The best OBS Settings for Twitch Streaming

If you are streaming on Twitch, you e'er want to look your best. While most of the elements on your stream are under your command, such as what your overlays show and how y'all look, the settings that your stream software uses will determine how shine your circulate is. The quality aspect of your feed tin make a difference to new visitors seeing your stream for the offset time. If it looks good, viewers are more than likely to come back.

However, knowing what settings are platonic for your stream gear up can be daunting, especially to those who are new to streaming or without a level of technical know-how. It doesn't need to be, and so here are all the settings y'all need to worry about in OBS Studio and Streamlabs OBS.

Output

In the settings of your software, head into the Output settings and and so onto the Streaming tab.

Encoder

If you are using a computer that contains a recent Nvidia graphics bill of fare, y'all may have access to the NVENC encoder, Nvidia's protocol which can help to offload much of the work that OBS does to your graphics menu rather than your processor.

When the option is available and streaming from the same figurer you are playing your content from; the NVENC encoder is the recommended method. The results tin be better on the x264 encoder, but merely if information technology is non your primary machine for playing the game.

Charge per unit Control

This setting controls how the bitrate is delivered to the Twitch servers. If you lot desire to see consistent results, you volition desire to fix this to CBR (Abiding Bitrate). However, if yous're concerned that your set-upward will not sustain a constant bitrate and want to give yourself some animate room on your upload, y'all tin use VBR (Variable Bitrate) and set a parameter for the bitrate.

Bitrate

This is the amount of data sent to the streaming service, determining the quality of the feed. Yous volition want the bitrate to be ready appropriately for the resolution that you are streaming at.

	Video Bitrate (Kbps)	Resolution
1080p	6000	1920×1080
720p	3500	1280×720
480p	g	720×480

The video bitrate described above volition be at the highest quality for the resolution you are outputting. If you go any higher than this based on your resolution, you are unlikely to meet a alter in quality but will continue to apply more than resources.

Related: What is bitrate and what does information technology mean for streaming on Twitch?

If yous use VBR, you can set the max bitrate to those mentioned above and lower the standard bitrate to allow for a more stable stream where required.

Keyframe Intervals

This is about the number of keyframes. In essence, keyframes are when the entire frame of the video is sent to the provider instead of just the differences betwixt the previous frame. It's fairly complicated to understand, but with OBS, typically, you will find that setting this to 2 volition offering the best residuum between your picture quality and the speed at which viewers will meet your stream.

(CPU Usage) Preset

This is more common in setups that use x264 as your calculator's processor drives this encoder. In using the x264 encoder, the "veryfast" setting is typically your best option. For those using the NVENC encoder, the 'Quality' choice offers the best quality for your PC's performance.

All of the other Output settings can stay every bit they are at default.

Audio

For the sound tab, you will find plenty of options for audio tracks to add to the Twitch feed, though the only ane that really matters for Twitch is the first channel,

The only option in each that you tin amend is the audio bitrate. For the best possible audio, you can at present set the audio bitrate to 320. This presents the all-time possible sound quality for the stream and shouldn't add together too much to your internet upload requirements.

Video

Base (Sheet) Resolution

This is the size of your canvas in OBS. Typically, it will consist of the standard 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. This should be the same as your display's resolution. If you're not certain what this is, you tin can find this in your Windows, Linux, or Mac display settings.

Irresolute this from your electric current screen resolution will add an extra layer of processing for your computer, meaning your calculator's functioning will worsen.

Output (Scaled) Resolution

Output (scaled) resolution is the resolution you will output to Twitch and the source resolution that your viewers will have admission to. This is where the bitrate and resolution come together. 720p (or 1280×720) is the standard for smaller streamers every bit this will be easier for those watching on mobile devices with data rather than a Wi-Fi connection.

With these settings for your OBS Studio or Streamlabs OBS configuration, you will find the best residuum between performance and power usage for your streaming. However, it is e'er worth experimenting where possible to improve your broadcast.