OBS Look-ahead and Psycho Tuning
i9-12900k 3.2
32GB RAM
3080Ti
Video Encoder: NVENC H.264
Encoder settings: RC: CBR; BR: 6000; Keyframe: 2 s; Preset: P6; Tuning: High Quality; Multipass: Two passes; Profile: high; Look-ahead? Psycho Vusual? GPU: 0; Max B-frames: 2.
My question:
I see various opinions and info across the internet regarding Look-ahead and Psycho Visual. I read that if I am using NVENC H.264 I might as well be using Look-ahead with B-frames at 2. I have seen conflicting information on the use of Psycho Visual though.
Should I use Psycho Visual? I saw one recommendation that said if my CPU and GPU are good enough to run it along with Look-ahead with B-frames at 4. Set me straight please!
Should I use Psycho Visual? I saw one recommendation that said if my CPU and GPU are good enough to run it along with Look-ahead with B-frames at 4. Set me straight please!
9 Replies
Look-ahead dynamically changes the number of b-frames between 0 and the number you set for b-frames (in this case it'll be 0-2). This isn't really a good thing for livestreaming since they expect the number to be constant, so it's recommended to turn Lok-Ahead off for streaming. For recording it's recommended to have it on, and you also don't need to go above 2 b-frames for either streaming or recording
Psycho-visual tuning basically uses more GPU resources to better guess where to allocate the available bitrate for human visual perception. This only really helps out for streaming where you are bitrate limited and want to squeeze out better quality. This is pretty useless for recording since you should be using CQP rate control, which will dynamically adjust the bitrate to meet a certain quality level for a given scene (IE: a scene where you are not moving does not need a high bitrate to look good, whereas a scene with lots of movement and things like effects & foliage will need a high bitrate to look good).
So basically:
B-Frames set to 2
Psycho-visual tuning enabled for streaming, and disabled for recording
Look-ahead disabled for streaming, and enabled for recording
Thanks for the prompt response. I think I may have been getting mixed up by not differentiating streaming and recording in the info I was reading.
So according to what you are saying.... since I am not bitrate limited i dont need Psycho. But I am streaming AND recording (mostly gaming high action FPS games).... got a good PC and good connection, do I still leave them both off?
So according to what you are saying.... since I am not bitrate limited i dont need Psycho. But I am streaming AND recording (mostly gaming high action FPS games).... got a good PC and good connection, do I still leave them both off?
You ideally should be using different settings for streaming and recording
Instead of setting the recording section to "use stream encoder"
Yeah i do understand that and that I can get better quality with settings specified for recordings. But I do want to capture what I stream. I know streaming settings are not ideal for recording but I am going to do it anyways, lol. That being said what would be the recommendation? LOL.... other than "not to".
Psycho visual tuning on, lookahead off, b-frames 2
"You're" 
Unless their "smokin" is hot
Unknown User•14mo ago
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