# Pause button and split screen



## Awa (Aug 20, 2017)

I am so amazed from OBS Studio, it is exactly the software I was looking for it for many years, all respects to the developer, it's a fantastic program, all other video or streaming programs sold online can take an example from OBS Studio. I am a video editor since over 10 years, I used so many video and streaming software but the OBS is far the best I have used. I work a lot with video files specially showing multiple videos on one screen, sometimes I would like to show 6 different video clips and angels on one screen, therefore I am missing a pause button and a choices of split screen such as 2x 3x 4x 6x split screen function to chose. for some people might not be useful what I an suggesting, but for my work it is very important and makes my life easier.
The current issue is, as soon as one inserts a video clip it starts to play, and if I insert 2 or 3  video clips at the same time all video clips starts playing at the same time and have no possibility to pause them individually, also I have always to adjust each video clip size manually to be the same size, here choices of split screen comes very handy and useful. the next issue is, when I insert 2 or 3 video clips I would like to have a pause button for each video clip to merge all video clips by recording the only video clip of my choice and make out of many video clips only one video clip. Let's say I have 4 video clips on the screen I want from each video clip only some parts to be recorded but since all 4 video clips are running at the same time a lot of scene from other video clips are not recorded because I can not pause the other 3 video clips and I miss a lot of scene. If there is a pause button for each video clip I insert then I can record the scene I want from each video clip by pressing pause/start button. I do a lot of meetings and conferences recording with my camera, when I am done, I come home and split the whole recording to many parts and angels, those split parts I use only the important scene by combining them to make it a short final video, therefore I desperately need a pause button. Please, please, and please consider to add a pause button possibility for the next update. Thank you for your support.


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## Kane (Aug 21, 2017)

I love seeing this come up a lot hehe. I made a mega thread that most sites/devs would love but they locked it:
https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/suggestion-pause-feature-for-recording.65962/

Pretty much at this point I feel that a pause feature will never be in OBS if it's only to just be "I told you so". It's probably a Let's Play dream to have it and some the other competition has it and honestly their closing the gap so you might want to look into them in the future.

The most will most likely be locked as a duplicate but any chat about it these days gets locked period. So pretty much nothing more you can do sadly on this.

But OBS is Open Source so if you like to contribute to it!

https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/pause-function-would-be-a-grate-benefit.72492/


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## Osiris (Aug 22, 2017)

The reason that was locked because someone started acting entitled, which usually leads nowhere.
There are a lot of ppl who want certain features they think benifits them into OBS, it's just not realistic to expect one man to create all those features in a few updates.


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## Kane (Aug 22, 2017)

Totally agree there. Would it be a useful feature? Hell yeah! But is it a requirement or a must. No there is editing software though a pain in the butt at least there is a solution where there is other features there is no solutions too.


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## dodgepong (Aug 22, 2017)

Maybe I'm misreading, but I believe this request is really a request for media controls, no? OP is asking to be able to pause media source playback, not encoding.


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## FlightRisk (Nov 17, 2017)

I have to admit feeling dumbfounded that this very basic and necessary feature of anything that can play or record, from a walkman to a video editor, is still not implemented. And I can see people asking for this feature for at least 5 years. Maybe this is a misunderstanding of who is using the software and how they are using it, either on my part or the community here? Is there any idea if the number of users who are using OBS to create youtube videos, product tutorials, recording  things streaming on the screen, etc have surpassed those who game? 

My understamding is that people are using this as an alternative to Camtasia. In any case, whether recording your desktop for demos and tutorials, or recording something streaming that has breaks (or you need to take a break), you have to be able to pause. To have to stop and restart in a new file 5, 10, 50, 100 times, then use an editor and have to paste all of that together, is just not practical.

Any update? Also, even though this is an open source project, the generous Guy (Jim?) who writes it is the only developer?

Most of these things are programmed in some C variation. I am a Delphi and Visual Studio Guy, so unless the API for plugins is easy to use for this from any language, I probably can't fix this myself and add it to the source.


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## dodgepong (Nov 17, 2017)

The program was originally written to be used for livestreaming, where a pause recording button doesn't make sense. That might partially explain why a pause button was not a concern when the program was created.

As for why it still hasn't been added, it's a combination of 1) it's not as easy to do as you might expect, which means a non-trivial amount of dev time, 2) there are constantly higher priority things that need work, because 3) the start/stop + editing method can get the job done in the meantime, so there is a pretty easy workaround, making the feature request less urgent.

I would encourage any developer out there who is interested in implementing this to give it a crack, because I don't see Jim getting to it for some time.


