[Will be updating] How To & Why: QuickSync and Open Broadcaster Software [Picture heavy]

[Albatross]

Hmm, are you saving to mp4?

 

Yup! Should I try other types?

[AlwaysFSX]

Yup! Should I try other types?

Nah, .flv is aids honestly. Trying to think of why it does this to you.

[Albatross]

Nah, .flv is aids honestly. Trying to think of why it does this to you.

 

I suppose I can deal with it recording the whole monitor with Monitor Capture (could later edit out the desktop and stuff) but it is the quality that I can't get over. It looks like poo in comparison to the game.

[MVPernula]

I love OBS man, record everything I do. Though when I bought a 4K screen Everything got a little messed up, see, I like to play games in borderless, but League of legends makes everything SO SMALL! Things like healthbars, menues and even the mouse makes it VERY hard to play, this forces me to play downscaled, right? No biggie, just that this messes up borderless ENTIRELY. It scales it like 1080p is in size compared to 4K, so basically a fourth smack in the middle of the screen. So I have to play in full screen now, which erases the possibility to tab easily, which also erases productivity and accessibility. 

 

Do you guys have a smooth solution? I feel like having to downscale the entire screen to 1080p is out of the Picture since it completely ruins the idea of a 4k monitor.

[Northmountain]

TL;DR - disable any software which limits your bandwidth. It should be a no-brainer, but it took me a long while to figure out why I was having frame drop issues. Doh.

 

...

 

I thought I'd share my most recent finding with OBS. Maybe someone has the same issue I've been having and can benefit from it.

 

Since the very beginning of using OBS, I've been having random frame drop issues. Sometimes I'd have none at all, sometimes I'd barely hit a 1k bitrate and have 20-30% frame drops - which makes a stream completely unwatchable.

 

So I looked into the issue, did the server testing as described here: https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/dropped-frames-disconnecting-lag-read-this-first.8870/

as well as constantly fiddling with bitrate, fps, resolution and god knows what else,  but to no avail.

 

Then I remembered that before I got my current isp with 4g internet, I had to share my gf's connection, which is crappy beyond belief. In order to not hog the entire bandwidth of the connection, I installed a piece of software where I could manually limit how much of the total bandwidth I was using. Needless to say, when I got my new connection I never had to use the software again, so I forgot about it completely.

 

Then I was looking at what processes were running in connection with something completely unrelated, and discovered that the bleeping limiting software had a "helper" process running, even though I hadn't activated it. So I uninstalled the software completely and hey presto, no frame drop issues whatsoever. Currently streaming at 60fps with 5k bitrate with a frame drop rate of 0. As in not a single frame dropped during a four-hour stream.

[AlwaysFSX]

I love OBS man, record everything I do. Though when I bought a 4K screen Everything got a little messed up, see, I like to play games in borderless, but League of legends makes everything SO SMALL! Things like healthbars, menues and even the mouse makes it VERY hard to play, this forces me to play downscaled, right? No biggie, just that this messes up borderless ENTIRELY. It scales it like 1080p is in size compared to 4K, so basically a fourth smack in the middle of the screen. So I have to play in full screen now, which erases the possibility to tab easily, which also erases productivity and accessibility. 

 

Do you guys have a smooth solution? I feel like having to downscale the entire screen to 1080p is out of the Picture since it completely ruins the idea of a 4k monitor.

That might just be a problem with your OS, League having terrible 4k support with UI scaling, things like that. Have you tried windowed instead of borderless?

 

TL;DR - disable any software which limits your bandwidth. It should be a no-brainer, but it took me a long while to figure out why I was having frame drop issues. Doh.

 

...

 

I thought I'd share my most recent finding with OBS. Maybe someone has the same issue I've been having and can benefit from it.

 

Since the very beginning of using OBS, I've been having random frame drop issues. Sometimes I'd have none at all, sometimes I'd barely hit a 1k bitrate and have 20-30% frame drops - which makes a stream completely unwatchable.

 

So I looked into the issue, did the server testing as described here: https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/dropped-frames-disconnecting-lag-read-this-first.8870/

as well as constantly fiddling with bitrate, fps, resolution and god knows what else,  but to no avail.

 

Then I remembered that before I got my current isp with 4g internet, I had to share my gf's connection, which is crappy beyond belief. In order to not hog the entire bandwidth of the connection, I installed a piece of software where I could manually limit how much of the total bandwidth I was using. Needless to say, when I got my new connection I never had to use the software again, so I forgot about it completely.

 

Then I was looking at what processes were running in connection with something completely unrelated, and discovered that the bleeping limiting software had a "helper" process running, even though I hadn't activated it. So I uninstalled the software completely and hey presto, no frame drop issues whatsoever. Currently streaming at 60fps with 5k bitrate with a frame drop rate of 0. As in not a single frame dropped during a four-hour stream.

Yeah when streaming and not local recording dropped frames usually happen because of connection problems instead of hardware problems.

