Last updated: 2026-01-05

For most people in the U.S. who just want to go live quickly with guests and solid quality, using a browser studio like StreamYard is the easiest path. When you need deep control over scenes, sources, and encoding on your own computer, OBS Studio is a powerful free option for live streaming.

Summary

• OBS is free desktop software that lets you build scenes, mix audio, and stream to platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook using your computer as the encoder. (OBS Project)
• A typical OBS workflow is: install → run Auto‑Configuration Wizard → add scenes and sources → set up audio → paste stream key → click Start Streaming. (OBS Quickstart)
• Browser studios like StreamYard skip encoder setup and guest tech checks; you open a tab, share an invite link, and go live with built‑in multistreaming on paid plans. (StreamYard pricing)
• A practical combo: use StreamYard as your main studio for multi‑guest shows, and keep OBS for advanced scene layouts, screen capture, or feeding a Virtual Camera into StreamYard.

What is OBS and when does it actually make sense to use it?

OBS Studio is free, open‑source software for live streaming and recording from your Mac, Windows PC, or Linux machine. It runs on your computer, captures video and audio from multiple sources, encodes them, and sends the stream to a destination such as YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, or a custom RTMP endpoint. (OBS Studio)

You should reach for OBS when:

• You want detailed control over scenes (e.g., layered graphics, multiple camera angles, game + camera compositions).
• You’re comfortable managing encoder settings (bitrate, keyframe interval, hardware encoders like NVENC or Quick Sync). (OBS hardware encoding)
• You need to stream to destinations that accept RTMP/HLS/SRT but don’t offer a ready‑made browser studio.

Where many U.S. creators discover friction is everything around that power:

• You must install and maintain the app on each computer.
• You’re responsible for CPU/GPU performance and audio routing.
• Guests need their own setup; OBS is not a “send a link and join the studio” tool.

That’s where a browser studio like StreamYard changes the experience. You open a browser, click Create, share an invite link, and everything runs in the cloud—no encoders, no downloads for guests, and multistreaming is built in on paid plans. (StreamYard paid features)

In practice, many creators default to StreamYard for talk shows, interviews, webinars, and multi‑guest sessions, and keep OBS in their toolkit for scene‑heavy or gaming‑style broadcasts.

How do you install OBS and run the Auto‑Configuration Wizard?

OBS installation is straightforward, but the first few minutes matter because they set your base quality and performance.

1. Download and install OBS Studio

• Go to the official download page and choose your OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux). (OBS Download)
• Run the installer and accept the defaults unless you have a reason to change paths.

Because OBS is free and open‑source under the GPLv2 license, there are no watermarks or locked features. (OBS Help)

2. Run the Auto‑Configuration Wizard

The first time OBS launches, it can walk you through a recommended setup:

• From the menu, go to Tools → Auto‑Configuration Wizard.
• When prompted, choose Optimize for streaming, recording is secondary if your main goal is live.
• Enter your target resolution and frame rate (for many creators, 1080p30 or 720p30 is a good starting point).
• Pick your streaming service if it appears in the list (YouTube, Twitch, etc.). You can also skip this here and configure the stream key later.

The wizard will test your system and network and propose encoder and bitrate settings. You can accept these as a baseline and tweak later; it’s a good “don’t overthink it yet” starting point. (OBS Quickstart)

This is one of the key differences from a tool like StreamYard: with OBS you’re tuning encoders on your machine, while with StreamYard the encoding happens in the cloud and your browser simply sends camera and screen feeds.

How do you build your show with scenes and sources in OBS?

In OBS, your show is built out of Scenes (containers) and Sources (things viewers see or hear). That’s the core mental model.

Scenes: think “layouts”

• A “Starting Soon” scene
• A “Main Camera” scene
• A “Screen Share + Camera” scene
• A “Be Right Back” scene

Sources: the ingredients inside each scene

• Video capture device (your webcam or capture card)
• Display or window capture (slides, browser, game)
• Image or media source (logos, overlays, pre‑recorded videos)
• Text (lower thirds, titles)
• Browser source (web widgets)

From the official quick start:

Step‑by‑step: creating your first layout

1. In the Scenes box, keep the default scene or click the + to add one (e.g., name it “Main”).
2. In the Sources box, click + and add:
   • Video Capture Device → choose your camera.
   • Audio Input Capture if your mic is not already present.
   • Display Capture or Window Capture if you want screen or app content.
3. Use the preview canvas to resize and arrange elements. You can drag, snap to edges, and right‑click for ordering (Move Up/Down, Center to screen, etc.).
4. Create additional scenes for different layouts, then switch between them using the Scenes list.

