360 VR in OBS

[Tnathan]

Hello, I am new to OBS and exploring its capabilities to stream VR 360 content.

My camera provides 3840 × 2160 native @30 FPS. I did some searching on the forums and saw that OBS doesn't offer that as an option. I tried the auto-generated settings, but the downscaling was pretty extreme. As another option, I thought it might be acceptable to use just the 180 spherical image (1080 @30fps) to cut down on the data and reduce the amount of downscaling necessary. However, when I streamed the 180 degree file to YouTube, it quite sensibly stretched the 180 degree image around 360 degrees.

Has anyone wrestled with 360 spherical files? I have seen some proprietary apps where they use only 180, but not sure what tools were used to create those apps. Any thoughts or suggestions regarding OBS setting, plug-ins, other encoders, etc that I should try?

Thank you!

 

[lebaston100]

You can use and stream any resolution and framerate you like. There is not really any limit on the OBS side. Just type the resolution into the Base and Output Boxes(under "Video") and set the framerate in the FPS field on the bottom.

 

[Tnathan]

Thanks, I will give it a shot. I thought I read elsewhere on here that OBS doesn't support native 4K. I did see however that even though it isn't an option you can still type in the resolution.

Secondly, does anyone know the answer to my second question? TO manage bandwidth I am fine with 180 degree image. I can set that camera up to do that, but when I import to YouTube there is a toggle for 360. The result is that it stretches my 180 image around the 360 sphere. Is there a way to stream to YouTube 180 and have it stretched just 180 degrees?

 

[lebaston100]

Looking around on google a little bit suggest that Youtube just does not support 180 live streaming at this time.
And obs can basically stream any resolution you like until you run into hardware limitations.

 

[Tnathan]

Thanks, that’s kind of what I am seeing too. It seems surprising. Google was/is promoting vr180. but that all seems locked down via proprietary apps. Not sure if I can use any of that or not, but it’s direct from the camera to YouTube so I think that takes obs out of the workflow. Also, I don’t see anyone else offer anything better (Vimeo, twitch). I was hoping to stream 180 to save bandwidth. Thanks for checking