[bealhorm]

Just to note, the new multiplatform release of OBS does not have the option, so be sure to grab the original version.

Also, for a comparision between z264, QuickSync and NVENC you can watch this video.

 

Thanks for the guide! Didn't even know that was possible.

[AlwaysFSX]

Just to note, the new multiplatform release of OBS does not have the option, so be sure to grab the original version.

Also, for a comparision between z264, QuickSync and NVENC you can watch

 

Thanks for the guide! Didn't even know that was possible.

Gonna run a VM of Win10 I think to see how OBS compatibility is in it and how it works. I'll check out that video when I'm able to up and update the guide if applicable.

[DEDRICK]

Gonna run a VM of Win10 I think to see how OBS compatibility is in it and how it works. I'll check out that video when I'm able to up and update the guide if applicable.

 

They pushed an update yesterday that fixed most of the issues for Windows 10.  OBS-MP works fine for me, I am done with OBS at this point it brings nothing to the table I need

[AlwaysFSX]

They pushed an update yesterday that fixed most of the issues for Windows 10.  OBS-MP works fine for me, I am done with OBS at this point it brings nothing to the table I need

I would not know about any updates because I'm still running 8. Thanks for the info.

[DEDRICK]

I would not know about any updates because I'm still running 8. Thanks for the info.

OBS pushed the update, not Microsoft.  People were reporting massive FPS drops, just head to the OBS forums you will see the posts

[AlwaysFSX]

OBS pushed the update, not Microsoft.  People were reporting massive FPS drops, just head to the OBS forums you will see the posts

..I know.. I wouldn't know about the update fixing things because I don't run 10.

[bealhorm]

Gonna run a VM of Win10 I think to see how OBS compatibility is in it and how it works. I'll check out that video when I'm able to up and update the guide if applicable.

I'm on Windows 10 atm, if you want some screens I'll be happy to send them.

[AlwaysFSX]

I'm on Windows 10 atm, if you want some screens I'll be happy to send them.

Up to you, I know I'll be fiddling around with it extensively in a week or two though.

[D2ultima]

-useful guide-

You've done some good work! Now I shall help you with some information, that you likely didn't know about when writing this guide, so you can add it in =D.

 

1 - OBS hates multi-GPU configs.

 

Hooking to a multi-GPU config without using multiplatform (which doesn't support Quicksync/NVENC/VCE yet) can cause irregularity in framerates, stutter and overall bad experiences. In addition, "game capture" only grabs the frames from GPU 1, meaning if you record a 60fps video using game capture, it'll show only 30fps in the footage, despite showing "60fps" in the video properties in a dual-GPU configuration. If you have tri-SLI running, then it'll be 1/3 of the frames, etc. Window capture can grab all the frames, but will introduce random FPS drops for seemingly no reason into the games. It's also not something you want to do.

 

The fix? Borderless windowed and monitor capture with Windows 8/8.1/10. Monitor capture on Windows 7 is pretty old/bad/outdated tech (so if you're on 7 you're outta luck), and Windows 8/8.1/10 have improvements which allow it to be much smoother and well done. Not all games can use borderless of course, but it's becoming a more common option lately, so it can be a good work-around. Alternately, forcing the game to a single GPU (don't need to turn off SLI system-wide) will fix it.

 

2 - Certain machines have no access to an intel iGPU (SLI/non-optimus laptops are a good example; consumer Xeon chip users are another). For this, NVENC using Kepler and later nVidia cards or VCE for R9 200/300 series AMD cards is a great alternative. VCE requires a plugin that doesn't directly come with OBS (to my knowledge), but otherwise it works just fine, and will be a great alternative. Please note: NVENC "high quality" cannot be used for 1080p 60fps video capture on Kepler cards. Some later driver updates either gimped Kepler cards, or adjusted NVENC's innate quality. Either way, since at least 350.12 drivers (the GTA V drivers) NVENC doesn't play nice for Kepler at 1080p/60fps recording on "High Quality" so "High Performance" is recommended as the encoding profile there.

 

3 - You made a good point about shadowplay/raptr etc having a slight impact, however I would like to point out that OBS isn't infallible either. The hook/capture method is the culprit most of the time; and is why Shadowplay is so free of a performance hit. Be wary that certain games are simply going to HATE being grabbed by OBS, even without using the CPU much (via NVENC/VCE/QuickSync) and performance can take quite a bit of a falter as a result. These games are few and far inbetween however, but it might be more beneficial to use Shadowplay (I can't comment on Raptr's efficiency of frame capture) for those situations. Sauce about type of hooking.

 

I didn't see any of this info in the OP (I scanned it a couple times) and I think this might be helpful for adding to the OP, so enjoy =D

[AlwaysFSX]

You've done some good work! Now I shall help you with some information, that you likely didn't know about when writing this guide, so you can add it in =D.

 

1 - OBS hates multi-GPU configs.

