How To Sync Audio to Video for Livestreams Using OBS

In this episode we show you how to sync your audio with your video while live streaming. Struggling with misaligned audio and video feeds in your stream? An offset, calculated using your stream’s frame rate, is an easy way to fix that. Let’s take a look at how it’s done!

Copyright 2023, Curtis Judd

#RODE #StreamerX #Livestream

Index
00:00 Intro
00:06 Livestream example
00:16 Our demo setup
00:36 Step 1: test recording
01:00 Step 2: count frames
01:51 Step 3: calculate offset
02:32 Step 4: apply offset
02:51 Step 5: double check and start streaming!
03:17 Please buy my courses

[youritguy]

This is something that I've been looking for and you made it simple.. You are the best Curtis. Thank you. Keep up the great work.

[petermcginty]

Thanks Curtis, much appreciated. I was also under the impression that the StreamerX synced the audio and video. Thank you for showing me a simple was to check it. 🎉
I use a Tascam Mixcast 4 and it gives you up to 2000ms to adjust audio. 😊

[michaelomara]

Thanks Curtis! This is something I used to do regularly but fell out of best practice. Ill add it to my workflow and stick to it from now on. Cheers!

[mynusten]

That was super helpful! Awesome content and thanks for posting!

[martinb.]

It would indeed be nice, if timecode generators would become more common in different stages of the signal chain + among non-pros and OBS could sync from it, just like Davinci Resolve does (but offline)

[teideterrors]

Hi Curtis, as usual great video! thanks for your work...

[TheRealJPAdventures]

This is great Curtis! Super helpful. It would be interesting to add 60fps.

I deal with this a lot, so its good to refresh my memory. My only issue is typically its something other than OBS like BMD products.

[bansidave]

Hey Curtis,
Continuing with OBS. What wud you do if you want to sync audio for multiple cameras. Would you still connect audio input to each camera?

Or configure Sync Offset within the app?

Im sure the pro's would use a video switcher as it manages the sync automatically

[Sheriffvlogs]

Great video Curtis another thing to add is if u are  using Different cameras from Different brands u will need to Delay the video Frame rate i saws somewhere on a yt video the hyperdeck recorder from black magic in there Software it Allows u to delay video frame rate.

So u can send a HDMI or SDI Feed from your camera in to the hyperdeck out  HDMI or SDI from the hyperdeck in to Your Live streaming device, Capture card, atem Switches etc.

[southpark]

Nice vid. Usually, the audio is delayed. So in order to synchronise the vi and audio, and assuming a 67 ms audio delay (2 frames at the 30 frames per second rate), then does this mean that OBS can be made to purposely delay the live (or near-live) video by 2 frames, so that the broadcasted video will then have the video and audio synchronised?

[Acebandet]

Hey Curtis, I have a zoom f8n pro and wondering if I should get the control board even though it has been discontinued. (I fear lacking updates to bugs) should I just stuck to the app? I see some used... What is your opinion?

[captaincarl]

Hi Curtis! Sorry about out of topic question, but do you by any chance offer a course in how to work with effects in DaVinci Resolve? I'm trying to transition from Premiere pro to Resolve and all the effects that you can do directly in the timeline in Premiere is now moved to a node-based page. This is completely foreign to me and I need a good course. ALL WELL FROM SWEDEN!

[seecraig]

The problem becomes more complex when there is sync drift over time. I wonder how often that happens especially if one is streaming over a couple of hours and whether there is a fix for that. Unfortunately by the time this is noticeable it is late into the stream. If it's repeatable though it would be good if there were a way to compensate. 

Additionally, I wonder if the offset may change with some devices especially since the USB bus and load on it might be a factor and therefore, does this needs to be tested before each use?

[focuspulling]

This is a nicely done beginner's tutorial; but in lots of multicam OBS situations, it next becomes necessary to sync different cameras (e.g., one of them is via USB, another is via Ethernet) with different latencies. In that case, while each video source's delay can be adjusted, OBS continues to refuse to revise its coding to keep each source actively buffered until switched to: this results in a really freeze frame held until the delay period ends. All's to say, multicam sync in OBS is still a nightmare, and the developers (kind as they are to stay open-source) haven't fixed it.

[thethirdrailchannel]

I'm surprised that the output of the Rode device is not synced. That would be like putting your mic direct into a camera and the audio is out of sync. Usually, sync issues occur when audio and video arrive as separate inputs to your streaming software.

[billsmith]

I thought for a while that you were going to sync your audio to the lips in the video. It probably won't be long before there's a way to do pretty easily it in Davinci.

[BenjaminTemplar]

What a simple, nice video Curtis. Subscribed now with my new channel! 😉👍🏻👍🏻

[jasonq]

Hey Curtis, Deity Theos is on, video coming soon?

[RaichoNikolov]

The solution about OBS that you said does not work when I make both screen recording AND have camera too.

By the method of selecting the camera mic it syncs the camera with the audio which is great. The problem is that this audio is not synced with the screen recording.

This is because the lag of the camera and the screen recording are different. This cannot be fixed by adjusting the audio input.

Another problem is that this cannot be fixed in post because I have single video with two separate sources which are off sync and I can sync it either by the one or the second but not with both of them.

The solution you said works well but it is only a partial solution (work only with single video source) and do not work in a more complex OBS setting.

I am amazed that there are not REAL solutions to that problem. Why can't the software sync it by itself? If every source (audio or video) has a timecode, OBS could be able to adjust just enough all to be synced.

[RuXTaR]

OR.. hear me out, audio into camera, and you have perfect sync over HDMI signal. I know not all cameras have mic inputs.. but it is a simple solution. Great video still. I'm surprised we're that far into streaming and only now we see such a simple explanation.