# How can I get my Macbook Pro 16 to stream and record 1080p 60fps



## NeverQui (Aug 2, 2020)

Hi everyone, I hope you're doing well in these unusual times!

I have a:

Macbook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
2.4 GHz 8-Core Intel Core i9
64 GB 2667 MHz DDR4
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB
Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB
2 TB Drive

I'm trying to:


Live stream 1080p at 24fps with Canon 80D DSLR via Elgato Cam Link 4k + USB-C to USB 3.1 Adapter
Record 1080p at 24fps on internal or external SSD
Play/stream scenes with 1080p footage + Overlays

I'm also using a:

Laptop only, Laptop + Monitor or Dual monitor setup
Ethernet connection 500 Mbps Up - 50 Mbps Down
Elgato Stream Deck
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Shure SM7B Microphone
Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2
External SSD

I can stream just fine for a short while, but then everything gets very choppy and unwatchable. Even at 720p, it gets choppy after about 20-30 mins. 

There's an improvement when I don't switch scenes, but it's hit or miss. Same if I don't record, but recording is a must.

CPU jumps up eventually and my whole system crawls. I'm not screen recording or running any other programs/utilities. I'm not gaming.

I've tried every setting including the recommended settings OBS provides.

I understand that Macs are not ideal for OBS. Is there anything I can do to get a 1080p stream/recording at 24 fps - 60 fps?

Will an eGPU work or make any difference at all? How about Bootcamp?

Is there any way to make my setup work? I'm looking to buy/build a separate PC for streaming as it's central to my work. though I'd prefer it if I could make my expensive, almost full spec, Macbook Pro 16 work.

I've been working on this for almost a year. I had the previous Macbook Pro 15 and it, understandably, worst than the 16 inch. I've read every thread I could find on the subject at least twice. 

I've included my last 3 log files.

Am I attempting the impossible?

I appreciate any feedback! Thank you for your time.


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## EzroHaze (Aug 3, 2020)

I feel for ya. I have similar issues - I don't see why OBS even bothers with download for Apple when clearly no one is able to use it.


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## twindux (Aug 7, 2020)

I use OBS all the time with my Mac (streaming 1080p 60 & 30).  And I have streamed & recorded. This is on a 6-year old MacBook Pro 15"

If you're having encoding lags, try turning OFF Studio Mode.


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## NeverQui (Aug 7, 2020)

twindux said:


> I use OBS all the time with my Mac (streaming 1080p 60 & 30).  And I have streamed & recorded. This is on a 6-year old MacBook Pro 15"
> 
> If you're having encoding lags, try turning OFF Studio Mode.


Are you streaming from a DSLR, or gaming? Are you recording locally?

I’ve never used studio mode.


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## fornatron (Aug 10, 2020)

I almost have the exact same setup as you except my 16" MacBook Pro is a lower spec'd one than yours and I dont have any issues. This is what I do

MacBook Pro 16" 2019
16GB RAM
1TB SSD
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 4GB

Elgato HD60S+ (Or any capture card with UVC support)
Canon 80D - Canon Webcam utility over USB 
Blue Yeti - USB Mic

Upload speed - 25Mbps

Also made a video on this









						Should You Stream On A Mac?
					

Hey Dudes and Dudeettes and DudeNeutrals This is a video basically detailing what it has been like for me as a Twitch streamer who uses a Mac. I wanted to qu...




					youtu.be


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## Nass86 (Aug 19, 2020)

twindux said:


> I use OBS all the time with my Mac (streaming 1080p 60 & 30).  And I have streamed & recorded. This is on a 6-year old MacBook Pro 15"
> 
> If you're having encoding lags, try turning OFF Studio Mode.



Hey would you mind sharing screenshots of your settings? I've got a similar mac to you.


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## NeverQui (Dec 29, 2020)

[SOLVED] For the record, I think it was a thermal issue. When the CPU gets too hot, the 16" Macbook Pro would slow to a crawl. There doesn't seem to be a way around it. Intel's CPU runs too hot. The 16" Macbooks cooling is insufficient.

