OBS (free recording program)

Bart Gunshot

Bart Gunshot

Site Founder
For a long time I have been looking for a good recording software. I tried Fraps first, since everyone I knew was using that. It worked well for POTCO but lagged when it came to any other game. I then tried Dxtory. It allowed me to play the game in the FPS I would normally get without recording, although the video was extremely laggy. Each of these I wasted my money on I felt, because they did not do what I wanted them to do. Recently I have found the end to my problems.

Open Broadcast Software (OBS) is a entirely free open source recording and streaming program. The program runs on Windows Vista and up. It currently lacks support for Mac and Linux but they are planned to be supported in the future.


Main Page
http://obsproject.com/

FAQ Page
http://obsproject.com/faq

Download Page
http://obsproject.com/download

Recording tutorial:
This isn't the best tutorial but it is the best I found. (Tutorial in words below)
  1. Download OBS
  2. Select "Start"
  3. Select "All Programs"
  4. Find and select "Open Broadcast Software"
    1. OBS2 (2).jpg
  5. Select either 32 bit or 64 bit depending on your OS
  6. You will be presented with the following screen
    1. OBS4.JPG
  7. Select "Settings"
  8. Rename the "Untitled" setting profile and select "Rename"
    1. OBS5.JPG
  9. Select "Apply"
  10. Next Select "Broadcast Settings" on the left tabs
  11. Click on the selector box and select "File Output Only"
  12. Select your file path to save the file in. Note: you may have to copy and paste the directory into the directory box. Also, in the "Browse" section make sure your desired file type is selected. There is currently .mp4 and .flv available MP4 will be compatible with almost every video editor.
    1. OBS6.JPG
  13. Select "Apply"
  14. Select "OK" to get back to the main screen
  15. We now have to add a Scene in order to record anything
  16. To add a scene either right click the existing "Scene" and rename it, or right click the box and select "Add Scene"
  17. Now that we have a scene we have to tell the scene what to do
  18. Right click the "Sources" box
    1. OBS7.JPG
  19. Mouse over "Add" and select "Game Capture" Note there are more capture modes then this try out the others!
  20. Name it what you want
  21. A box will appear with many settings, we will only need 2
  22. the first box is what you are going to record
  23. Stretch image to screen makes it so that whatever you are recording will fill the entire screen
  24. once you are done with the settings click "OK"
    1. OBS8.JPG
  25. You are now ready to record, select "Preview Stream" to make sure you did everything right!
  26. The screen you are recording will show up above the options Note: If the screen is black try a different setting for the Sources (#18)
  27. Select "Start Streaming" to begin recording!
    1. OBS9.JPG
  28. Make sure to Select "Stop Streaming" when done!
There are a ton of settings I missed! Try them out and see what works best for you. Also the video for streaming below covers a ton of the settings, it may be worth watching!

Streaming tutorial:
This can also help with recording as it shows off some of the settings I didn't cover in the tutorial above!
 
Well that's personal preferences. I used to work with Bandicam, which have many options and the file sizes are very small. But in order to keep such low files; Bandicam compress the video file while you record and it creates more lag. Now I use Fraps to make and record my videos and I have to say that it is a very good gaming recorder. It comes with a user-friendly environment, having all the basics options you need to record! Actually Fraps does not lag while you record the games, at least I can say that according to my machine.

I play Hitman Absolution and someday I decided to create a video of it. I did not notice any difference in the performance, the game was running smooth.

Then again, LOOK at my system:
Intel Pentium E5200 CPU @ 2.50 GHz, 800 Mhz (dual-core) - My crappy processor! :)
4GB RAM DRR2
nVIDIA GeForce 210 - Not to mention the graphics...
GA-G31M-S2L - Motherboard
Windows 7 Professional

So yeah Fraps all the way for me! :)

Also to mention that Dxtory is a good screen recorder as well! It has many options, some of them are for advanced people who create such kind of videos, and it has a lil better quality than Fraps does.

"I HATE YOUTUBE UPLOAD PROCESSING UNIT!"

64jk8g.jpg

:flag1:
 
Mark Scurvyfox said:
Well that's personal preferences. I used to work with Bandicam, which have many options and the file sizes are very small. But in order to keep such low files; Bandicam compress the video file while you record and it creates more lag. Now I use Fraps to make and record my videos and I have to say that it is a very good gaming recorder. It comes with a user-friendly environment, having all the basics options you need to record! Actually Fraps does not lag while you record the games, at least I can say that according to my machine.

I play Hitman Absolution and someday I decided to create a video of it. I did not notice any difference in the performance, the game was running smooth.

Then again, LOOK at my system:
Intel Pentium E5200 CPU @ 2.50 GHz, 800 Mhz (dual-core) - My crappy processor! :)
4GB RAM DRR2
nVIDIA GeForce 210 - Not to mention the graphics...
GA-G31M-S2L - Motherboard
Windows 7 Professional

So yeah Fraps all the way for me! :)

Also to mention that Dxtory is a good screen recorder as well! It has many options, some of them are for advanced people who create such kind of videos, and it has a lil better quality than Fraps does.

"I HATE YOUTUBE UPLOAD PROCESSING UNIT!"

64jk8g.jpg

:flag1:
Click to expand...

Yes, it does all come down to preference, and the game you are recording! When I first got my old laptop Fraps worked flawlessly for POTCO I don't know if POTCO slowed down or my laptop, but eventually I couldn't get more than 10 FPS. I usually had no problem with Dxtory recording POTCO, but when it came to Minecraft I could not get more than 10 FPS maximum. I posted this here for people who don't want to spend money on something that their computer may not be able to handle. :drink:

And of course, It's a added bonus for streaming!
 
