Open Broadcast Software (OBS) is free and open-source software for video recording and live streaming. It is used by YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitch content creators. OBS has many layers of capability in video production. One feature is its ability to record to an HD (internal or external). The main purpose we use it for is to act as a bridge to get our stream feed broadcast live to our social media channels. In this lesson, we are concerned with simply how to use it to stream the feed coming from the U-TAP converter to either YouTube or FaceBook.
When you first open OBS you’ll see a window that looks something like this.
Main areas of screen
OBS calls the different windows “docks.” This lesson is not designed to showcase all of the features of OBS. However, looking at the screen, depending on how the interface is configured, you may find the following: Scenes, Sources, Audio Mixer, Scene Transitions, and Controls. If you don’t see them on the screen, you find them under the Docks menu item at the top of the screen.
To ensure we have a signal and can stream to our platform of choice, the areas we are primarily interested in are:
- Sources
- Audio Mixer, and
- Controls
Sources
Sources are just what the name suggests: input sources, places where content comes from.