OBS Studio is a free, open-source application for live streaming and video recording on Windows, macOS and Linux. It combines screen captures, cameras, media and audio into scenes, letting you produce a composed video feed instead of recording just one window or device.
How OBS Studio builds a scene
A scene holds the sources that make up a particular view. OBS Studio can combine a captured application with a webcam, text, images and browser content. Sources sit in a stack: an item higher in the list appears over items below it. This makes a camera overlay or a graphic frame part of the same output as the underlying screen capture.
You can position and resize each source in the preview, crop away unwanted edges and hide individual items without removing them. Capture choices differ by platform; dedicated Game Capture is available on Windows, while macOS uses its own screen-capture source for displays and application windows. Webcams and capture cards provide additional video inputs.
Source filters
Filters alter a source before it reaches the scene output. Chroma Key removes a selected background color, allowing a camera subject to appear over another source. Color correction adjusts the picture and its opacity, while image masks change which parts of a source remain visible.
Scene switching and Studio Mode
OBS Studio keeps multiple named scenes ready for different parts of a broadcast. You might use one for a full-screen demonstration and another for a camera-led discussion. Switching scenes changes the entire arrangement, with cuts, fades or a custom stinger video controlling how the change appears.
Studio Mode separates the preview from the live program. You prepare the next scene on one side and use a transition to send it to the output on the other. Multiview shows several scenes together, making it easier to choose the next shot. Hotkeys can switch scenes, show or hide sources, mute audio and start or stop a stream or recording while you work in another application.
Audio mixing
The audio mixer brings microphone and other audio sources into the production with separate level meters and volume controls. Per-source filters address different problems: gain raises a quiet input, noise suppression reduces background noise, and a noise gate cuts the input when its level falls below the chosen threshold.
A compressor can also apply ducking, reducing one source when another becomes audible. For example, a music source can become quieter while the microphone is active. VST 2.x filters extend the available audio processing through compatible plugins.
Stream destination and output settings
Streaming settings connect the composed output to a listed service or a custom streaming server. The destination and stream key identify where the feed goes. Video and audio bitrate settings govern the encoded stream, while output resolution and frame rate determine the picture sent to viewers.
The canvas resolution defines the space in which sources are arranged; the output resolution can scale that composition to a different size. OBS Studio’s Auto-Configuration Wizard takes the intended recording or streaming task, available hardware and network conditions into account when selecting initial settings. Available encoder choices depend on the computer’s hardware.
Recording
OBS Studio can save video locally with or without a live stream running. Recording controls select the destination folder, file format and quality. Advanced Output mode allows the recording to use settings separate from the stream, so the local file does not have to follow the same encoding choices as the broadcast.
Audio sources can be assigned to separate recording tracks for later editing. A combined track can contain the full mix, with other tracks holding individual inputs such as the microphone. Ordinary video players play one audio track at a time; isolated tracks become useful when opened in an editor that supports them.
MKV recording preserves the recorded material if recording stops unexpectedly without a normal finish. The built-in remux function can then put a recording into MP4 for use elsewhere, and automatic remuxing can run when recording ends.
Plugins, scripts and dock layout
OBS Studio supports native plugins and scripts written in Lua or Python for additional functions and interaction with sources. Its dock-based interface also lets you rearrange control panels or move individual docks into separate windows, keeping the scene list, mixer and preview in a layout suited to the production.
