Basic OBS Tutorial for Beginners
So you got OBS, now what? OBS can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. The software is very powerful and best of all it, is free. If you have not downloaded it yet, head over to OBS Project. When you first launch OBS, you will get the screen below. We will cover scenes, sources, audio mixer, scene transitions, controls, settings, profiles, and Scene Collections. In this OBS Tutorial, we will only be going over the very basics functions of each section.
Scenes
Scenes are the bread and butter to your “look” when you stream. Most user will start out with one main scene and then add additional scenes as they improve their streams or recording. Scenes can contain multiple sources like cameras, display captures, game captures, text, media, etc. Scenes can also contain other scenes. Below are some example scenes.
Sources
Sources are added to a scene to create the desired output. There are 13 default sources you can add to a scene. We will not go into detail of each source in this OBS tutorial.
- Audio Input Capture
- Audio Output Capture
- Browser
- Color Source
- Display Capture
- Game Capture
- Image
- Image Slide Show
- Media Source
- Scene
- Text (GDI+)
- Video Capture
- Windows Capture
Audio Mixer
The audio mixer allows you to control any audio that can be heard on the selected scene. You can increase or decrease the volume. If you select the Advanced Audio Properties in the gear menu, you can further fine tune the audio output.
Scene Transitions
Scene transitions can add the extra flair when switching scenes. You can use the built in or add custom stringers.
Controls
You have all of your scenes setup with sources. The audio is mixed just right. Time to show the world. The controls panel allows you to start streaming and/or recording. The studio mode and settings are also options. On the bottom of the window is the status bar. It will show yo the health of your output. You can use the numbers to help fine tune audio and video output if needed based on your computer specs. If you do not see the status, you can view it at: Main Menu->View->Status Bar
Note: You might not have the OBS.Live Version. I am using a StreamElements custom plugin.
Menu Bar Options
File
Most people use the File Menu to get access to the settings.
View
Allows you to customize how OBS looks.
Tools
Tools is for more for advanced use, however, the Auto-Configuration Wizard will help you get the audio and video settings pretty close to match your computer specs.
Profile
Profile allows you to set up different output setups. You might have one profile for Twitch and another profile for recording for YouTube.
Scene Collection
You are able to group your scenes.
Settings
Every profile will have settings. You can access the settings by using the Main Menu->File->Settings or clicking on settings in the Control Panel. Setting is the place to set what platform you want to stream too, the quality of the stream, hotkeys for switching scenes, and much, much more.
Final Thoughts
As we come to the end of the quick tour of OBS, I hope it provided some helpful information. OBS is very powerful and can do about anything you would like. Watch for the next OBS Tutorial.