I moved to an iMac 5k 27" 2020 with 72 gigs of user upgraded ram which seemed to work a lot better. I tried both the i7 with the 5500XT and the i9 with the 5700XT, I didn't notice any hiccups during my tests (1.5 hours at 1080p), though I've yet to do a full broadcast. I haven't tried it with less ram yet.

I decided to try the M1 Mac Mini 8 gig, 8-core base model because the fans on the iMac were too loud, and I was worried the iMac would overheat eventually. So far, the M1 Mac Mini works flawlessly with no hiccups. 

I bought a Canon 90D to go along with my Canon 80D and both work great at 1080p with multiple media, scenes and sources, 6500 kbps CBR.

The M1 Mac Mini also runs silently and stays cool, which is a huge plus. nevermind the fact it was ~$2500 less than the iMac and ~$4k less than the 16" Macbook Pro.

Praise be to M1!


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## lancerkind (Jan 16, 2021)

Formatron has some nice tips for Macs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRJO90LERBg&feature=youtu.be


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## twindux (Jan 16, 2021)

Nass86 said:


> Hey would you mind sharing screenshots of your settings? I've got a similar mac to you.


Sorry I missed this for so long! Here are my settings for 1080p30


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## lancerkind (Jan 18, 2021)

twindux said:


> Sorry I missed this for so long! Here are my settings for 1080p30
> 
> View attachment 66009


Twindux, do you find using studio mode is a problem?
At what speed can your network uploading?


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## lancerkind (Jan 18, 2021)

twindux said:


> Sorry I missed this for so long! Here are my settings for 1080p30
> 
> View attachment 66009


If you're like me an curious what "Profile: High" does, this article talks about it.  Mine was set to "None."  https://blog.mobcrush.com/advanced-obs-settings-what-they-are-and-how-to-use-them-3bffd9995030


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## twindux (Jan 18, 2021)

lancerkind said:


> If you're like me an curious what "Profile: High" does, this article talks about it.  Mine was set to "None."  https://blog.mobcrush.com/advanced-obs-settings-what-they-are-and-how-to-use-them-3bffd9995030


thanks for that! I knew High was the better quality, but def learned some stuff. Appreciate the link.


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## twindux (Jan 18, 2021)

lancerkind said:


> Twindux, do you find using studio mode is a problem?
> At what speed can your network uploading?



Studio mode is a huge problem. I never use it as it kills my CPU, increasing render time and killing framerate.

That said, multiview in a window is often doable.


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## twindux (Jan 19, 2021)

twindux said:


> Studio mode is a huge problem. I never use it as it kills my CPU, increasing render time and killing framerate.
> 
> That said, multiview in a window is often doable.


Gads, I hate the time limit for editing a post!

Even with my newer Macbook Pro (2018), I find I cannot use Studio Mode either.


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## Nass86 (Jan 19, 2021)

AMD GRAPHICS / APPLE MAC USERS

You guys may find it valuable to note that after years of OBS needing us to use the CPU as the encoder (x264 mode), if you have AMD graphics in your Macbook or iMac, you can now use  a new setting since last year that slipped under the radar for many.

Under OUTPUT SETTINGS switch the encoder to:

APPLE VT H264 Hardware Encoder 

(If you can't see this mode, you need to update OBS)

It will take the load off the CPU and enable you to use higher bitrate. You should be able to get 60FPS. 

It's not quite as good as NVIDIA NVENC Encoder on Windows machines, think of this as the next best thing on Apple.

I've seen people online say that 3000kbps is recommended in this situation and you may be able to go higher. The screenshot above said 7000 which was pretty wow but I dunno how sustainable that is or if there are limitations as to how many things you can do at that rate.


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## twindux (Jan 19, 2021)

Nass86 said:


> AMD GRAPHICS / APPLE MAC USERS
> 
> You guys may find it valuable to note that after years of OBS needing us to use the CPU as the encoder (x264 mode), if you have AMD graphics in your Macbook or iMac, you can now use  a new setting since last year that slipped under the radar for many.
> 
> ...



Well, as you can see, the settings I screenshotted include using the GPU for encoding. Note to all: you need to use Advanced settings to get this options. And yes, using the GPU is a huge help.

