OBS Studio Setup#

This guide walks through configuring OBS Studio to stream to your go-rtmp server.

Prerequisites#

go-rtmp server running (see Quick Start)
OBS Studio installed

Step-by-Step Configuration#

1. Stream Settings#

Open OBS → Settings → Stream:

Setting	Value
Service	Custom…
Server	`rtmp://localhost:1935/live`
Stream Key	`mystream`

Tip: Replace localhost with your server’s IP address if streaming from a different machine.

2. Output Settings#

Open OBS → Settings → Output → Streaming tab:

Setting	Recommended Value
Encoder	x264 (H.264), x265 (H.265/HEVC), or hardware encoders (NVENC, QuickSync, AMF)
Rate Control	CBR
Bitrate	2500 Kbps (adjust for your upload speed)
Keyframe Interval	2 seconds (critical for late-join performance)
CPU Usage Preset	`veryfast` (for x264)
Profile	`high`

Important: A 2-second keyframe interval ensures subscribers can join within 2 seconds. Longer intervals mean longer wait times for late-joining viewers.

3. Audio Settings#

Open OBS → Settings → Audio:

Setting	Recommended Value
Sample Rate	48000 Hz
Channels	Stereo

4. Add Sources#

In the main OBS window, click + under Sources to add:

Display Capture — screen share
Video Capture Device — webcam
Audio Input Capture — microphone
Audio Output Capture — desktop audio

5. Start Streaming#

Click Start Streaming in the bottom-right corner of OBS.

You should see the server log output:

INF connection registered conn_id=1 remote=127.0.0.1:54321
INF publisher started conn_id=1 stream_key=live/mystream

6. Verify#

Open a subscriber in another terminal:

ffplay rtmp://localhost:1935/live/mystream

You should see your OBS output with minimal latency.

With Authentication#

If the server requires authentication (-auth-mode token), include the token in the Stream Key field:

mystream?token=secret123

The full OBS stream settings become:

Setting	Value
Server	`rtmp://localhost:1935/live`
Stream Key	`mystream?token=secret123`

Troubleshooting#

Connection Refused#

Symptom: OBS shows “Could not access the specified channel or stream key” or “Failed to connect to server”.

Fix: Ensure the go-rtmp server is running and listening on the correct address/port. Check that no firewall is blocking port 1935.

Black Screen on Subscriber#

Symptom: ffplay connects but shows a black screen.

Fix:

OBS can use H.264, H.265/HEVC, or AV1 encoders. go-rtmp supports all of them via Enhanced RTMP.
Restart the stream in OBS
Wait 2–3 seconds before starting the subscriber

High CPU Usage#

Symptom: Server or OBS using excessive CPU.

Fix:

In OBS, switch from x264 to a hardware encoder (NVENC for NVIDIA, QuickSync for Intel, AMF for AMD)
On the server, use -log-level info instead of debug (debug logs every media message)
Lower the stream bitrate

Audio/Video Out of Sync#

Symptom: Audio is ahead of or behind video.

Fix:

Ensure OBS keyframe interval is set to 2 seconds (not 0 or auto)
Restart the stream