Installing and Setting up OBS

In this tutorial we are going to learn to setup OBS. You can download OBS from OBS Project you'll need to select to correct version either Windows, macOS or Linux. You will need to install the software and use the default settings. When you are done with this tutorial you should be able to record your screen and audio.

1.

After you run OBS this is the default screen you should see. Below you see SOURCES if something is in there it should be removed by selecting what is in it and then press the - (minus sign). Do this until everything is deleted inside the SOURCES.

2.

Go to FILE>SETTINGS to get to the screen above.

Here we are going to setup OBS. Select GENERAL on the left side and scroll down until you see SYSTEM TRAY in the main settings window.

3.

As seen in the image above the SYSTEM TRAY should have all check-boxes enabled, please make sure its setup as in the image above. When done press APPLY below right side.

4.

Now select OUTPUT on the left side. Here is the OUTPUT of OBS most likely it is the same as above except ENCODER this is something i will talk about in point 5. Press APPLY to exit press OK.

5.

Make sure the Video Bitrate is high enough when streaming but remember your upload speed (this is an Internet Service Provider restriction) if your speed not good the stream will have issues. Encoder x264 you cant go wrong with it. Audio bitrate set it to 320 but if you can't try and keep it above 160.
The recording section set it up as you see above the RECORDING PATH is what you want it to be "Seven of Nine" is my username on the Windows system. Normally Videos in that Path is the directory where everything is recorded to but i made a directory "Phylogeny" so i know its for that project. With this you can make under Videos multiple directories that contain projects you are working on you only need to remember to switch directory before recording so it shows up in the correct directory.

Set RECORDING QUALITY to the one shown in the screenshot because this is to Harddrive you should be fine with highest quality. Set RECORDING FORMAT to mp4 this should work on most editing software. ENCODER set this to x264 if you want the same as above you will need to experiment and see if your system supports it correctly. Press APPLY to exit press OK.

6.

The OUTPUT (Scaled) RESOLUTION should be set to the BASE Canvas) RESOLUTION the rest should be the same as in the image. Press APPLY to exit press OK.

7.

You will need to go to your YouTube Channel and go to the studio there you can find this setting press REVEAL and copy the Stream name/key. You will need this in OBS in a moment if you do not need this its used for streaming then skip this you can always add it later. https://www.youtube.com/live_dashboard?nv=1

7-1

If you want to stream YouTube setup the STREAM on the left side. The STREAM KEY is obtained by point 7 but you will need to go to YouTube for that. If you do not set this all will work except streaming. Press APPLY to exit press OK.

8.

The SOURCES should be empty you can clear it out.

9.

First we are going to add  AUDIO INPUT CAPTURE by pressing the + (plus sign) in the SOURCES panel.

10.

When you pressed AUDIO INPUT CAPTURE you will see this screen and you press OK. You can rename but i would not do that because following tutorials will be harder, this is for all screens where you see this default is good enough.

11.

Depending on your Microphone you will need to select the correct setting from the pull-down menu MINE is USB AUDIO if you are not sure you will need to try them out, press OK. You know you have the right one when the meter goes from left to right on the main screen. By double clicking AUDIO INPUT CAPTURE in the SOURCES you can change the settings again. This is trail and error.

12.

Second we are going to add  DISPLAY CAPTURE by pressing the + (plus sign) in the SOURCES panel.

13.

When you pressed DISPLAY CAPTURE you will see this screen and you press OK. You can rename but i would not do that because following tutorials will be harder, this is for all screens where you see this default is good enough.

14.

This screen is where you select the screen you want to record if you have multiple screens you will need to pick the correct one, but default should be correct in most cases. Do not forget to turn on CAPTURE CURSOR else you will not record the cursor and people will not see what you click. Press OK.

15.

In the main screen you see the RED border that is what you record make sure the whole screen is recorded, but be aware everything is recorded what is inside the RED. You can make it larger or smaller by the point you have 8 of them that you can stretch but do not put them outside the screen.

16.

At the system tray you see the OBS logo if you right click you can START recording or STOP recording (Start will become STOP). or you can START streaming or STOP streaming (Start will become STOP).

This should all you will need to get OBS running if you have questions this tutorial has a topic where you can ask questions.