How to Use OBS Studio - Complete OBS Tutorial for Beginners (2026!), by Justin Brown - Primal Video on YouTube. 20 min 38 s.
- Video length
- 20 min 38 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Download OBS Studio from obsproject.com and install it. On first launch, the Auto-Configuration Wizard appears. Choose Optimize for recording, or for streaming if you plan to go live.
Look at the four main areas: the preview in the middle, Scenes and Sources at the bottom, the Audio Mixer below the preview, and the Controls panel on the right.
Open Settings and pick Video. Set your base and output resolution to 1920x1080, or 1280x720 if your computer struggles. Set the frame rate to 30 fps for screen work, 60 fps for games.
In Settings, open Output and switch the output mode to Simple. Choose a recording quality of High Quality, set the format to MP4 or MKV, and pick a save folder with plenty of free space.
In Settings, open Audio and set the sample rate to 44.1 kHz. Under the Audio Mixer, click the gear next to your mic and set the level so your voice peaks around -12 dB.
In the Sources box, click the plus button and add Display Capture to record your whole screen, or Window Capture for one app. Add Video Capture Device for your webcam.
Drag the webcam source in the preview to a corner and resize it with the red handles to make picture in picture. Add Audio Input Capture if your mic does not appear automatically.
Click Start Recording in the Controls panel. Do a 20 second test, stop the recording, and play the file back to check the picture, your voice and the computer audio.
For meetings, click Start Virtual Camera in OBS, then choose OBS Virtual Camera as the camera in Zoom, Teams or Meet.
Tips and common mistakes
Record a short test every time you change a setting, so you catch a muted mic or black screen before a long session.
If your recording is choppy, drop the frame rate to 30 fps or lower the output resolution before changing anything else.
Use MKV as the recording format if you worry about crashes, then remux to MP4 from the File menu afterwards.
Keep each scene to the sources you need. Too many hidden sources can slow down older laptops.
Questions
Why is my screen recording black in OBS?
On Windows, OBS may be capturing the wrong display or a protected window. Switch Display Capture to the correct monitor, or run OBS as administrator so it can see the screen.
What is the difference between Scenes and Sources?
A Scene is a layout you switch to, such as screen only or screen plus webcam. Sources are the individual screen, window, camera and audio items inside that scene.
Can I record and stream at the same time?
Yes. Turn on both Start Recording and Start Streaming in the Controls panel. Check your upload speed first, since streaming uses part of your bandwidth.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
