# Multiple Monitor out devices



## Tangential (Oct 9, 2020)

It would be really useful to me if OBS had multiple, discreet audio monitor destinations. I have situations where I want to send my program feed and some of my audio to a local screen, but not all of my audio. At the same time, I would like to be able to hear all of the audio in my headset. If I could set monitor modes and destinations on each audio source that would be very easy. I'd like to assign Monitor1, Monitor2, etc in OBS to various devices and then assign sources to different monitors (or no monitor at all.)


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## Tangential (Oct 17, 2020)

Another approach would be to have a discrete monitor out element for each audio source. That would work as well.


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## frisco (Jan 8, 2021)

I too would really love a second monitor out.  I use OBS for giving remote presentations to audiences over videoconference.  I want to do one of the following 3 things for each audio stream that I record in OBS:

Send it upstream (e.g., my microphone)
Send it upstream and play it over the speakers (e.g., a video source with audio)
Neither (for audio from my participants asking questions)
Right now, I can't do #2 inside OBS.  With a single monitor, that's what I have to send upstream to the videoconference.  I can fake #2 by having two OBS desktop streams (which OBS allows) one of which is monitored, one of which is not.  That lets me play a video outside OBS in an application like mkv and send the audio both to the speakers and to OBS's monitored desktop input.  Unfortunately, this doesn't work for sources inside OBS.  I can monitor those, but since the monitor includes the microphone and hence doesn't go to the speakers, I can't hear the sound coming from these sources.


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## aega (Jan 11, 2021)

I think I figured out a workaround: it's possible to "sort of" do this using the NDI Output Plugin (obs-ndi - NewTek NDI™ integration into OBS Studio). 

You can set the NDI Output to be the Program Output (so this would be all the audio channels going to whatever livestream you're doing), then open NDI Video Monitor for the output on the same computer (or different on the same network). Set OBS to have the "Audio Monitor" go to one audio device with whatever channels you want going there, and NDI Video Monitor play audio (the same as your stream) to a different device.

Another option: you can add "Dedicated NDI Output (Audio Only)" filters to each audio source. The only problem being you can't assign multiple audio sources to have the same "NDI Name" and work at the same time. You could (I guess) have multiple NDI Video Monitors up and mix after that.

Latency on the same computer isn't terrible (maybe <200ms).

Alternatively, you could use the Multiple RTMP outputs plugin, and run a local RTMP server on the same computer to pull audio from, but I'm guessing audio latency might become an issue.


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## Tangential (Jan 12, 2021)

Good solution. I can see where I could use it but in my current case though, I need to hear all of the output so I can monitor its level and quality, but I don't want to play all of the audio out locally. Its a small, intimate audience so I typically don't play the presenters mic (they are disturbed by the delay and the local audience can hear them.) I just play the audio from the various bumpers and videos that are being used. If I do have to include the presenters audio, I take it from a sound board before it goes into OBS (monitor off on those mics in OBS) Then I merge that in another soundboard with the OBS audio out and send it to the PA


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## aega (Jan 12, 2021)

You can monitor all of the output in the NDI Program Output feed without going to the PA. Just set Windows to have its audio output going to your computer's headphone jack and use that as the feed monitor (with a set of headphones).
Set the "Audio Monitoring Device" in OBS to your audio interface (like FocusRite) and use that output for your bumpers and videos (set to Monitor and Output) going to your soundboard to the PA, with the presenter mics set to Monitor Off. 

Or another view:


```
Presenter Mic -> Monitor Off -> Livestream Feed and NDI Output -> NDI Video Monitor -> Headphone Jack



Videos -> Monitor & Output -> Livestream Feed and NDI Output -> NDI Video Monitor -> Headphone Jack
             |                     
             -> OBS Monitor -> Audio Interface -> Mixing Board -> PA
```


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