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Streaming & Recording

The best OBS settings for recording

General settings for recording in OBS Studio

When setting up your OBS recording settings, first off, go to the Settings menu and press the Output tab. Then, update Output Mode to Advanced to gain access to more options.

  1. The next step is to go into the Recording tab. Make sure the Type option is set to standard and choose your preferred recording path. Your recorded videos will be saved there.
  2. Use MKV or FLV containers for file redundancy. You will be able to convert them to MP4 to edit later.
  3. In the Encoder field, select your preferred graphics card or choose x264.
  4. Select CBR in the “Rate control” field and set the bitrate to 40000 if you have a high-motion intensivity video. Otherwise, set it to approximately 15000 to 25000. With recordings, VBR can also be used if this video isn't supposed to be streamed to preserve storage. Bitrate should be determined based on content and requirements for video quality.
  5. Finally, make sure the GPU field is set to 0 and the Max B-frames field is 2. If you are running two GPUs, you can select which one for OBS to encode with.

Best video settings for recording in OBS Studio

  1. Now let’s optimize the video settings. Firstly, go to the Video tab on the left and set your Base and Output Resolutions to their maximums. If you are recording in 1080p, set both options to 1920x1080. You can downscale it if you feel like the quality of the recording process is unsatisfying (for instance, lagging).
  2. The next step is to set the Downscale Filter to Lanczos (Sharpened scaling, 36 samples).
  3. Now, go to the Advanced menu on the left to go through the last bits and pieces. Set the Process Priority to Above Normal and the Renderer to Direct3D 11. These are some minor adjustments that may be unnecessary in many cases.Finally, make sure the Code Format is set to NV12 and the Color Space to 709, then change the Color Range to Full. Please note, these settings are not optimal for streaming.

Best audio settings for recording in OBS Studio

  1. Firstly, go to the Output menu and select the Audio tab. Set the Audio Bitrate to 320 in every track you are using. If you are using just one track, you don’t have to change any other values.
  2. Afterwards, go to the Audio menu on the left. Make sure the Sample Rate is set to your microphone’s sample rate. However, you can set it to 44.1 kHz if no complex processing is required.
  3. You can leave the other settings as they are or adjust them to meet your needs better.

Where does OBS save recordings?

The default path for your recordings in OBS Studio is set to your Video folder in your main documents folder. You can easily find your recordings by clicking File and then Show Recordings in OBS Studio.

To set up a custom path for your recordings in OBS, go to Settings and select the Output tab. There you can find the Recording Path and change it to the one you prefer. Click the Browse button and select a new folder for your recordings.

Pro tip

If you don’t want to deal with all the settings in OBS Studio, Restream Studio allows you to record your live streams without any additional software. You can also record your videos without going live to create flawless content!

Try it for free