Plugin incompatible or outdated
OBS crashes or misbehaves because a plugin was built for another OBS version.
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.
464 published pages in this section.
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.
Recording stutters from slow disk or full volume
Local recordings hitch, freeze, or stop because the disk cannot sustain write speed or is full.
Rendering lag high in OBS Stats
Stats show elevated rendering lag; frames miss compose deadlines before encode.
Replay Buffer memory pressure
Replay Buffer uses large RAM and can destabilize OBS on long sessions.
Replay Buffer save fails
Save Replay fails from permissions, disk space, or path issues.
Safe Mode recovers a broken launch
OBS only starts cleanly in Safe Mode, indicating plugin or third-party interference.
Sample-rate mismatch causing crackles or drift
OBS and devices disagree on 44.1 vs 48 kHz, causing crackles, pitch issues, or drift.
Scene complexity causing render stalls
Heavy scenes with nests, media, and alerts cause freezes and render stalls.
Script or plugin script error breaking scenes
Lua/Python scripts or plugin scripts throw errors that break sources or hotkeys.
Skipped frames due to encoding lag
Stats show skipped frames caused by encoding lag, producing stream stutter with a healthy network.
Soft or blurry output from scaling choices
Output looks softer than the canvas because of scaling filter or mismatched resolutions.
Source captured but invisible from transform or crop
Capture is active but the source is off-canvas, zero-scaled, or fully cropped.
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