30% performance loss while OBS is running (not even recording)
Hi! I have an issue with my OBS which is very resource consuming
I know that I have complex overlays with filters and animated elements, however my gaming scene is very minimalistic
The issue is that whenever OBS is running, I lose around 30% of FPS on games i'm playing
A 120 FPS game would run at 90 FPS most of the time with unstable framerate where a 60 FPS game would run around 40 FPS
I don't even need to have a stream or recording running to have that by the way
Here is an example log where I was just recording gameplay on Helldivers 2, and went from 60 FPS average to 40 FPS average
So I did a few tests and some files were quite heavy on OBS, however I still lose 10 to 20 FPS with OBS running (not even recording or streaming)
The curious thing is that my GPU is not 100% nor my CPU so I don't understand why I'm losing performance if they are not running to their max
49 Replies
So I don't understand, the setup shouldn't lose performance?
Obviously I tried running a portable version of OBS without my overlay and I wasn't losing any performance
The issue comes from my overlay i know it, but what? and how can I optimize it?
Here's a log file from a session playing Helldivers 2 where my performances were 30% lower than without OBS running
Moreover some softwares using hardware acceleration like Chrome are running way slower when OBS is running
The PC feels like it's running 100% even though it's clearly not
OBS loses less than 0.1% frames by the way
reduce the complexity of the overlays, remove things you dont need, change mp4 and mov files to webm (see if that helps), have files shutdown when not active (in the properties of the source), reduce the use of gpu resources like the background removal etc.
Epos probly even has a video on this if I had to guess. but you identified the issue already just need to change/try what was mentioned
Yes but most of that items are used regularly
I can’t just get rid of them
How can i optimize them better?
Background removal plugin for exmaple
just a side that I thought of. to test to make sure its not the plugins you have like the vertical plugin causing the issues. so you could duplicate your scene colleciton strip it down to the bare to make sure the key parts of what the plugins use are still there and test again
start with what I mentioned, the parts about not removing. I would also search Epos yt as I am pretty sure he has a video on this and gives more ideas/options
instead of the vitural removal I wonder if a physical green screen would be less intesive, that could be tested too. but thats probly a option after what I mentioned
No i use it as a "fake green screen" to be in front of elements of my overlay
It’s to split me from my background
Yeah youre right i think ill continue doing that
Seems like the best approach
so you are using it as a greenscreen though right
Yes but still keeping my background
oh so like blurring?
let me find a clip
if so and thats the last thing to see if it helps after you have done everything else then weight the cost of keeping it
Twitch
Ben_OnAir - bleuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Watch Ben_OnAir's clip titled "bleuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
as you can see I can be in front of elements (the bubbles) but I keep my background
it's a "fake greenscreen"
okay so greenscreen basically haha
yes! but without losing your backgorund
i can still move around in my background and it's not a looping video behind me
it's the real feed
yea, well try whats been mentioned if thats the last thing to try weight the use of using that or see if you can do it other ways
yes
as you may have seen in the logs, I have a lot of sources in my scenes, and I try to gather elements by category in sub-scenes to then import the scene instead of plenty of sources
I don't know if it's better for performances
I try to have all my footage in lossless files
so all video files are big non compressed to give room for OBS
At some point maybe it's just too much whatever the spec of the PC?
i don't really know how to optimize without having to cut content from the overlay
try what I have mentioned and go from there
most of that is already done
I always unload files when inactive
files are encoded in right codec
you converted all the mp4 and mov to webm already?
it's mov iirc in quicktime 4444
lossless format
yes I understand that but worth a shot to try webm and see if that helps
i've been told it was better than vp9
yeah i'll try that
good luck!
thank you!
no worries, after that if you still have issues and you also ruled out the plugins causing issues as I mentioned before. I would take a look at the eposvox vid that I am sure exists on this or maybe by then others with have recommendations
According to your log you're using a lot of heavy filters from StreamFX like 3d transform and shaders
You're also using source groups which are known to have some performance and other issues, you should instead use separate scenes for those sources and then use a Scene source where necessary
One other small thing is that you should not have a Display Capture and Game Capture sources in the same scene
thanks for the info, groups as folder? i didn't know they were heavy on performance, why?
I never have display capture and game capture visible at the same time, i switch when necessary is it still a problem?
I'm trying to convert all my alpha video files to lossless avi (they are in 444 rn but I can still get some more performance) however they can't be at smaller resolution than 720/480, i'm using media encoder
Talking about this video
https://youtu.be/X9jMna8KQyA
EposVox
YouTube
OBS STUDIO: Which Media Source formats are best for Alpha Transpare...
🔥 Sponsored by Nerd or Die: https://eposvox.gg/nerdordie | SAVE 15% w/ coupon code EPOSVOX 🔥
Today we're taking a deep dive into Media Sources for OBS - stinger transitions, lower-thirds, webcam frames, intros and BRB screens, etc. - and seeing which codecs and formats perform best while providing minimal impact to your game and stream. Which so...
thanks for the info, groups as folder? i didn't know they were heavy on performance, why?I've heard this in the OBS discord many times, I think it was added before Scene sources were made and now exist to keep things backward compatible
I never have display capture and game capture visible at the same time, i switch when necessary is it still a problem?Even if they're not activated in the same scene, having both in the same scene at all causes issues
I'm trying to convert all my alpha video files to lossless avi (they are in 444 rn but I can still get some more performance) however they can't be at smaller resolution than 720/480, i'm using media encoderI would not use the Adobe Media Encoder and just use FFmpeg like how Addie does in that video. There are links there for some Windopws Batch scripts that use FFmpeg to convert the files to lossless AVI
thanks for the answers
1 - Do you have alternative for the group folders that isn't separate scene? it's not very handy when you have to toggle some sources often
I already use "group scenes" but for more static elements
2 - What can I do then? Sometimes I want to show my full display and not just game capture, so I like to switch between them
3 - i had downloaded the script from epos video but it doesn't work anymore, is there a new recent one?
1. Unfortunately no, scene sources are the best way to do the nested / grouped stuff without causing issues
2. You could either have different scenes where 1 has the Display source and the other uses the Game Capture source. You could also try having two scenes that only have the display capture and came capture sources by themselves, then nest those scenes in your main scene
3. You need the FFmpeg program downloaded and set up for those scripts to work. That video should guide you on how to do that
Okay so nested scenes in nested scenes haha
damn didn't know that would create that much issue
is it really quantifiable? I mean by deleting that will I see some visible improvements
which video? I already have ffmpeg installed
but the batch script from the video I have linked has invialid argument error
Did you set up FFmpeg in your
Path environment variable?
Can you show a screenshot of that erroryes
You have to drag a video onto the batch script
ohhh
thanks
I got this warning
[avi @ 000001f731935a00] Too large number of skipped frames 61060 > 60000
however the output file seems fineYeah that error shouldn't be an issue