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## FlightRisk (Nov 17, 2017)

Can you or someone explain what the challenge is technically? I know video is not the same as audio, but I develop a set of commercial ActiveX controls that use the MMSYS Windows API to play and record audio. That requires headers and chunks and buffers and pointer math and was pretty tedious to write at that low level, but pause and resume were the least of it. Is it because of the initial design choice for streaming? The way video input buffers are handled? The fact that it can handle different input types? I just want to record my computer screen, either when watching something that has breaks, or when I am recording something and need a break. I have 2 professional editing systems, so that isn't the issue. The issue is there are many instances where that is overkill and I want just one file for my own use, that doesn't need the professional treatment.


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## dodgepong (Nov 18, 2017)

I'm not familiar with the specific details, though I should state that it is by no means insurmountable. The reason for it not being implemented has more to do with priority and lack of time/help than difficulty of implementation.

The documentation for OBS Studio development is nearly complete (it is in C and C++), so if you feel inclined to peruse it once it is published, I'm sure any help would be appreciated.


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## Kane (Nov 23, 2017)

One day someone will show up and bang they will really want it. But yeah there is higher priorities after all. Sadly for me OBS is one the best recorders out there. Works well, it's simple and solid and stable. I tried many others with pause features but then they be missing say another major feature and sort of ruin it all for me.

The third party programs work but also suck a lot. 

For people looking for the fastest Temp solution I would recommend Ffmpeg. You don't have to encode it again rather stitch and upload. Though I still have issue at times with it.


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## dredgrl (Dec 13, 2017)

Hi, I'm new, but I came to this forum specifically to find out about a pause feature for local recording.  These posts date back to 2013 and it is nearing 2018.  Many of the moderators, when they aren't being completely rude, have stressed the fact that "_while it is not a high priority feature, that it will be coming in the future"_.  Additionally, the programmer Jim has also stated pretty much the same thing in regard to this feature.  Yet, for some reason, here we all are nearly 5 years later and the feature has not been implemented.  I am guessing at this point it is safe to say that this feature *will never be implemented*. 

There may be users out there who do not need, but there are users who do.  And of the users who "don't need it," if the feature were there, they might actually surprise themselves by using it.

Of course, we will all continue to use the program and work around the fact that the feature doesn't exist.  But it sure would be nice if it did.


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## dredgrl (Dec 13, 2017)

Osiris said:


> The reason that was locked because someone started acting entitled, which usually leads nowhere.
> There are a lot of ppl who want certain features they think benifits them into OBS, it's just not realistic to expect one man to create all those features in a few updates.


 It's been nearly 5 years though, I could see this as an answer if it were 5 months - but is this still really an "okay" answer almost 5 years later?


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## dredgrl (Dec 13, 2017)

dodgepong said:


> I'm not familiar with the specific details, though I should state that it is by no means insurmountable. The reason for it not being implemented has more to do with priority and lack of time/help than difficulty of implementation.
> 
> The documentation for OBS Studio development is nearly complete (it is in C and C++), so if you feel inclined to peruse it once it is published, I'm sure any help would be appreciated.



This is a duplicate reply to another moderator, but it still fits your reply.

It's been nearly 5 years though, I could see this as an answer if it were 5 months - but is this still really an "okay" answer almost 5 years later?


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## Todd Palamar (Dec 13, 2017)

The ability to pause while recording is the only thing OBS is missing, IMO. It is such a great, robust program. Having the ability to pause while recording offers benefits that post editing can't. For instance, the ability to pause and remember the mouse pointer position, allows you to load or work things out in the middle of your recording, without losing your place. Unfortunately, I don't possess the skills to implement this, but just wanted to get another vote in for this update.


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## dodgepong (Dec 13, 2017)

I'm not really sure what you mean by "okay". Yes, it is "okay", because there is absolutely no obligation whatsoever for it to be added. If OBS had paying customers that developers were obliged to placate, that would be one thing. But as it is, every single thing that is added to OBS is added as a one-way favor to the community. Something gets created, that thing is given to the community for no charge and with no restriction, and that's the end of it. Users of OBS reside in a land ruled by whatever it is that the creators of the program want to work on. Given that developers are volunteers, their only reward is the fun of developing, perhaps some satisfaction of using this new tool that they created for their own purposes, and maybe a warm feeling of appreciation if what they make is liked by the wider community.

Thus, someone will only work on a given feature under one the following circumstances:

1) If it sounds like a fun thing for that person to work on, so they make it for fun
2) If that person really wants the feature, and is tired of the feature not existing, so they make it themselves
3) If somebody wants the feature, but doesn't know how to make it themselves, so they find a developer who is interested in working on the problem to do it, or pay a developer to work on it
4) If everything on the priority list above the feature has been completed, such that the feature can now be tackled
5) If there is immense pressure on the core developers from some entity to add it. This one is very dangerous and I don't recommend it, as it leads to burnout and frustration with a project that isn't otherwise providing compensation. If your idea is to somehow make some sort of massive social media campaign or something to demand this feature, then I would encourage you to go about it in a peaceful way (petition?) rather than forming an angry mob.

