How to set up OBS for Twitch

How to set up OBS for Twitch

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is a popular software needed for streaming on Twitch. The program is easy to use, but requires some basic settings to work properly. Let's take a look at how to properly configure OBS for comfortable streaming.

Stages of installation and configuration of OBS

OBS software can be downloaded for free from the official website. The choice of version depends on the preferences of the streamer, but the sequence of actions during installation and configuration is always similar:

1. Go to Twitch and authorize in your account.
2. Open the author's control panel and select the “Broadcast Tools” section.
3. In the drop-down list, select the appropriate software and click on the “Download” icon.
4. After transferring to a new page, select your operating system - versions for Windows, macOS and Linux are available. The file will download automatically, after which you need to confirm the installation.
5. After installing the program, integrate it with Twitch by selecting the appropriate item in the menu.

Customize OBS settings

After launching the program, go to the settings menu and adjust the parameters following the sections:

• General: Customize the interface language, design theme and behavior of the application windows.
• Broadcasting: In the “Service” section, select “Twitch” as your broadcasting platform.
• Output: Set the output mode as “Advanced”. In the “Streaming” section, select the encoder to be used for the video. For weak devices, it is better to choose the x264 codec.
• Control: In the “Control” section, choose between constant quality (CBR) or floating values (ABR), where you need to specify maximum and minimum thresholds.
• Interval: Here you can adjust the video delay, which will help improve the quality of the broadcast by increasing the delay.
• CPU: Set the settings depending on the capabilities of your device.
• Audio: Select the optimal settings for the microphone. You can leave the default values or customize according to the characteristics of your device.

Video Settings

In the video section, adjust the scaling settings: you can select bilinear (for low system requirements), bicubic (for a balance of quality and performance), or Lanschotz (for maximum quality under high load).

Next, select the base and output resolution, and the number of frames per second (FPS). To ensure broadcast quality, you may be prompted to run a test broadcast to check the settings and troubleshoot possible problems.

Start Broadcast

When all the settings are complete, open the author control panel on Twitch, go to the “Channel” section and copy the broadcast key into the corresponding field in OBS. After that, click on the “Start Broadcast” button in the bottom right corner of the program.

Now your settings are remembered, and for the next broadcasts you won't have to re-configure the program.