The Unofficial Guide to Open Broadcaster Software: OBS: The World's Most Popular Free Live-Streaming Application

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To everyone who helped solve a technical issue or provided guidance inside our OBS Users Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/OBSUsers).

1 A COMMUNITY OF LIVE STREAMERS

Today more than ever Open Broadcaster Software is being recognized as a valuable video production tool in the broadcast industry. Amidst the halls of the 2019 National Association of Broadcaster’s Show (NAB Show), where the world’s highest end video production software and hardware is on display each year in Las Vegas, Nevada, you will find OBS is talked about quite frequently. After attending the NAB Show for the past six years, I have had countless conversations with OBS users from around the world. A common theme of conversation is always the online community and helpful forums. As a member of multiple online Facebook Groups including the Streaming Idiots group and OBS Users group, I can tell you the community is alive and well. Check out this picture from the 2019 NAB Show below during the Streaming Idiots Meet Up this year.

So what is OBS and why are all these people excited about it? OBS stands for Open Broadcaster Software, and it is the most popular free live-streaming software in the world. OBS is 100% open source which means the project is reviewed, maintained, and enhanced by a community of volunteers. Anyone can use it for free and participate in its development using Github, Dischord, or other online collaboration tools. If you find OBS valuable, consider supporting the development of OBS using Patreon or OpenCollective.

This guide has been written to compliment an online OBS training course available on Udemy.com. With this guide, the included online course, downloadable materials, and a complementary audiobook, anyone interested in learning more about OBS should be able to advance their skills efficiently with these resources. As you start learning from these resources, consider learning from colleagues online in the OBS Facebook User Group available at: facebook.com/groups/OBSUsers.

The OBS suite is a versatile tool for live streaming and recording video. It can be used to record presentations, screen-capture sessions, eSports gaming, and much more. OBS includes a robust set of tools for processing audio which are discussed throughout this book. OBS can eliminate the need for expensive internal video capture cards with the integration of the NewTek® NDI®.

OBS was initially released in September 2012, by lead developer, Hugh Jim Bailey. The project has grown significantly over the years as new features and contributors have enhanced the application’s functionality. Due to its wide acceptance, the initial OBS project has been updated and improved through the efforts of many online collaborators. In its current version, OBS offers users advanced live video production capabilities through a user-friendly interface which can satisfy the needs of most video productions.

OBS allows users the ability to mix media from multiple source types and dynamically manipulate inputs to fit custom projects. The application can handle audio sources, webcams, web browser windows, as well as graphics and much more. In short, it offers a suite of video recording, and live-streaming capabilities that would typically cost thousands of dollars. This is why OBS has become the go-to software for the video recording and live streaming needs of diverse groups of people including small businesses, schools, sports teams, churches, eSports, and more.

What Can You Do with It?

• Record and Stream Live Presentations

OBS is a perfect tool for recording presentations. These could be recorded PowerPoint presentations, speaker presentations, live meetings, conferences, or church meetings.

• Record and Stream Educational Videos

These may include tutorials, training videos, and on-boarding sessions for new employees.

• Record and Stream games

OBS eliminates the need for expensive internal or external capture cards traditionally used for capturing high-definition video. OBS has become the de facto standard for live streaming and recording eSports.

• IP Video Production

With the newly released plugin support for the NewTek NDI, users can connect to a new world of IP video. NDI allows OBS users the ability to connect multiple OBS systems together. NDI can be used to share video and audio sources over a standard gigabit local area network (LAN).

Who Is It For?

OBS is perfect for use by anyone who wants to make a dynamic video presentation online:

• Schools and Educators: A lot of learning now happens online, and educational organizations are increasingly incorporating blended learning into their offerings to enrich student learning. OBS provides educators and schools with a free and effective means to get started with online teaching.

• Churches: OBS presents an easy way for churches to start streaming services online without having to do expensive system upgrades. With a few tweaks, the software can work with existing equipment to help churches reach new members, shut-ins, and community members on social media networks such as Facebook and YouTube.

