Best OBS Recording Settings

In this step-by-step tutorial, learn what the various OBS record settings mean and what to select to ensure that you record the best quality videos. In this video, I don't recommend one set of settings as there is no one size fits all. Instead, I walk through what settings are most appropriate for a high end machine and what settings are best for a low end machine. I start by showcasing how to use the wizard and then go through how to select more advanced settings, if you want full control.

Other OBS videos:

Summary of video:

1. Walk through of the auto configuration wizard - 1:20

2. Pros and Cons of the different file formats - 4:38
a. Flv (Recommended) - This is an Adobe Flash file format. The benefit is that if OBS crashes, everything recorded up to the crash will be preserved. With mp4 and mov, this is not the case. To edit an flv file, you can easily remux the recording from flv to mp4 in OBS after you complete the screen recording. It's a little extra insurance for very little overhead.
b. Mp4 - commonly used format, however, if the recording fails part way through, the entire recording will be lost.
c. Mov - Apple format that is commonly used, however, similar to mp4, if the recording fails part way through, the entire recording will be lost.
d. Mkv - typically used for DVDs where there is a menu structure. Not recommended for general recording.
e. Ts - broadcast media files. Not recommended for general recording.
f. M3u8 - Playlist file format. Not recommended for general recording.

3. Encoder - 8:15
a. X264 - this uses your CPU. I recommend starting with this if you have a high end machine. This offers the best quality. Monitor your CPU to see what the load looks like. If the load is high, fallback to NVENC. When playing games, the game will also place heavy demands on your CPU.
b. NVENC - Nvidia encoding, relies on the graphics card. Try this as your second option. This does not place any additional load on your CPU and is typically best for low to mid-tier machines and will output very high quality videos.
c. Quick Sync - Intel, integrated graphics. This does not place any additional load on your CPU.

4. Advanced - All about rate control: 11:00
a. X264
i. CRF - constant rate factor, ensures constant quality, 15 - 25, 23 default (Recommended for recording)
ii. CBR - constant bitrate, good for streaming (twitch), however, waste of bandwidth
iii. ABR - average bitrate, quick and dirty encodes, not the best quality
iv. VBR - variable bitrate
b. NVENC
i. CQP - Constant Quantisation Parameter, 15 - 25 (Recommended for recording)
ii. CBR - constant bitrate
iii. VBR - variable bitrate
iv. Lossless - massive use of space
v. Preset: Quality
vi. Profile: high
i. LA ICQ (Recommended), ICQ, CQP, LA (VBR), AVBR, VBR, CBR (Recommended in this order, LA ICQ best to CBR worst)
ii. Target usage: quality (balanced if your system requires it)
iii. Profile: high

With those settings, whatever content you record, the encoder will be able to just increase its bitrate if necessary to reach a high quality.

[ForzaE]

This was exactly what I am looking for. Thank you for your time and sharing your knowledge with anyone who needs it.

[KevinStratvert]

See the description for an overview of the best settings for recording and for timestamps in the video.

[dsproductions]

This is a very nice and detailed tutorial with lots of helpful information.
I would recommend zooming in on the UI elements like the config wizard or settings windows, because they are a bit hard to see without going fullscreen or almost illegible on smaller screens. Especially since you recorded in such high resolution, so the text ends up a bit smaller then on a 1080 screen, and the zoom shouldn't make it lose any quality.
Just something to keep in mind if you do more of these types of videos.

[michaelshaw]

The best OBS tutorial out there. Even the flv format and Remux trick is game changer no other tutorial mentions. Thank you for this :)

[piyushgolait]

Very detailed video and useful. Just a suggestion, if you would have zoomed in on the screen for the settings menu, near the cursor, it would be so much better bcz your screen is huge and the text were really tiny.

[RiiViiMedia]

Here's a question: Which recording formats require the most to least space in an overall recording. In other words, which has the best quality?

[wildae.]

everyone must learn from you how to make tutorials on OBS

[heatblayze]

Thank you so much! Always knew about settings for streaming but never about recording, so this video was a great help!!

[ferrislindsay]

What a clear, engaging walkthrough. Thank you.

[Layless]

i was looking for this everywhere. thanks so much for your time, this was very helpful. i'm about to test it and see if it works well

[Woodworks]

and this is the reason you have 3 million + subs man, thanks again!

[MavuriRamesh]

superb its so clear for me and also works perfect

[rtyugsaf]

Per OBS: "Well, the OBS team recommends recording to FLV or MKV. Both of these formats are popular “container” formats, which mean they can “contain” many different types of video or audio. Neither FLV nor MKV require a process to finish the file like MP4 does, so even if your power cuts out or you get a blue screen of death, your entire recording is safe. As for which is better, there’s very little difference between the two formats, but only MKV supports multiple audio tracks. If that’s a feature you need, please use MKV, otherwise, FLV is fine."

[beck]

First-class video and explanations, Kevin

[MrPenguinYT]

after 14 vids this one actually helped me

[Ahmed-vsdz]

Thanks Kevin, You're doing a Great Job for content creators!! Appreciations for you. (From Pakistan)

[receedzeraq]

Kevin: Instead, what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna walkthrough what the different settings mean, so depending on your machine, if you're on a high-end machine or low-end machine, you can make the choices what setting works the best in your scenario... so your video looks fantastic.

Me; *Fantastic.*

[JackyWongWorld]

I use Software (x264 low CPU usage preset, increases file size) works best for my recording. When I use Hardware (NVENC), the final rendered clip is laggy.

[NextManu]

this was a hard video to find but once found, I was thankful. Thank you for making this video.

[Luxcium]

don't get me wrong from my other message this is a great tutorial and I apreciate the time and effort you have put into it ...