Regarding your "wow" above, first off, YouTube suggests a minimum of 4500 kpbs for 1080p30 streaming. 3000 would be fine for 720p.

My 7-year-old MB Pro handles 7000 kbps just fine...in fact, I've just been livestreaming the inside of our church for 12 hours uninterrupted at that bitrate. In fact, I can go at 10K or greater if it would add any quality to the stream...which it will  not at that res/framerate. I use 7000 to make sure there's plenty of headroom in case there are any dips, etc. At this bitrate, I use multiple cameras, screen capture sources from other computers, media sources, image sources, slideshows, etc...about the only thing I cannot do is use Studio Mode, which can't be used successfully at any bitrate.


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## Nass86 (Jan 20, 2021)

twindux said:


> Well, as you can see, the settings I screenshotted include using the GPU for encoding. Note to all: you need to use Advanced settings to get this options. And yes, using the GPU is a huge help.
> 
> Regarding your "wow" above, first off, YouTube suggests a minimum of 4500 kpbs for 1080p30 streaming. 3000 would be fine for 720p.
> 
> My 7-year-old MB Pro handles 7000 kbps just fine...in fact, I've just been livestreaming the inside of our church for 12 hours uninterrupted at that bitrate. In fact, I can go at 10K or greater if it would add any quality to the stream...which it will  not at that res/framerate. I use 7000 to make sure there's plenty of headroom in case there are any dips, etc. At this bitrate, I use multiple cameras, screen capture sources from other computers, media sources, image sources, slideshows, etc...about the only thing I cannot do is use Studio Mode, which can't be used successfully at any bitrate.



That's really great to know mate. From my perspective I've had a massive learning curve on OBS this last year.

I've been in a situation where:

A 2012 Macbook Air outperformed a 2015 Macbook Pro

Then I switched the Macbook Pro to one with AMD graphics. Before OBS started supporting them. 

Then I started to respect what this eco system is and what it needs - so stopped shooting from the hip and decided to read ahead before buying. 

As I'm not gaming and just using a few cameras and 1 looped media source I bought a Windows Laptop with an Nvenc Encoder. This worked brilliantly twice, then a Windows Update has messed up the TCP/IP / Adaptor settings to the point of no return and my amazing little stream on an 8mb Microwave connection now can't get above 1200kb/s. Yet all the other macbooks/imacs/iphones can fully utilise the upload speed.

So I'm reverting back to the Macs.

I have a 2011 iMac with an AMD graphics card and a 2015 Macbook Pro with AMD graphics looking the same as yours.

I DJ on the 2015 Macbook Pro and using the same machine for Rekordbox and Streaming is a bit of a no-go. I'm really conscious that I've heard of these MacBooks basically running the graphics chips so hot that they melt off the motherboard and are expensive / sometimes impossible to repair. I did do a stream from the Macbook Pro once and boy did she feel too hot over the keyboard area.

I really just want my Windows machine to work but I'll be damned if I can undo what Windows update has done and might have to revert to Windows 8.1 (that laptop is literally used solely for OBS, nothing else).

For the moment I'll have to use the 2011 iMac 8gb 2.5ghz quad core with AMD. Which has it's own limitations - it doesn't seem to like having more than 2 cameras attached.

I just can't believe how hard everything makes it for me to just... stream!


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## Yetisbreda (Mar 4, 2021)

Who could help with the settings.
Last weekend we did our second livestream but the video is laggy.








						2021-02-28 U10 en U12 Mixed wedstrijd
					

U10 en U12 spelers gemixed als Yeti's Wit en Yeti's Blauw




					youtu.be
				




we Have the following setup:
- MacBook Pro mid 2012 with 1tb ssd and 16gb internal
- iPhone 12 Pro as video device

what would be the best settings for us to have a good quality stream.

the upload speed is 50 mbits and the stream we had now was the following:
1920x1080 at 60fps with a bitrate of 9000.

thanks in advance


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## twindux (Mar 5, 2021)

Yetisbreda said:


> Who could help with the settings.
> Last weekend we did our second livestream but the video is laggy.
> 
> 
> ...


Given the age of the MB Pro, you might consider going 720p60 and see how it goes. Make sure the main canvas is 720p and that you're not rescaling.