This layout‑first approach is similar in spirit to StreamYard’s templates and on‑screen layouts—but in OBS you’re free‑form designing every pixel. That flexibility is powerful, but it also means more tinkering and more chances to bump audio levels, sources, or filters out of place.

How do you set up audio and test before going live?

Audio can make or break a live stream. OBS gives you a built‑in mixer; it just requires a few checks.

1. Confirm audio devices

• Go to Settings → Audio.
• Set your Global Audio Devices:
  • Mic/Auxiliary Audio: your microphone or interface.
  • Desktop Audio: your system sound if you want viewers to hear videos, games, or music.

By default, OBS is set to capture desktop audio and a microphone, but it’s worth double‑checking. (OBS Quickstart)

2. Use the Audio Mixer

• Watch the Audio Mixer panel at the bottom.
• Talk into your mic—aim for peaks in the yellow, not slamming into red.
• You can adjust volume sliders, mute channels, and click the gear icon for filters (e.g., noise suppression, compressor) if you’re comfortable tweaking.

3. Make a local test recording Before sending anything live:

• In Settings → Output, confirm the Recording path.
• Click Start Recording in the Controls dock.
• Talk, switch scenes, play any media.
• Click Stop Recording, then watch the file back and listen for:
  • Echo (often from capturing both microphone and a second mic source).
  • Audio out of sync with video.
  • Desktop audio too loud relative to your voice.

The OBS docs explicitly recommend practicing and testing before live streaming, and the Start Recording button is the lowest‑risk way to do that. (OBS Studio overview)

With StreamYard, similar checks happen right in the browser preview with live meters and echo‑cancellation; because everything is cloud‑mixed, many creators find they spend less time wrestling with audio drivers and more time focusing on content.

How do you connect OBS to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, or a custom RTMP?

Once your scenes and audio are in good shape, you need to tell OBS where to send the stream.

Most platforms follow the same pattern: you get a stream key and server URL from the platform, then paste them into OBS.

1. Grab your stream key from the platform

• YouTube Live: in YouTube Studio → Go Live, you’ll see a Stream key and Stream URL.
• Twitch: in your dashboard under Settings → Stream, copy your Primary Stream Key.
• Facebook Live: when you create a live event using Streaming software, Facebook gives you a Stream key and Server URL.

Keep your stream key private; anyone with it can broadcast to your channel.

2. Configure OBS Settings → Stream

In OBS:

1. Go to Settings → Stream.
2. For Service, you have two approaches:
   • Choose the specific platform (e.g., YouTube - RTMPS, Twitch, Facebook Live), then either log in or paste the key.
   • Or set Service to Custom and paste the Server (RTMP/RTMPS URL) and Stream Key directly.

Official guidance for custom endpoints is: set Service to Custom, then enter the server and key provided by your destination. (Louper encoder docs referencing OBS)

3. Hit Start Streaming

When you’re ready:

• Click Start Streaming in the Controls dock.
• Watch your platform’s preview page to confirm video and audio are arriving.

From the OBS quick start: “Then click Start Recording or Start Streaming on the Controls Dock.” (OBS Quickstart)

If everything looks and sounds right, go live from the platform dashboard (for services that require a confirmation click), and you’re on air.

How is this different from going live with StreamYard?

With StreamYard, the flow skips encoder setup completely:

• You log into StreamYard in your browser.
• Add your destinations (YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). (StreamYard pricing)
• Enter the studio, invite guests with a link, arrange a layout.
• Click Go Live once, and—on paid plans—StreamYard sends a single cloud‑encoded stream to up to 3 or 8 destinations depending on your plan. (StreamYard paid features)

You don’t manage stream keys or RTMP URLs for the major platforms, and you don’t worry about your CPU choking when you add a fifth guest.

How do you multistream or combine OBS with tools like Restream and StreamYard?

OBS itself is designed to send one encoded stream out. If you want that single output to reach multiple platforms, you have two broad paths: a multistream relay service or a browser studio.

Multistreaming from OBS using Restream

Restream is a cloud service that takes an incoming stream from OBS and forwards it to multiple channels (YouTube, Twitch, LinkedIn, etc.). Their integration guide boils down to:

• In Restream, connect your target channels.
• In OBS Settings → Stream, set the Service to Restream.io and log in, or use their custom RTMP server and key. (Restream + OBS integration)
• Start streaming from OBS once; Restream handles relaying to all linked channels.