For both the core developers and other contributors who have come alongside the project, none of those circumstances have taken place. Nobody who can develop for OBS wants to work on this right now above other things they are working on, so they won't unless they are somehow incentivized, or unless someone new comes along who is interested in working on it.

So is it really "okay" that it hasn't beed added for five years? Yes, because that is the nature of the project. Is it unfortunate? For the people who want the feature, sure. But they are not owed anything by the developers, so if they really want the feature, someone should step up and make it happen one way or another.


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## NLeseul (Dec 14, 2017)

Hmm. It occurs to me that it might help frequent feature requests like this get implemented faster if there were some technical documents out there somewhere, probably written by Jim or another expert, describing how the feature might be implemented, and what tests and edge cases would need to be verified before any implementation would be regarded as complete. 

This is the kind of thing I'd love to take a weekend to look into myself sometime, for example, but I'd be reluctant to do so without a bit more guidance from someone familiar with the encoding system and what problems might arise in it with a change like this. 

Recognizing, of course, that this is would just be one more thing for someone like Jim to do that isn't very high in the priority backlog, but writing some quick notes about a feature would at least be less work than actually implementing the feature.


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## dodgepong (Dec 14, 2017)

For what it's worth, the aforementioned documentation for OBS development can be found here: https://obsproject.com/docs/


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## dredgrl (Dec 14, 2017)

dodgepong said:


> I'm not really sure what you mean by "okay". Yes, it is "okay", because there is absolutely no obligation whatsoever for it to be added. If OBS had paying customers that developers were obliged to placate, that would be one thing. But as it is, every single thing that is added to OBS is added as a one-way favor to the community. Something gets created, that thing is given to the community for no charge and with no restriction, and that's the end of it. Users of OBS reside in a land ruled by whatever it is that the creators of the program want to work on. Given that developers are volunteers, their only reward is the fun of developing, perhaps some satisfaction of using this new tool that they created for their own purposes, and maybe a warm feeling of appreciation if what they make is liked by the wider community.
> 
> Thus, someone will only work on a given feature under one the following circumstances:
> 
> ...


I do not have the skill set to code this feature or any other features. I just think that instead of dangling a carrot forever, it would be easier to just trash the carrot and be upfront by saying, *"It will never happen by someone on our team."*  I think it is pretty safe to say that after 5 years.

I appreciate the idea of you putting it out there for other developers to try and tackle.  Hopefully someone else with the skill set and the desire to have this feature will actually take the time to create it.


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## Osiris (Dec 14, 2017)

Noone is dangling a carrot and noone is going to say that this feature will never happen.


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## dodgepong (Dec 14, 2017)

I'm not going to say it's never going to happen, because I don't think that's true. I think it will happen, but I have no idea when it will happen and no idea who will make it happen.


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## Kane (Dec 17, 2017)

I think a better way to put this down is this is not a job as far as I know it's 100% free non-profit. Correct me if I am wrong.

So just take something silly like Minecraft and take like a massive 8 bit PC someone built into Minecraft but did it 100% by hand and spent months on it.

Now you know there is a few people out there who have built these PC's and love it and spent many months doing it and would even do it again. But most of us would not want to do it nor do we find any fun in it at all.

That is sort of the pause feature. As much as it be a useful feature right now the devs have other things they might want to work on or even has some sort of priority like say a crash. Some day one the devs going say damn I really want that feature or have some spare time and say hey it be fun to see how I can get that feature added in as a challenge.

But till that day I doubt us whining about it will make it happen faster and human behavior dictates the opposite reaction. For example you upset someone enough who was considering doing it they might just say screw this and not do it now.

Either way for now there is other solutions and I posted the most easy one via a tool rather another recording software. Though I find it annoying enough that I still don't do cuts myself lol.


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## boardtc (Jan 30, 2019)

I just installed this today, having read about it on https://alternativeto.net/software/open-broadcaster-software/ as an alternative to Camtasia. I sat down to make a live demo recording that I need to piece together, I tested it and all looked ok, I'm about to start proper and I go where is the pause button? So I search in the guides, nothing mentioned. Then I come here and read this nonsense, what in the world is going on. I have to look for an alternative now. Incredibly bizarre.


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## dodgepong (Jan 30, 2019)

If your expectation of OBS as an alternative to Camtasia includes the requirement of a pause-recording feature, then it would be inaccurate to consider OBS an alternative to Camtasia. OBS is a lot of things to a lot of people, and only one of those things is a simple screen recorder.

If you want this feature, I recommend showing support here: https://ideas.obsproject.com/posts/11/allow-for-recordings-to-be-paused-and-resumed

You can also find Jim's latest update on that feature there as well.


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