Microphone or desktop clipping / distortion
Harsh distortion from levels hitting 0 dB / red in the OBS meters.
Tools and working references
Reference pages you can keep open on a second monitor while you set OBS Studio up: encoder comparisons, bitrate guidance, capture methods and the checks that tell you which setting is actually hurting you.
460 published pages in this section.
Monitoring delay in headset
You hear yourself or game monitoring late in headphones while the stream mix is fine.
Monitoring echo heard by viewers or locally
Echo or hollow repeat caused by Monitor and Output routing mistakes.
Multi audio track routing mistakes
VODs or recordings have missing or mixed tracks because track checkboxes are wrong.
Network dropped frames while streaming
Stats show dropped frames (network) from insufficient or unstable upload bandwidth.
No desktop audio in OBS
Desktop/game audio meters do not move and recordings lack system sound.
No microphone audio in OBS
Mic meter stays flat while Windows/macOS/Linux show the mic working elsewhere.
NVENC session limit or encoder init failure
NVENC will not start or fails mid-stream because sessions are exhausted or the driver faults.
OS permission blocks screen capture
All capture types fail until the operating system grants screen recording permission.
Outdated encoder plugin conflicts
Third-party encoder plugins conflict with built-in NVENC/AMF/QSV paths.
Platform authentication expired
Connected account / OAuth session expired so streaming auth fails.
Plugin incompatible or outdated
OBS crashes or misbehaves because a plugin was built for another OBS version.
Preview black while stream looks fine
Local Preview/Program is black or stuck, but the live stream or recording file is correct.
Recording corruption — prefer MKV then remux
MP4 recordings are corrupt or unplayable after a crash or improper stop; MKV recovers.
Recording encoder overload causing stutter files
The recording encoder cannot keep up, producing stuttery files even when not streaming.
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