 

Hooking to a multi-GPU config without using multiplatform (which doesn't support Quicksync/NVENC/VCE yet) can cause irregularity in framerates, stutter and overall bad experiences. In addition, "game capture" only grabs the frames from GPU 1, meaning if you record a 60fps video using game capture, it'll show only 30fps in the footage, despite showing "60fps" in the video properties in a dual-GPU configuration. If you have tri-SLI running, then it'll be 1/3 of the frames, etc. Window capture can grab all the frames, but will introduce random FPS drops for seemingly no reason into the games. It's also not something you want to do.

 

The fix? Borderless windowed and monitor capture with Windows 8/8.1/10. Monitor capture on Windows 7 is pretty old/bad/outdated tech (so if you're on 7 you're outta luck), and Windows 8/8.1/10 have improvements which allow it to be much smoother and well done. Not all games can use borderless of course, but it's becoming a more common option lately, so it can be a good work-around. Alternately, forcing the game to a single GPU (don't need to turn off SLI system-wide) will fix it.

 

2 - Certain machines have no access to an intel iGPU (SLI/non-optimus laptops are a good example; consumer Xeon chip users are another). For this, NVENC using Kepler and later nVidia cards or VCE for R9 200/300 series AMD cards is a great alternative. VCE requires a plugin that doesn't directly come with OBS (to my knowledge), but otherwise it works just fine, and will be a great alternative. Please note: NVENC "high quality" cannot be used for 1080p 60fps video capture on Kepler cards. Some later driver updates either gimped Kepler cards, or adjusted NVENC's innate quality. Either way, since at least 350.12 drivers (the GTA V drivers) NVENC doesn't play nice for Kepler at 1080p/60fps recording on "High Quality" so "High Performance" is recommended as the encoding profile there.

 

3 - You made a good point about shadowplay/raptr etc having a slight impact, however I would like to point out that OBS isn't infallible either. The hook/capture method is the culprit most of the time; and is why Shadowplay is so free of a performance hit. Be wary that certain games are simply going to HATE being grabbed by OBS, even without using the CPU much (via NVENC/VCE/QuickSync) and performance can take quite a bit of a falter as a result. These games are few and far inbetween however, but it might be more beneficial to use Shadowplay (I can't comment on Raptr's efficiency of frame capture) for those situations. Sauce about type of hooking.

 

I didn't see any of this info in the OP (I scanned it a couple times) and I think this might be helpful for adding to the OP, so enjoy =D

Useful info I'm definitely going to be looking into, unfortunately I don't have the hardware to test it myself. Hours of Google and some friends should help though.

I maintain that this solution for recording is only beneficial for lower end rigs (such as my own) that can't spare it even handle the performance him from other recording solutions.

[D2ultima]

I maintain that this solution for recording is only beneficial for lower end rigs (such as my own) that can't spare it even handle the performance him from other recording solutions.

I actually disagree, unless using a streaming PC or Shadowplay/Raptr, this kind of recording is exceedingly useful. I used OBS with NVENC for quite some time anytime I had to make manual recordings; it has proven very useful (especially with the custom adjustment of audio etc, and the beloved noise gate)

[SansVarnic]

I should bookmark this thread.

[lightningterror]

Hm i have a quick question here. Does dedicating RAM to the igpu improve quick synch performance ?

[AlwaysFSX]

Hm i have a quick question here. Does dedicating RAM to the igpu improve quick synch performance ?

I only have 128 MB dedicated and haven't had a problem with that yet, it might if you record in much larger resolutions (I'm currently stuck to 1920x1200 with Sandy Bridge..).

[CoolZakCZ]

After reading this post, I'm beginning to regret purchasing Fraps, especially since there's an equally (if not better) solution out there. As a personal user of Fraps, getting over 1GB from less than an hour of footage is really annoying, especially when it comes to compressing & editing the vid later on. Thanks for informing me about OBS, I'll be sure to give it a try!

[AlwaysFSX]

After reading this post, I'm beginning to regret purchasing Fraps, especially since there's an equally (if not better) solution out there. As a personal user of Fraps, getting over 1GB from less than an hour of footage is really annoying, especially when it comes to compressing & editing the vid later on. Thanks for informing me about OBS, I'll be sure to give it a try!

Welcome to the mustard race.

[Samfisher]

Nah, .flv is aids honestly. Trying to think of why it does this to you.

 

.flv recording works even if the stream crashes as .flv doesn't use starting and ending headers and a stream mid-record will never get corrupted.  A .mp4 file however will not be usable after a OBS or stream crash cos that's how the codec works.

[GloriousPain]

The question is for streaming(for twitch) and editting/rendering(for youtube) which would be better? 5820k and just use some of your excessive CPU horse power when streaming or 6700k w/ quicksync for streaming and just take the rendering hit?

[AlwaysFSX]

The question is for streaming(for twitch) and editting/rendering(for youtube) which would be better? 5820k and just use some of your excessive CPU horse power when streaming or 6700k w/ quicksync for streaming and just take the rendering hit?

So yeah my guide was made mostly for people like me with an i3 and the like, with any i7 just go ahead and use x264 because you can.