• Businesses: Businesses can use OBS to record different kinds of video presentations and stream them to audiences to meet various objectives, including sales, marketing, internal communications, and employee on-boarding.

• Live Events: OBS is suitable for any situation where a person wants to produce a video recording and stream it online, regardless of whether it is a sports event, a conference, or just a reunion.

• Anyone: Even if it is for something as simple as making a video invitation to a weekend hangout, streaming videos from your vacation, or creating videos about your pet. OBS offers the capability to create engaging videos with relative ease.

Where Can I Stream with It?

OBS comes with preset settings for streaming on YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook, but it can be used for pretty much any streaming platform using custom RTMP (Real Time Messaging Protocol). The number of new live streaming networks changes all the time. With an active community of supporters, OBS has remained up-to-date and fully functional as one of the world’s most used live streaming software solutions.

2 VIDEO IS THE NEW FRONTIER

Nothing defines today's fast-paced culture more than our impatience, short attention spans, and constant craving for entertainment. In a world where people are looking to get more out of each hour in the day, video has become the preferred medium for communication. Facebook has reported that viewers will spend up to three times as much time watching a live video versus an on-demand video.

People like video for the same reason that children love to have stories read to them—it’s passive. Viewers shouldn’t have to work to understand your message when it is delivered via video. Just like a great song or story, the author should explain everything to the audience by using his or her actions, tone of voice, and facial expressions. Listening to a story is more engaging than reading by comparison because it is animated for us by the reader (The Psychology of Storytelling, 2012a).

Before online video came along, there were bedtime stories, songs, and the written word. It’s only been less than a decade since the explosion of online video has started to monopolize our culture's attention. The difference today is that we can deliver our stories anywhere, any time, and for as long as we want. And by the way, it’s virtually free, assuming you don’t mind signing big tech’s latest privacy policy.

Video is dominating the internet. Online video fits the modern on-the-go lifestyle. For most people, it is easier to watch and assimilate a ten-minute video presentation than it is to read the same content in text. Cisco notes that by the end of 2019, 80% of all web traffic will be video (Cisco Visual Networking Index, n.d.-a). Mobile video consumption data from YouTube shows a 100% growth rate in video viewership every year (Ave & Suite 102Clevel, 2018).

About one third of the time people spend online is spent watching videos (Shifts for 2020, n.d.). Perhaps a few stats will help us better understand the current online landscape:

• On average, people stay on website landing pages for 48 seconds . . . unless it has video—In which case, the average time rises to 5 minutes, 50 seconds (HubSpot, n.d.).

• In 2008, Forrester demonstrated that if a picture was worth a thousand words, then one minute of video was worth as much as 1,800,000 words. Video communicates more powerfully than text and is 5.33 times more effective (How Video Will Take Over The World, n.d.).

• People are 64% - 85% more likely to buy a video-promoted product, according to Forbes (Bowman, n.d.).

• Recipients are 90% more likely to interact with marketing emails that use video (Hussain, n.d.).

• People's preference for video has made YouTube the second biggest search engine after Google (Alexa Top 500 Global Sites, n.d.).

What is The Power of Video?

• Video offers an escape from everyday life and lets us momentarily share other people's lives or be part of a fantasy world (Robson, n.d.; The Psychology of Storytelling, 2012a).

• Video touches more parts of our brain; it combines visual and audio stimuli. Most people identify as visual learners, and since 90% of information reaching the brain is visual, video offers a chance for greater engagement (| Professional Development for Primary, Secondary & University Educators/Administrators, n.d.).

• Video captures a broader range of emotional experiences when compared to text or other mediums. Humans are emotional beings. People watch to laugh, love, be happy, angry, or shocked, or to relax and learn something novel (Robson, n.d.).

• Video stirs our curiosity. We want to know what the