Some advanced Restream features, like adding guest channels to an encoder stream, require a paid plan. (Restream Pairs)

Using OBS with StreamYard via Virtual Camera

Another pattern is to use OBS for scenes and graphics but rely on StreamYard for guests, multistreaming, and browser‑based control.

Workflow:

1. In OBS, build your scene the way you like.
2. Turn on Start Virtual Camera in OBS.
3. In StreamYard, join your studio and select OBS Virtual Camera as your camera input.
4. StreamYard treats the OBS output as a camera feed; you still get StreamYard’s layouts, comments, multistream, and recording.

This combo often works well if you:

• Love OBS’s scene flexibility.
• Want StreamYard’s “it just works” guest experience, recordings, and multi‑destination output.

For many creators, this hybrid approach delivers more than enough visual control without giving up the ease of a browser‑based studio.

How can you reduce CPU usage and dial in quality settings in OBS?

One of the most common OBS questions is: “Why is my CPU so high?” or “Why is my stream choppy?”

Because OBS encodes video on your machine, your CPU/GPU and settings matter a lot. Here are pragmatic adjustments that align with OBS’s own recommendations.

Use a hardware encoder when possible

OBS supports hardware encoders like NVENC (NVIDIA), AMF (AMD), Quick Sync (Intel), and VideoToolbox (macOS). Hardware encoders are generally recommended because they move encoding work off your CPU. (OBS hardware encoding)

In Settings → Output → Streaming:

• Set Encoder to a hardware option if available (e.g., NVENC H.264 or Apple VT H.264).
• Leave rate control and presets at their defaults to start.

Right‑size your resolution and frame rate

Higher resolution and frame rate mean more work:

• Consider 1080p30 as a balance of clarity and load.
• If your machine struggles, drop to 720p30.

Change this in Settings → Video:

• Base (Canvas) Resolution: your monitor resolution.
• Output (Scaled) Resolution: what viewers see (maybe 1920×1080 or 1280×720).
• Common FPS Values: often 30.

Tame your scenes

Every extra source can add load, especially animated overlays or multiple video captures. To help OBS:

• Avoid having many hidden sources constantly active across scenes.
• Limit the number of browser sources with heavy animations.
• Keep only the necessary scenes and sources enabled for a given show.

By contrast, StreamYard does all encoding and compositing in the cloud, so your local CPU load is mostly your browser and webcam. That’s a big reason many hosts choose StreamYard when they’d rather invest in content and guests than in a new GPU.

When is StreamYard a better default than OBS for live streaming?

If you searched “how to use OBS for live streaming,” you’re probably trying to get from idea to first broadcast as cleanly as possible. OBS can absolutely do that—but it expects you to be the engineer.

For a lot of U.S. creators, StreamYard is a more practical default.

1. When you want guests to join with no tech headaches

With OBS, guests appear only if you wire in extra tools (Zoom, Discord, video call apps, NDI, etc.), which adds complexity. StreamYard is built around guest links: you send a URL, they open a browser, and they’re in the studio—no installs required. Many hosts prefer this when they want non‑technical guests to succeed on the first try.

2. When multistreaming and recording should “just work”

To multistream from OBS you typically:

• Send the stream to Restream or another relay.
• Pay for that separate service if you want more than basic output.

On StreamYard’s paid plans, multistreaming is integrated with 3 or 8 destinations, and live broadcasts can be recorded in the cloud for up to 10 hours per stream depending on plan. (StreamYard paid features)

3. When you care more about hosting than about encoder settings

OBS rewards people who like tweaking presets. StreamYard rewards people who prefer to:

• Focus on the run‑of‑show.
• Bring on up to 10 people in the studio with additional backstage slots.
• Use simple layouts, banners, and overlays to look professional without designing scenes from scratch.

Given mainstream priorities—high‑quality streams, easy guests, solid recordings, and reasonable cost—many creators start faster by making StreamYard their primary studio and treating OBS as an optional advanced tool.

What we recommend

• If you’re new to live streaming or mostly hosting talk‑style shows: start with StreamYard for its browser‑based studio, easy guest experience, and integrated multistreaming and recording.
• If you need fine‑grained scene control or are streaming PC games: use OBS to build your complex scenes, then either stream directly or send OBS into StreamYard via Virtual Camera.
• If you want maximum reach with minimal bandwidth: pair a cloud studio like StreamYard (for guests and production) with its built‑in multistreaming on paid plans instead of stitching together OBS plus separate relay services.
• If you already know OBS well: keep using it for what it’s great at, but consider StreamYard whenever you need fast, reliable, low‑stress sessions with multiple remote guests.