We’ve talked about recording and streaming, but what if you want to do both at the same
time??
This is actually pretty common to have a local copy for highlights, or if you just want to
upload a higher-quality copy of your stream VOD once the stream is over.
Let’s take a look at how to set it up.
Any high-tier live production needs a variety of scenes to show and quick, precise switching
between them.
The Elgato Stream Deck gives you 15 keys with customizable LCD screens behind each, that
can execute macros, application launchers, scene switching and source muting for OBS
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I’m EposVox, here to make tech easier and more fun, and welcome back to my OBS Studio
tutorial course.
I have many, many more videos on the software in the playlist linked in the description.
Check that before asking questions, and check the introduction video to learn how this course
works, if you get confused.
OBS Studio has separate “Start Streaming” and “Start Recording” buttons which allow
you to control recording and streaming separately, but you’re able to do both at the same time.
Even better – you have the option to record either the same quality copy that you live
stream, or record a much higher quality copy locally.
This is a pretty powerful feature, and it may require powerful computer hardware to
make work.
To set this up, all your really have to do is make sure your “Output Mode” is set
to Advanced in your profile, and customize your recording and streaming settings separately.
For example, I stream to Twitch using x264 at around 6 megabits per second, but record
locally using Nvidia Nvenc at 30 megabits per second.
Get your settings set appropriately, hit apply, and then make sure you hit start recording
alongside start streaming.
If you’re looking to edit your VODs or highlights after you stream, you can also utilize multiple
audio tracks with your recording.
I have videos on how to set up your streaming and recording profiles, as well as how to
best utilize multiple audio tracks in the course playlist.
If you’re like me, and tend to forget to hit “Start Recording” at the right time
after you’ve started streaming, there is a handy fix.
In the “General” settings, you can check “Automatically record when streaming”
so that it presses that button for you.
Also, you can check “Keep recording when stream stops” if you have an issue with
needing to start and stop streaming or something.
I leave the second one checked, but I tend to utilize the automatically record option.
As we discussed in the bitrate video, you’ll want to be careful when choosing your recording
bitrate to consider how long you plan on streaming.
My overkill 250 megabit per second recording bitrate is great for short recording bursts
for videos, but would quickly fill up all of my available storage for my long 6-hour
streams on Twitch.
So for streaming, I’ve lowered the recording bitrate to 30 megabits per second.
For more information on bitrates, check the “Bitrate considerations” video in the
course playlist.
And that’s all it takes!
You can record and stream at the same time, and in different qualities!
If you have the ability to utilize hardware encoding from Nvidia or AMD, it’s generally
better to use that capability for recording locally, and x264 for the live stream.
X264 codec looks better at low bitrates whereas Nvenc or AMD VCE looks better at high bitrates.
I hope this episode of my OBS Studio tutorial course has been helpful for you.
If it was, drop-kick that like button and subscribe for awesome tech videos.
If you like game streaming, come follow me on Twitch and drop a message in chat.
Until next time, I’m EposVox, Happy Streaming!
Thanks for watching this episode of my OBS Studio tutorial course.
More videos like this and a full master class are linked in the playlist in the video description.
Click to learn more.
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