Tutorial · OBS Studio for live video

OBS Studio tutorial your camera, live on your own channel

This OBS Studio tutorial takes you from an empty OBS window to a live stream in five steps: build a scene, add your camera and microphone, paste your server and stream key, set the encoder, and press Start Streaming.

It is written for OBS Studio 32.2, the current release for Windows, macOS and Linux, and every value you type comes from your Primcast control panel.

Start with your panel values Video streaming plans

Settings · Stream

Service: Custom...
Server: rtmp://HOST:1935/APP
Stream Key: livestream
Authentication: Use authentication
Username: USERNAME
Password: ••••••••••

Output: CBR · 2500 Kbps · 2 sAudio: AAC · 128

Install OBS and copy four values from your panel

OBS Studio is free and open source. Install it on the computer your camera is plugged into, then keep your control panel open in a browser tab while you set it up.

Get OBS Studio

Download it from obsproject.com, or install it from a terminal:

install

# Windows
winget install OBSProject.OBSStudio
# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install --cask obs
# Linux (Flatpak)
flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.Studio

The first time it opens, OBS offers the Auto-Configuration Wizard. You can close it: this page sets everything by hand.

Your channel's encoder settings

Server: An address like rtmp://HOST:1935/APP. It goes in the OBS Server box.
Stream name: Usually livestream. OBS calls this the Stream Key.
Username: The login OBS uses to publish to your channel.
Password: Hidden until you click Show. New password makes a fresh one.

Some panels also list a Nearest server. Put that address in OBS instead of the Server line: OBS then connects to whichever of our locations is closest to you (New York, Miami, San Francisco, Amsterdam or Bucharest), and we carry the stream to your channel. Your stream name, username and password do not change.

How to use OBS Studio: a scene and its sources

OBS sends whatever is in the preview. A scene is one layout, and sources are the things inside it: a camera, a microphone, your screen, a logo. Build one scene first and add more later.

Make the scene

In the Scenes dock at the bottom left, click + and give the scene a name, for example "Live".
In the Sources dock next to it, click + and pick Video Capture Device in the window that opens, for a webcam or capture card. Choose your device and click OK.
Click + again and add Audio Input Capture for your microphone, unless the camera or capture card already carries the sound.
Drag the red frame in the preview to size the camera. Right-click it and choose Transform, then Fit to screen, for a quick full-frame picture.

Other sources you will use

Display Capture: Your whole screen. On a Mac it is called macOS Screen Capture.
Window Capture: One application window, such as slides or a browser.
Media Source: A video file, or a stream address if you untick Local File.
Image: A logo or a "back soon" card.

Watch the Audio Mixer while you talk. The meter should move into the yellow on loud words and stay out of the red.

Set up the OBS RTMP stream to your channel

Open Settings (bottom right, under Controls) and choose Stream on the left. This is where OBS learns where to send the picture.

Settings › Stream

Set Service to Custom..., the first entry in the list.
Paste your panel's Server address into Server, exactly as shown, with no stream name on the end.
Type your stream name, usually livestream, into Stream Key.
Tick Use authentication, then enter your Username and Password from the panel.
Click Apply.

The three mistakes that stop most first streams

The stream name pasted onto the end of the Server address. OBS wants them in two boxes.
Use authentication left unticked. Your channel only accepts a publisher that logs in, so OBS is turned away.
An old password. If you clicked New password in the panel, OBS needs the new one before its next connection.

OBS also needs to reach port 1935 on the way out. Office and school networks sometimes block it; try another connection if nothing else is wrong.

OBS stream settings for a picture that does not stall

Three settings pages decide how the stream holds up: Output for the encoder, Video for the size of the picture, Advanced for what happens when your connection drops. Set all three once.

Settings › Output

Switch Output Mode to Advanced, so the keyframe setting appears, then on the Streaming tab:

Video Encoder: An H.264 encoder. Your graphics chip's one if you have it (NVIDIA NVENC H.264, AMD HW H.264, QuickSync H.264 or Apple VT H264 Hardware Encoder), otherwise x264.
Rate Control: CBR, a constant bitrate.
Bitrate: From the table below.
Keyframe Interval: 2 s. Never 0, which lets OBS choose.

Then open the Audio tab and set Track 1 to 128 kbps AAC.

Settings › Video · Advanced

Under Video, keep the Base (Canvas) Resolution at your screen size and set the Output (Scaled) Resolution and FPS to the row you pick below. OBS shrinks the picture for you.

Under Advanced, leave Automatically Reconnect ticked. When your internet blinks, OBS tries again on its own and your channel picks the stream back up.

Why 2 seconds matters: we cut the stream into playback segments at each keyframe. A long or wandering interval makes uneven segments, and your viewers see buffering that looks like a server problem.