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## Yetisbreda (Mar 6, 2021)

Oké thx going to try it tomorrow


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## Nass86 (Mar 6, 2021)

Also test this.

change the 60fps to 30 FPS

1080p @ 6000 Kbps

you don’t need 60fps as you are not gaming. The above settings could actually sharpen the picture quality.

Change the OBS IOS cam to 1080p 30fps also and run tests on the bitrate 20,000, 25,000, 30,000 as sometimes it goes blocky when trying too hard. Especially at 60fps.
60fps is just for gamers really. Netflix is 24fps!


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## Yetisbreda (Mar 7, 2021)

Did some testing and think the settings 1080p at 30 fps went pretty well. Unfortinutly we had to stream from mobile because the fiber was down.








						2021-03-07 U27 Mixed wedstrijd
					

U27 spelers gemixed als Yeti's Wit en Yeti's Blauw




					www.youtube.com
				




from 50m. we stopt and started again at 720p.


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## Nass86 (Mar 8, 2021)

I'm testing similar things to you at the minute.

What is abundantly obvious is that as soon as you go past around 4500kbps, a portion of your viewers get 'buffering' issues and either complain to you and leave or (more commonly...) just leave. It's either because they are in a network that is shared with other people and devices, netflix etc, or they are walking around on 4G / LTE and the signal strength goes up and down. Or their hardware just can't handle it, they have too many browser tabs open, etc etc etc.

I've stumbled across a few people stating the benefits of 864p to resolve this issue and have nice high streaming quality for viewers so I have recommend you also try these two scenarios. This avoids the need for just going over the 4500kbps threshhold @ 6000kbps for 1080p.

1) The H264 AMD GPU Hardware method

VIDEO
Base Canvas 1920 x 1080
30FPS
No Downscaling settings here (see Streaming)

OUTPUT
-STREAMING
Apple H264 Hardware VT (AMD Graphics)
Downscale to 1536 x 864
Lancozos Sharpened Filter (32 or 36)

Streaming Bitrate 4301 kbps

Lancozos  Sharpened downscaling is best for in-person video but not so good for fast paced gaming.

Audio Quality 320kbps if you want the highest audio quality but you can easily lower this to 192 or 256kbps

2) The x264 CPU method
You could try and use x.264 instead of Apple VT Hardware AMD on the Output. Apparently, the AMD Graphics are really only very good performers when recording above 10,000kbps but smaller bitrates required for streaming are not so great to look at.

To do this, you'd need to set everything up so there is no Downscaling and try some tweaks at the bottom of this post.

In order to give your audience a lower enough bitrate so that people can watch it streamed live (the max is around 4500kbps) I recommend the following:

VIDEO (BASE AND DOWNSCALE)
1536 x 864 Base
1536 x 864 Downscale
(ie No Downscaling)
30 Frames Per Second

STREAMING
ENCODER
x264 (your CPU)
No Downscaling
Stream Bitrate 4301kbps (this was calculated based on the link at the bottom of this page)
Keyframes 2
Profile High

Extra tweaks for Mac that take up CPU / RAM
- Ensure everything else is closed ESPECIALLY Chrome.
- Remove items from the desktop and put them somewhere else
- Remove as many Apps from the Dock
- Shrink the OBS screen down so that the Preview video is smaller (this uses up less CPU)
- Remove your Recent Items (Apple logo top left corner, RECENT ITEMS,  CLEAR MENU

All of these numbers are based on this calculator.








						Live Streaming Calculator for Twitch & YouTube Live
					

Need help finding the best settings for your livestream? Use our handy livestream calculator to find the best settings for your internet plan.




					www.chow-bryant.com
				




If the above works better in terms of video quality and frame rate for your viewers, you could consider using a separate login to your mac with the above set up (empty desktop, nothing in the Dock bar etc) so you can use your laptop generally as you would prefer to work when you are not streaming.

I've given you these options in the hope of finding a sweet spot as yours will be different to others and I've recently learned about 1536 x 864 x 30fps being great for viewing.

Let me know how you get on :)


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## Yetisbreda (Mar 14, 2021)

Thanks for the feedback, this afternoon we are going to try the settings bellow.