Bart Gunshot said:
Yes, it does all come down to preference, and the game you are recording! When I first got my old laptop Fraps worked flawlessly for POTCO I don't know if POTCO slowed down or my laptop, but eventually I couldn't get more than 10 FPS. I usually had no problem with Dxtory recording POTCO, but when it came to Minecraft I could not get more than 10 FPS maximum. I posted this here for people who don't want to spend money on something that their computer may not be able to handle. :drink:

And of course, It's a added bonus for streaming!
Click to expand...

Fraps, for some reason tends to run better on desktop than laptop. I personally ran it in Windowed view.
 
Bart Gunshot said:
For a long time I have been looking for a good recording software. I tried Fraps first, since everyone I knew was using that. It worked well for POTCO but lagged when it came to any other game. I then tried Dxtory. It allowed me to play the game in the FPS I would normally get without recording, although the video was extremely laggy. Each of these I wasted my money on I felt, because they did not do what I wanted them to do. Recently I have found the end to my problems.

Open Broadcast Software (OBS) is a entirely free open source recording and streaming program. The program runs on Windows Vista and up. It currently lacks support for Mac and Linux but they are planned to be supported in the future.


Main Page
http://obsproject.com/

FAQ Page
http://obsproject.com/faq

Download Page
http://obsproject.com/download

Recording tutorial:
This isn't the best tutorial but it is the best I found. (Tutorial in words below)
  1. Download OBS
  2. Select "Start"
  3. Select "All Programs"
  4. Find and select "Open Broadcast Software"
    1. View attachment 58955
  5. Select either 32 bit or 64 bit depending on your OS
  6. You will be presented with the following screen
    1. View attachment 58956
  7. Select "Settings"
  8. Rename the "Untitled" setting profile and select "Rename"
    1. View attachment 58957
  9. Select "Apply"
  10. Next Select "Broadcast Settings" on the left tabs
  11. Click on the selector box and select "File Output Only"
  12. Select your file path to save the file in. Note: you may have to copy and paste the directory into the directory box. Also, in the "Browse" section make sure your desired file type is selected. There is currently .mp4 and .flv available MP4 will be compatible with almost every video editor.
    1. View attachment 58958
  13. Select "Apply"
  14. Select "OK" to get back to the main screen
  15. We now have to add a Scene in order to record anything
  16. To add a scene either right click the existing "Scene" and rename it, or right click the box and select "Add Scene"
  17. Now that we have a scene we have to tell the scene what to do
  18. Right click the "Sources" box
    1. View attachment 58959
  19. Mouse over "Add" and select "Game Capture" Note there are more capture modes then this try out the others!
  20. Name it what you want
  21. A box will appear with many settings, we will only need 2
  22. the first box is what you are going to record
  23. Stretch image to screen makes it so that whatever you are recording will fill the entire screen
  24. once you are done with the settings click "OK"
    1. View attachment 58960
  25. You are now ready to record, select "Preview Stream" to make sure you did everything right!
  26. The screen you are recording will show up above the options Note: If the screen is black try a different setting for the Sources (#18)
  27. Select "Start Streaming" to begin recording!
    1. View attachment 58961
  28. Make sure to Select "Stop Streaming" when done!
There are a ton of settings I missed! Try them out and see what works best for you. Also the video for streaming below covers a ton of the settings, it may be worth watching!


Streaming tutorial:
This can also help with recording as it shows off some of the settings I didn't cover in the tutorial above!
Click to expand...

I tried OBS, and I did everything he said on the video.

I did 2 recordings, and both times, the recording played back fine for about 5 seconds, and then it was just a frozen screen for the rest of the video. The audio continued, but the video did not. Is there something I missed?
 
Jason O'Connell said:
I tried OBS, and I did everything he said on the video.

I did 2 recordings, and both times, the recording played back fine for about 5 seconds, and then it was just a frozen screen for the rest of the video. The audio continued, but the video did not. Is there something I missed?
Click to expand...

Were you using the 64 bit or 32 bit version? The 64 bit is known to do weird things and it varies from computer to computer.

If that doesn't work try using OBS's log analyzer on their site. It takes a log file and analyzes it for configuration problems. http://obsproject.com/analyzer

And, if that doesn't work try contacting the developers and tell them your issue. Email, forums, and a chat is available. http://obsproject.com/contact

Sorry if this wasn't much help.:fish:
 
Bart Gunshot said:
Were you using the 64 bit or 32 bit version? The 64 bit is known to do weird things and it varies from computer to computer.

If that doesn't work try using OBS's log analyzer on their site. It takes a log file and analyzes it for configuration problems. http://obsproject.com/analyzer

And, if that doesn't work try contacting the developers and tell them your issue. Email, forums, and a chat is available. http://obsproject.com/contact

Sorry if this wasn't much help.:fish:
Click to expand...

I will try your suggestion in the morning, as it's really late here right now. Thanks, Bart!
 
Hmm... Looks like I've got something to check out now. I'll let you guys know how my test of OBS goes.

I used Camtasia Studio 7 for a long time. Well... my HD on my desktop went kaput and we had to get a new HD and of course I lost my Camtasia. :( I absolutely loved it!

However, that was before I had windows movie maker. I'm currently using that to edit my videos of my oldest son's football and basketball games, as well as family videos. But of course I've got my footage from my camcorder. I've been looking for something to use for recording gaming. I even found a saweeet device that you can connect to any gaming console or computer to record gaming, but as with why I didnt get Camtasia again... it costs too much for me atm.

Free is always good to try out. ;)
 
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