The Importance of Understanding OBS Studio's UI Before Advanced Settings and Configurations

Before we can dive into the advanced settings and configurations of Open Broadcaster Software (OBS), it is essential to take some time and get familiar with the user interface (UI) of OBS. Many individuals often roll their eyes at this suggestion, assuming they can simply follow along with tutorials without understanding the UI. Unfortunately, this can lead to them being the ones posting comments asking where they found specific settings or configurations. The good news is that OBS Studio's UI doesn't change drastically across updates, so even if you upgrade to a new version of the software, this guide will remain relevant in the future.

High-Tier Live Production Requires Scene Switching and Customization

In high-tier live production needs, having a variety of scenes to show and quick, precise switching between them is crucial. This is where OBS's Stream Deck comes into play, offering 15 keys with customizable LCD screens behind each. These screens can execute macros, application launchers, scene switching, and source muting for OBS and other applications. You can also nest folders for more actions, allowing you to tailor your setup to meet specific needs. With the Elgato Stream Deck, you can take your live production setup to the next level.

Taking a Look at OBS Studio's UI

Let's take a closer look at OBS Studio's UI and where you can find various settings. The main OBS window consists of the stream preview, scenes, and sources lists, audio mixer, transition controls, and start and stop buttons. The top bar of menus provides access to literally everything you need from the program, including the obvious "File, Edit, View, Tools, Help" menus, as well as Profile and Scene Collections menus. These are super important if you use OBS for multiple different scenarios, such as recording, streaming, and podcasting.

The Settings Menu: A Comprehensive Guide

To get started with OBS Studio's advanced settings and configurations, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the settings menu. Clicking on "Settings" in the lower-right corner of the window will take you to a comprehensive guide that covers various aspects of the software. The "General" tab includes system-wide and user interface settings, such as the Dark theme, Rachni theme, and options for automatically starting recording when you hit Start Streaming.

The "Stream" Tab: Choosing Your Streaming Service

The "Stream" tab is where you can choose your streaming service and add your login information. This section allows you to configure your streaming and recording settings, including codecs, bitrates, and scaled resolutions for your audio, streams, and recordings. The default setting shows a "Simple" mode, but most of the course will involve the "Advanced" mode, selected by the top drop-down menu.

The "Audio" Tab: Setting Up Your Audio Devices

The "Audio" tab is where you can set up your audio devices, such as microphones, headphones, and speakers. This section also allows you to enable push-to-talk keys, which can be useful for live streaming and podcasting. By understanding how to configure these settings, you can ensure that your audio quality meets your standards.

The "Video" Tab: Setting Up Your Resolution and Frame Rate

The "Video" tab is where you can set up your resolution, frame rate, and scaling settings. This section includes the dimensions of your video, which is essential for ensuring a high-quality streaming experience. By understanding how to configure these settings, you can tailor your stream to meet specific needs and requirements.

Customizing Your Hotkeys

The "Hotkeys" tab allows you to set up handy hotkeys for quickly switching scenes, sources, and starting or stopping recording or streaming. This section provides you with the flexibility to customize your workflow and make it more efficient. By understanding how to use these hotkeys, you can streamline your live production setup and reduce downtime.