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## Nass86 (Mar 14, 2021)

Yetisbreda said:


> Thanks for the feedback, this afternoon we are going to try the settings bellow.



cool. Let me know what you think of the quality and if the machine pulled it off


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## Yetisbreda (Mar 14, 2021)

Just got a camera of a mate (canon eos 6d) and used these settings

here is the link tot the video:








						2021-03-14 U10 en U12 Mixed wedstrijd
					

U10 en U12 spelers gemixed als Yeti's Wit en Yeti's Blauw




					youtu.be
				




Think this went pretty well!


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## Nass86 (Mar 15, 2021)

Yetisbreda said:


> Just got a camera of a mate (canon eos 6d) and used these settings
> 
> here is the link tot the video:
> 
> ...


Nice

I feel like the camera itself could give you some better visual quality in the settings too, but I don't know about the model/menu available.

If it lets you get 1080p (OBS will downscale but 1080p to 864 looks better than the other way around and upscaling)

It might have some settings related to exposure or presets you can try that will make it brighter /cleaner.

I'm also wondering if you can point the camera at the ice towards the goal (if you are sat in the middle) and tell it to focus there. Or, the other way, focus on some ice closer to you. But that will make the distant players pixelate. Better still, if it will autofocus correctly or you do it manually yourself, it will look better.

____

On a separate note, you can go way higher (20,000kbps) if you are recording. Your system might let you stream lower kbps and record at 20,000kbps at the same time. Downscaling the Stream so it is viewable by the masses but saving a larger file to upload to youtube later in full 1080p

I don't know why I just thought of that now but you will definitely need a macbook charger on you to do that.


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## StreamPanel (Mar 17, 2021)

twindux said:


> I use OBS all the time with my Mac (streaming 1080p 60 & 30).  And I have streamed & recorded. This is on a 6-year old MacBook Pro 15"
> 
> If you're having encoding lags, try turning OFF Studio Mode.


What encoding speed is this? "Faster"? I have an M1 Macbook that is supposed to be elite, and can't even do 720p60 on fast. I can do 720p60 on slow on my PC without issue.


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## Nass86 (Mar 17, 2021)

Hey @StreamPanel if you want to paste me your settings in here I might be able to help. I have experience running streams on both.

does your MacBook come with an AMD graphics card too or just intel graphics alone?

send screen shots of OBS settings.


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## twindux (Mar 17, 2021)

StreamPanel said:


> What encoding speed is this? "Faster"? I have an M1 Macbook that is supposed to be elite, and can't even do 720p60 on fast. I can do 720p60 on slow on my PC without issue.





Nass86 said:


> Hey @StreamPanel if you want to paste me your settings in here I might be able to help. I have experience running streams on both.
> 
> does your MacBook come with an AMD graphics card too or just intel graphics alone?
> 
> send screen shots of OBS settings.


M1 comes with its own integrated on-die GPU, which in every other review has proven to be really fast.


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## twindux (Mar 17, 2021)

StreamPanel said:


> What encoding speed is this? "Faster"? I have an M1 Macbook that is supposed to be elite, and can't even do 720p60 on fast. I can do 720p60 on slow on my PC without issue.


here are my settings...YoutTube live 1080p60 on a 6-year old MB Pro 15"

Now, I know your M1 has an integrated on-die GPU, so you'll have to ask one of the other folks on here what settings they're using. But I have read plenty of folks running OBS on their M1


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## Djhifi (Mar 18, 2021)

Anyone have a m1 macbook pro with multiple camera running? I cannot add a 2nd source. 1 camera runs fantastic though 1080p 60fps 320k audio 5000kps. They are logictech web scams on a usb3.0 hub and USB c adapter


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## Nass86 (Mar 18, 2021)

I have heard people agree and disagree with what I will say below:

On Mac if  you have bought 2 x webcams that are exactly the same make and model the Mac and OBS can have trouble making those work. Whether they carry just the name name or some kind of hardware ID, I don’t know why this is.

So, for example, if you have Logitech c920 twice, you could sell one c920 and buy a Logitech c922 (or another brand all together).


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