In this video I’m going to show you the
Best OBS Settings for Recording in 2024. Start by opening the settings down
in the bottom right corner of OBS. Select the output settings on the side.
Head up to the output mode and set it to advanced, then select the recording tab.
Click the browse button then select a folder for your video’s to save to. If you have an
internal hard drive that isn’t your boot drive then I recommend using it to prevent any issues.
For recording format use MP4 if you’re only recording shorter videos, around 10 minutes
or less. If you’re recording longer videos or really can’t afford losing the footage then use
MKV. If you’re using MKV you will need to convert or remux your recordings to MP4. I’ll show you how
to remux videos automatically later in the video. Set Video Encoder to NVIDIA NVENC H.264, or AMD
HW H.264 if you have it. Otherwise, use x264. Set audio encoder to FFmpeg AAC, then select the
amount of audio tracks you want to record. For example, you might want your microphone, gameplay,
and Discord all on their own track so you can edit them easier. If you don’t plan on editing or
muting any audio then just select track 1. To separate PC sounds and your microphone select 1
and 2. Otherwise, select as many tracks as needed. Leave rescale unchecked, custom muxer settings
blank, and uncheck automatic file splitting. Head down to the encoder settings
and set rate control to CQP. Set the CQ Level to 15 or 16 if you’re recording
in 1080p. The lower the CQ level the better quality your recording will be, but the larger
the file size. For 1440p and 4K recordings use 18. Set Keyframe interval to 2.
Set Preset to better quality, and set Tuning to high quality.
For multipass mode use either two passes full resolution or two passes quarter
resolution. There isn’t much of a difference but full resolution is slightly better for quality.
Set profile to high, then uncheck Look-ahead and check Psycho visual tuning.
Set GPU to 0 and Max B-Frames to 2. Apply to save your settings. If you have any
stuttering or lag issues then try one of the alternative settings on screen.
Select Audio from the side. Set sample rate to 48 kHz if it isn’t
already, then set channels to Stereo. Expand the first desktop audio option and set it
to default, or the audio device you use for all of your sounds. This is what will be heard in your
recordings. If you want to record multiple tracks then I recommend checking out my tutorial
on how to do that. It will be linked below. In most cases you will only have one
desktop audio output device, however, if your headset has separate outputs for game
and chat then be sure to add the other here. Select the Mic/Auxiliary audio
menu and set it to your microphone. Apply, then go to the video settings.
Set base (canvas) resolution to your screen’s resolution. This is the size of
your OBS canvas, and will adjust the preview. If you’re not sure of your screen’s
resolution then open the start menu and search for display settings.
Open the display settings, then select the monitor you’re recording
and scroll down until you find the display resolution. Typically it will be 1920x1080.
Set the output (scaled) resolution to the resolution you’re recording in, again
this is typically 1920x1080 or 1080p. If you’re recording in a lower
resolution than your base resolution then set downscale filter to lanczos.
Set the frame rate to Common FPS Values and use 60. If you’re not recording gameplay
or high speed footage then you can use 30. Apply, then select Hotkeys from the side.
Select the filter box at the top and type in “Recording”.
Select the Start Recording box, then press a keyboard shortcut that you want to
use to start and stop your recordings. Using the same hotkey for both will allow you to start
and stop the recording with the same shortcut as a toggle. I use Ctrl + Shift + A which is
programmed as a hotkey on my Streamdeck, however, you can use any key or combination you want.
Apply then go to the advanced options. For process priority, I recommend leaving
it at normal. If you experience laggy recordings then you can try setting it
to Above Normal, but this may result in a lower FPS or dropped frames when playing games.
For the video options, I leave these on default, you can copy these if yours are different.
Under the recording options is the option to automatically remux to mp4. If
you’re recording in MKV then you will want to enable this so your videos convert
automatically. Otherwise, leave it turned off. Apply, then close the settings.
Go to the audio mixer dock. Click the three dots next to one of your audio
devices, then open the advanced audio properties. Set both the desktop audio and mic/aux devices
to be heard on track 1, then remove it from all other tracks. If you want to record multiple audio
tracks then place each on their own track, or skip this step and follow our tutorial linked below.
Close when done and you will now have the best OBS recording settings.
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