Suggested OBS video and audio bitrates by picture size
Picture	Output (Scaled) Resolution	Video bitrate	Audio	Upload you need
1080p, 30 fps	1920x1080	4500 Kbps	128	7 Mbps
720p, 30 fps	1280x720	2500 Kbps	128	4 Mbps
480p, 30 fps	854x480	1200 Kbps	96	2 Mbps

Run a speed test from the streaming computer and send no more than two thirds of the upload it shows. If you are unsure, start on 720p: it looks good on phones and laptops and leaves room for a bad minute. The paid live video plans accept up to 5 Mbps in, which covers the 1080p row.

Start streaming and check it from the viewer's side

Go live

Click Start Streaming in the Controls dock.
Look at the bar along the bottom of OBS. A green square and a steady figure in kb/s mean the stream is flowing.
Open Stats from the Docks menu. Dropped frames under Network point to your upload; skipped frames under Rendering or Encoding point to a computer that is working too hard. Lower the bitrate or the resolution for the first, use a hardware encoder for the second.
Click Start Recording as well if you want a copy on your own disk. OBS saves it to the Recording Path set under Output.

See what your viewers see

Back on your Live streaming card, the status shows the channel as live and what OBS is sending. Further down, Watch gives you the playback link and an embed code for your website or app. Open the link on your phone, off Wi-Fi, to see the stream the way a viewer will.

The same card can pass your stream on to YouTube, Facebook, Twitch or another RTMP server, up to five destinations at once. OBS keeps sending one stream, so your upload does not have to carry the extra copies.

OBS SRT and WHIP: two other ways in

RTMP works for most people. If your panel shows one of these sections, you can use it in the same Settings › Stream page.

SRT for long or shaky connections

SRT keeps the picture steady over venue Wi-Fi, a mobile uplink or a feed from far away. It comes with the Pro and Platinum plans of our video CDN, and your card then shows an SRT ingest section.

Keep Service on Custom... and paste the One-line URL from the panel into Server.
Leave Stream Key empty and untick Use authentication. The passphrase in the URL does the job.

server · srt

srt://HOST:PORT?passphrase=PASSPHRASE&pbkeylen=16

A stream sent over SRT plays under its own name. Use the link the panel shows under Plays at.

WHIP for about half a second of delay

When your channel has WebRTC switched on, the card lists a WHIP (WebRTC) address. OBS has supported WHIP since version 30.

Set Service to WHIP.
Paste the WHIP address into Server.
Put your channel password into Bearer Token.

The panel puts the delay of WebRTC publishing at about half a second. Scenes, sources and the Output settings above stay as they are.

OBS Studio questions people ask us

How do I stream to an RTMP server from OBS?

Open Settings, then Stream, and set Service to the Custom... entry. Put the server address in Server and the stream name in Stream Key. If the server needs a login, as a Primcast channel does, tick Use authentication and add your username and password. Click Apply, then Start Streaming.

Where do I find my server, stream key and password?

In your account, on the Live streaming card of your video account, under Encoder settings. Click Show to see the password. New password makes another one; the stream that is live keeps going and OBS needs the new password the next time it connects.

Why does OBS say "Failed to connect to server"?

Almost always one of three things: the stream name was pasted into the Server box, Use authentication is not ticked, or the password is out of date. Check those against your panel. If they are right, your network may be blocking outgoing port 1935; try another connection, then ask us in chat and we can look at your channel's side.

What keyframe interval should I use in OBS?

2 seconds, set in Settings, Output, with Output Mode on Advanced. The default of 0 lets OBS pick, and a long interval makes your viewers' players buffer, because playback is cut into segments at each keyframe.

What bitrate should I stream at in OBS?

Around 2500 Kbps for 720p and 4500 Kbps for 1080p at 30 frames per second, with 128 kbps of AAC audio and CBR rate control. Keep the total under two thirds of the upload a speed test shows, so a slow moment on your line does not drop the stream.

Can OBS show an RTMP or HLS stream as a source?

Yes. Add a Media Source, untick Local File and paste the stream address into Input. For your own channel, use the playback link from the Watch section of your panel. It is a handy way to check the stream, or to bring a second location into your show.

Can I stream from OBS to YouTube and my own channel at the same time?

Yes, without a plugin. Send OBS to your Primcast channel as normal, then add YouTube, Facebook, Twitch or any RTMP server as destinations on your Live streaming card, up to five. OBS uploads one stream and our servers send the copies.

Do I need my own streaming server for OBS?

No. Your Primcast channel is the server: OBS sends it one stream, and viewers play it in their browser or app from a link you embed. The live video plans take up to 1,000 viewers at once, so the number of people watching never touches your own upload.

Using another encoder?

Every encoder that speaks RTMP connects to your channel with the same four values. These tutorials show where they go, and our live video streaming tutorials cover hardware encoders too.

No channel yet? Get one and press Start Streaming

Pick a live video plan, copy the four values into OBS and watch yourself on your phone a few minutes later. If something will not connect, our chat answers in seconds, can check your channel while you wait, and hands you to a person whenever you ask.

See live video plans