If you are a video creator but notice that the OBS recording quality is unsatisfactory, you may want to configure the settings to get a better output. However, because the application has several options to configure, new users may get confused with all the technical terms and several menus and lists.
With that said, in the following sections, you will learn how to improve OBS recording quality. In addition, you will also get to know about the best alternative to OBS that you can use to bypass all the quality-related issues and make your entire screencasting process super easy.
Why is OBS Recording Quality So Bad?
The OBS recording quality majorly depends on the hardware of your PC and the capture settings that your instance of the application is configured to use. For example, if your GPU is old and you try to record your screen at 1080p and 60fps, you may get a blurry output. This happens because, in such a case, OBS tries to add information that doesn't exist, and therefore inducing something out of nowhere causes issues.
Another situation could be when you are trying to record gameplay. In this scenario, even if you configure OBS according to the recommended settings, you get a low-quality resolution until you enable 'Game Mode' (in Windows). Sometimes even after this, you may get bad OBS recording quality as many other factors could play their part in the background.
How to Fix OBS Low-Quality Issues?
This question has three answers, i.e., three solutions, and you can try all of them to see which one works for you.
Solution 1: High-Quality Recording Settings (Before OBS Recording)
If your OBS recording is low-quality, you should try configuring the program's settings first to see if it helps. A couple of things that you may want to check and set up include:
- Downscaling
If the OBS recording quality is bad at 1920p x 1080p, you may want to reduce the capturing resolution to 1280p x 720p. Downscaling ensures that OBS adds no additional information to the footage, thus giving you only the data the tool records. In addition, consider setting the framerate (FPS) to 30.
You can do all this from the 'Video' category of the OBS 'Settings' box.
If merely decreasing the recording resolution doesn't work, you can try a few other settings that are suggested below:
- Advanced Output Mode Recording Settings
Go to the 'Output' category of the 'Settings' box, choose 'Advanced' from the 'Output Mode' list, and go to the 'Recording' tab. Set the 'Recording Format' option to MP4 (or any other format) so it becomes easy for you to edit the footage after recording.
Choose your preferred graphics card if it offers better performance than the default x264 that is already selected.
Also, choose 'CBR' from the 'Rate Control' list and set the 'Bitrate' to 40000 Kbps. If your graphics card is old, you may want to stick to the bitrate between 15000 Kbps and 25000 Kbps.
- Color Format
Go to the 'Advanced' category of the 'Settings' box. Scroll down the right window to the 'Video' section and choose NV12 from the 'Color Format' list.
Also, set 'Color Space' ('YUV Color Space' on Windows) to 709 and 'Color Range' ('YUV Color Range' on Windows) to Full.
After configuring your instance of the software, re-record the computer screen and see if the OBS recording quality improves.
Solution 2: Adjust OBS Recording Settings (After Recording)
Although it would be tedious to re-recording your screen exactly the way you did the first time, if you don't want to compromise the quality of the recording, you should try configuring OBS as suggested in the previous solution and see if the performance improves. If it doesn't, the next option would be to use an efficient video editing tool to apply some filters to the existing footage to make it look better.
One such application is DemoCreator by Wondershare, which you can download from the https://democreator.wondershare.com/ link. After installing, you can launch its built-in video editor, import the footage to the program, add it to the timeline, go to the Filters section from the top, and use the available filters to improve picture quality.
Solution 3: Choose the Best OBS Alternative - Wondershare DemoCreator
To permanently eliminate all the hassles and hurdles discussed above, you can go for an alternate solution, an efficient screen recording program that gives you full control over your capturing preferences and the options labeled in layman's language so that even non-techies can understand them easily.
Wondershare DemoCreator wins the competition even in this arena. The software is available for Windows and Mac platforms and can record your computer screen, webcam, and microphone simultaneously or independently.
Some key features that DemoCreator has include:
- Scheduled recording
- Up to 4K export resolution
- Built-in video editor
- Annotation on recorded videos
Although DemoCreator is the first choice of vloggers and game players, you can use it to create interactive tutorials or demonstrate any issue or solution to your colleagues, family, or friends.
You can follow the step-by-step instructions given below to record the computer screen in high quality with DemoCreator, and export the footage in your preferred format:
Step 1: Set Up Recording Preferences.
After installing DemoCreator on your PC, launch the program. Click All-in-One Recorder from the first window.
When the recording panel opens, turn on or off the following buttons according to your needs:
- System Audio - Enable this if you want DemoCreator to record any sound your PC generates. E.g., notification note, error sound, etc.
- Microphone - Enable this to record your voice along with the screen capture.
- WebCam - Enable this when you want to show your face while capturing your PC screen. This makes the videos more engaging and establishes trust between you and the audience.
In addition, ensure that the Capture Area is set to Full screen. Optionally, you can check or uncheck the Hide mouse cursor box from the bottom of the panel to show or hide the mouse pointer in the output.
Step 2: Record Your PC Screen.
After recording preferences are set, click the REC button on the panel to start capturing your screen.
Once done, click the Stop button on the floating toolbar or press F10 (on Windows) or cmd + shift + 2 (on macOS) to stop the screen capture.
Step 3: Edit and Export the Video in High-Quality.
Wait while the integrated video editor launches and automatically adds the recorded clip to the timeline.
Now you can select the video track in the timeline and use the tools available in the mini toolbar above it to edit the footage to give it a finishing touch.
When everything is all set and you are satisfied with the results, click Export from the upper-right area of the interface.
On the Export box, ensure that This PC is selected in the navigation bar on the left. From the right window, choose your preferred output format, give the output file a name, and set an output folder.
Optionally, click Settings and choose a different resolution from the Resolution list. You can even pick the highest available value which is 4096p x 2160p to get the best video quality. Click OK to save the settings.
Finally, click Export from the bottom-right area of the previous box to export your recording for sharing, distribution, or broadcasting.
Final Words
OBS is a free, open-source, and cross-platform screencasting tool many professionals use. However, the biggest drawback of the application is that it doesn't have a built-in editor. In other words, anything you record is final; unless you use a different software, you can't edit the footage.
Furthermore, the program has several configuration options that you can use to customize the video resolution if the OBS recording quality is bad. Although this is good for many experienced users, new and novice people may find it extremely daunting to deal with such technicalities.
Considering all these hurdles, you may need an efficient tool like Wondershare DemoCreator that surpasses OBS recording quality, doesn't have a steep learning curve, offers an intuitive interface, and gives you the option to fine-edit your recordings without installing any third-party software.
