Rate Control | CBR |
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| Bitrate | 6000 Kbps |
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| Keyframe Interval | 2 |
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| CPU Usage Preset | veryfast or superfast |
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| Profile | high |
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| Tune | zerolatency |
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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.
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## Output Resolution and FPS
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Settings → Video:
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| Setting | Value |
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|---|---|
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| Base (Canvas) Resolution | Match your monitor (e.g., 1920×1080) |
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| Output (Scaled) Resolution | 1920×1080 (or 1280×720 for lower bitrate streams) |
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| Downscale Filter | Lanczos (best quality) or Bilinear (fastest) |
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| Common FPS | 60 (or 30 if bandwidth-limited) |
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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.
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## Scene Setup
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A basic streaming setup uses two scenes at minimum:
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**Live scene** — your main content:
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- Game Capture or Window Capture (Windows/macOS) or Screen Capture (Linux/Wayland)
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- Browser Source for alerts/overlays
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- Audio input (mic)
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- Desktop audio
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**BRB/Starting Soon scene** — a static image or video loop for transitions.
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Add sources with the + button in the Sources panel. Order matters — sources higher in the list appear on top.
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## Audio Setup
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Settings → Audio:
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- Desktop Audio: set to your main audio output
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- Mic/Auxiliary Audio: set to your microphone
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In the mixer, use the gear icon per source to apply filters:
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- **Noise Suppression** (RNNoise): reduces background noise significantly
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- **Noise Gate**: cuts audio below a threshold — stops background hiss when you're not talking
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- **Compressor**: evens out volume levels
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- **Gain**: boosts a quiet mic
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Apply them in that order. Noise suppression first, gate second, compressor third.
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## Linux-Specific Notes
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**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.
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**Virtual camera on Linux:**
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```bash
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# Load the v4l2loopback kernel module
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sudo modprobe v4l2loopback devices=1 video_nr=10 card_label="OBS Virtual Camera" exclusive_caps=1
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# Make it persist across reboots
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echo "v4l2loopback" | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/v4l2loopback.conf
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echo "options v4l2loopback devices=1 video_nr=10 card_label=OBS Virtual Camera exclusive_caps=1" | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/v4l2loopback.conf
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```
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## Gotchas & Notes
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- **Test your stream before going live.** Record a short clip and watch it back. Artifacts in the recording will be worse in the stream.
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- **Keyframe interval at 2 is required by Twitch.** Other values cause issues with their ingest servers.
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- **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.
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- **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.
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- **OBS logs** are in Help → Log Files. When something isn't working, this is where to look first.
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## See Also
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- [[linux-file-permissions]]
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- [[bash-scripting-patterns]]
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