Advanced Settings: Processor Priority and More

The "Advanced" tab contains a lot of fun, high-level settings that can help you configure your stream. These settings include options for changing "ProcessorPriority" to reduce impact on your processor, setting up faster streaming, and adjusting stream delays. By understanding how to use these advanced settings, you can customize your stream to meet specific needs and requirements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding OBS Studio's UI is crucial before diving into the advanced settings and configurations of the software. By taking the time to familiarize yourself with the user interface, you can ensure that you're making the most of OBS and achieving a high-quality streaming experience. Whether you're a seasoned producer or just starting out, this guide has provided you with the knowledge and tools necessary to take your live production setup to the next level.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enBefore we can jump into the crazy advancedsettings and configurations of the software,you really need to take some time and getfamiliar with the UI – or user interface– of Open Broadcaster Software.Anytime I say this, many roll their eyes,think they can just follow along with thetutorials without knowing the UI, and thenthey end up being the ones to post commentsasking where I found this setting or thatsetting.The UI doesn’t change super drasticallyacross updates, so even if the software updatesthis guide will be pretty relevant in thefuture.Any high-tier live production needs a varietyof scenes to show and quick, precise switchingbetween them.The Elgato Stream Deck gives you 15 keys withcustomizable LCD screens behind each, thatcan execute macros, application launchers,scene switching and source muting for OBS- and you can nest folders for more actionsand UNLIMITED POWAHHHH.Grab yours today via the link in the videodescription.I’m EposVox, here to make tech easier andmore fun, and welcome back to my OBS Studiotutorial course.I have many, many more videos on the softwarein the playlist linked in the description.Check that before asking questions, and checkthe introduction video to learn how this courseworks, if you get confused.Let’s take a look at OBS Studio’s UI andwhere you can find the various settings.Specifics will be covered in the relevanttutorials, whereas this video will coveredhow to find areas of settings.The main OBS window consists of the streampreview, scenes and sources lists, audio mixer,transition controls, and your start and stopbuttons.As with every software ever, the top bar ofmenus contains access to literally everythingyou need from the program.Either at the top of your window on Windows,or in your system title bar on Mac or Linuxif you have the program maximized.These menus include the obvious “File, Edit,View, Tools, Help” menus, but also Profileand Scene Collections menus which are superimportant if you use OBS for multiple differentscenarios – such as recording, streaming,and podcasting – so we will cover thesein depth in a dedicated video in the course.The bottom bar features your recording andstreaming timers, current frame rate, anda CPU usage indicator.This is super useful for checking your streambandwidth health, recording time, and overallsystem performance.If your CPU load is high, you may need tolower your settings.Typically, the stream preview only has a singlevideo window, which just shows your activestream view.However, if you click the “Studio Mode”button over on the right, you then have 2previews, with transition controls betweenthem.The preview on the right is the active streampreview that your live viewers or recordingfile sees.The preview on the left is whichever sceneyou select.This is handy for editing scenes on the fly,or prepping scenes before you switch.I’ll cover this more in depth in a futurevideo.You can use the controls in the menu to setup transition options or transition betweenyour scenes.The Scenes and Sources section is for changingwhat viewers actually see.Sources are your individual on-stream elements– such as a video source like a capturecard or webcam, a still image overlay, browsersources for stream alerts, and so on.Scenes are groupings of sources for differentpoints of your stream.For example, you can set up a scene for afull-screen webcam view for when you’rejust talking to your audience, a scene forgameplay footage and facecam in the corner,a scene with just gameplay, a still imagescene with an image saying “BRB” for whenyou need to run to the bathroom, and so on.You will be using this a TON so it’s worthtesting out all of the options here.The audio mixer is super important, too.This is where you balance your different audiosources – such as your microphone, gamesound, extra inputs, and so on.The audio levels are typically green, butif you hit 0db and clip or peak they turnred.You NEVER want this to happen, and need toavoid it by having things around minus 10db or so.This isn’t really indicated properly on-screen,but aim for your levels to only ever hit hereat the HIGHEST point.The most commonly-overlooked part of the mixeris the channel assignments.You see, OBS Studio allows you to record multipleaudio tracks to a file, which you can thenbalance in editing.By clicking the gear icon next to the eachaudio source in the mixer and hitting “AdvancedAudio Properties” - or going to “Edit”- “Advanced Audio Properties”, you canchange which channel each audio source goesto.Most people miss this, and by default, allaudio sources go to all tracks.If you don’t separate your tracks, all ofyour different tracks will be the same.Again, all of this will be covered in itsown video.Check out the settings menu.Click Settings in the lower-right.The “General” tab includes system-wideand user interface settings.This includes the Dark theme, a more colorfuldark theme called “Rachni”, an optionto automatically start recording when youhit Start Streaming, setting up “projectors”to have a full-screen stream view on a secondarymonitor, and so on.The “Stream” tab is for choosing yourstreaming service and adding your login info.The “Output” tab is for configuring yourstreaming and recording settings.Here you can adjust your codecs, bitrates,and scaled resolutions for your audio, streams,and recordings.By default this shows a “Simple” mode,but most of this course will involve the “Advanced”mode – selected by the top drop-down menu.The Simple mode isn’t super useful for mostpeople.The “Audio” tab is for setting up youraudio devices, such as microphones, headphones,and so on – as well as enabling push-to-talkkeys.The “Video” tab is for setting up yourresolution, frame rate, and scaling settings.The dimensions of your video.The “Hotkeys” tab allows you to set uphandy hotkeys for quickly switching scenes,sources, and starting or stopping recordingor streaming.The ”Advanced” tab contains a lot of fun,high-level settings to configure your stream.These can be useful for changing “ProcessorPriority” to reduce impact on your processor,set up faster streaming, stream delays, andso on.If you don’t like where things are… changeit!As of version 20.0, OBS Studio let’s youmove the UI modules around by going to “View”- “Docks” - and then un-checking “LockUI.”Then you can drag the modules around, as desired.I cover this more in-depth in my OBS StudioUpdate 20 walkthrough video, linked in thevideo description and in the course playlist.That was a lot.There’s a lot of settings in OBS Studio,and the wonderful dev team is always addingmore.But by learning the sections of settings well,you’ll always be able to make adjustmentsor fixes to your stream config and get itworking for you.In future OBS Course videos, we tackle eachof these individual settings and recordingscenarios in very detailed guides.Check out the playlist linked in the videodescription and card icon to keep learning.That’s it for this OBS tutorial.Hit the like button if you enjoyed, and sharewith a friend if they also want to learn theprogram.I’ll see you next time.Thanks for watching this episode of my OBSStudio tutorial course.More videos like this and a full master classare linked in the playlist in the video description.Click to learn more.Also consider joining us on Patreon to helpkeep tech education free.Go to Patreon.com/eposvox to sign up.\n"