Optimal obs settings

hi all,

Recently i have been having some issues with shadowplay, it doesn't work anymore with this game . So now i went to OBS and i have some questions about which encoder should i pick and with what kinda attendant settings. I can choose between 3 encoders x264, quick sync and Nvidia NVENC. I wanna occasionally stream but most off all i want to record my gameplay for YT. atm i'm using NVENC bcs i read somewhere that this one was the best for just recording vids (tell me if im wrong). also i was wondering what kinda bitrate i should pick and should i use cbr or that quality option? what is the difference?

more specific what setting should i use if i want to see my recording more smooth? bcs atm some tanks are bumping around and the vid looks like im experiencing a bit of lag or loads of lag, while in real life at the same time im not having lag at all.

these are my specs: https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/N551JX/specifications/ (i got the i7 version with ssd 8gb ram)

i hope someone can help me with this.

greetings |GB| The Lnt.599

Edit: can help us with this

I don't think you can really stream with a laptop, at least not a very good quality stream. But you can try downscaling the resolution pretty massively (like to 480p or even 360p). You can also try experimenting with the different filters under Video -> filter, there's the bilinear one that gives the best performance but lowest quality.

Other than that I can't really help, other people have more knowledge about OBS settings and streaming in general.

laptop will give you a lot of little stutters, you should downscale propably in OBS.

But most important are the internet connection setups like bitrate. I use nvenc since i have an nvidia card. And bitrate you need to play around a little,, with how much your internet can take

our internet can take a lot so thats no problem and my laptop has an 950m gtx, i7 and 8 gb ram, so i wouldn't consider my laptop that weak ?

i think it is more an issue of using what settings to high and what not, i dont really understand what most settings do. so if someone could explain that, that would help a lot. i don't believe there is a guid about obs yet?

There is a guide but it is a little old now
https://www.coh2.org/guides/1960/streaming-on-twitch-tv

If the Nvidia codec is similar to the AMD one then it takes quite a load off the CPU but gives slightly worse quality for the same bitrate.

When playing I use 720 with 2000 bitrate because I have a lot of Australian viewers and their internet is terrible and can't handle anymore. When casting ESL and I get enough viewers for quality options I use 1080 with 3500 bitrate.

When it comes to recording for Youtube I use different settings again. https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/how-to-make-high-quality-local-recordings.16/
I use CRF of 15. If I remember rightly this gives a bitrate of about 8000 for long casts.

When playing I use 720 with 2000 bitrate because I have a lot of Australian viewers and their internet is terrible and can't handle any more.

Australia. Dragging the rest of the world down with us

these are my specs: https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/N551JX/specifications/ (i got the i7 version with ssd 8gb ram)

That CPU is pretty darn impressive for a laptop. I recommend using Task Manager or Process Explorer to see how much CPU time you use when playing COH2. If you have around 50% CPU time free, definitely look at using x264 (straight CPU encoding) instead of the nVidia one. Your CPU outranks your video card, I'd say.

Since that CPU also has Intel HD Graphics 4600 built in, you may find it useful to stream with Quick Sync since that will (theoretically) use hardware that is otherwise not being used when you game. It is similar to NVENC in that it prioritises speed over video quality though, so I wouldn't use it for Youtube unless desperate.

In terms of settings (mostly relevant to x264):

Encoding:

- Max Bitrate: 3500 (including however much you allocate to audio). This is mostly a Twitch streaming limitation. People with poor upload speeds (generally Australians) need to have more powerful CPUs to improve the low image quality of lower bitrates.

Go up to 10000 for Youtube recordings. The higher the bitrate, the less effort your CPU has to put in to make each frame look nice and sharp.

- Use CBR. Twitch requirement.

Video:

- Resolution Downscale: Downscale to 1280x720. Definitely consider going lower if your CPU is struggling. A sharper small image is better than a blurry large image.

- Filter: Start with Bilinear. Try increasing it if your performance is ok but the image isn't sharp enough.

- Stick to 30 FPS. Don't experiment with 60 FPS unless you get everything else working fine first.

Advanced:

- x264 CPU Preset: This is the main setting you will be adjusting. Faster settings will ease the load on your CPU, improving performance but at the cost of image quality.

Start with a 'fast' setting, and if Task Manager says your CPU usage isn't peaking above 80-90%, try adjusting it another step higher until you are.

Changing the above settings, such as resolution, *will* change what setting you use here.


Edit: Cleaned up a few sections after some restorative sleep