Question / Help Audio Routing in OBS - i dont get it...

[mittsch]

hello - im new in this forum as well into the streaming stuff. i got some audio technical skills (own a small studio) but the internal routing in obs.....as easy as it look like...i dont get it. let me split this to get this right:

i got certain channel (inputs, aux, capture card ect.) - i can route this channels to outputs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and i can edit each "channel/input" in 3 ways.
no monitoring, only monitoring without output, monitoring and ouput.

did i get this right so far ?????

so my questions are: when a channel/input is set to "no monitoring" is there a output ????? do i need along to get it in my stream a desktop out ???
i got an hdmi-audio input as a channel-strip, when i set it to monitor and output....i dont get this into my stream.....i have to add desktop out (this can be muted) to hear it in my stream. when i add my mic (mic in) i can record it without monitoring OR a additional desktop out. why is this the opposite to my hdmi-strip. my capture card is set to pass-through-audio...when i set it to waveout i receive some latency by monitoring it. and sometimes monitoring caused volume is half the amount for some reason. what does desktop-speaker-out really means. is this necessary for hearing, monitoring, recording ???

i hope someone can understand what i mean. excuse my bad english. am grateful for every tip.

 

[koala]

Consider the whole picture.

Inputs:

• there are audio devices on the PC, and these audio devices can be made known to OBS on Settings->Audio
• Windows audio devices can be input (Mic) or output (speakers). An input audio device records something from the outside, such as a mic, and an output device is something Windows apps are sending their audio to, such as speakers. You can capture both types with OBS.
• PC audio devices can also be made known to OBS by adding an "Audio Input Capture" or "Audio Output Capture" source
• Some other sources may add audio as well, for example Media Sources or Video Capture Device sources
• All audio OBS knows about for the active scene is displayed in the "Mixer" Subwindow in OBS

Now to the output:

1. For recording, in a video file, multiple audio tracks can exist. OBS supports up to 6
2. Which and how many audio tracks are actually written to a video file can be set in Settings->Output->Recording in Advanced Output Mode only. The default in simple output mode is track 1 and track 1 only.
3. For streaming, only one track is sent to the stream. Default is track 1 and can be changed in Settings->Output->Streaming.
4. In Edit->Advanced Audio Properties, you can assign which audio input is sent to which track. You can assign 0, 1 or as many inputs as you like to each track. If 0, the track is empty. If 1 the track contains the assigned input only. If many, the track will contain a mix of all assigned inputs. You can assign one input to multiple tracks.
5. In that dialog, if you activate "Monitor off", audio data from that input is simply written to the assigned tracks. If there isn't any external means to listen to the audio device of that input, you don't hear anything from that input
6. if you activate "Monitor only (mute output)", audio data from that input is NOT written to any tracks, regardless of which track you check for that input. But the audio data is sent to the PC audio device you configure in Settings->Audio->Advanced
7. if you activate "Monitor and output", audio data from that input written to the assigned tracks. In addition, the audio data is also sent to the PC audio device you configure in Settings->Audio->Advanced
8. if the monitoring device that is configured in Settings->Audio->Advanced is also used as input for OBS, monitoring is disabled. OBS acts as there is no monitoring device. This is to prevent feedback loops. To enable that device for monitoring, stop using it as input (remove it from Settings->Audio).

Now keep in mind that Windows audio devices usually have some means of being audible by Windows mechanics as default. For example Desktop Audio is usually connected to the speakers of the PC, so you don't need to monitor a Desktop Audio source by OBS. The same with a headset you use with a voip app. That means, some input is already audible without explicit monitoring by OBS, and some other input is only audible if you enable monitoring for the corresponding input. This is usually the case for audio sources created internally within OBS, not with inputs that refer to Windows audio devices.

 

[mittsch]

thanx - i will check all settings once again....but so far i can most certainly say....if i select "no monitor" or "monitor and output" to my hdmi-audio....with all channels selected....i have no audio in my stream or recording. and i do see a level on the meter. is there a difference between an digital or analog input ?

 

[Narcogen]

i got certain channel (inputs, aux, capture card ect.) - i can route this channels to outputs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and i can edit each "channel/input" in 3 ways.

Those aren't channels, really. Those are discrete tracks in a recorded file-- not exactly the same as channels on a multichannel audio device. When playing back a file recorded with multiple tracks, you can only play back one track at a time.

When streaming to an online service, you can only stream one track at a time.

If you aren't recording files to be edited in an editor, where you need to manage the volume of each audio track independently, then you don't need this feature-- put all your sources on the same track and adjust their levels appropriately in OBS' audio mixer.

no monitoring, only monitoring without output, monitoring and ouput.

did i get this right so far ?????

so my questions are: when a channel/input is set to "no monitoring" is there a output ????? do i need along to get it in my stream a desktop out ???

In Settings > Audio, OBS can designate one audio output device as its "monitor", so you can hear the audio as OBS processes it. This should be a *different* audio device than your Windows default output, especially if you are capturing that output because you want to stream it.

A quick and dirty configuration would be to set a pair of loudspeakers as your default output, set a pair of headphones as your Monitor in OBS, and then *turn off your speakers*. OBS can still capture the speaker output even though they aren't on, and this way nothing will echo into a microphone in the room. If you end up capturing the output of the OBS monitor, you will get echoes or feedback.

A more usual configuration is installing software like Voicemeeter Banana or Potato, which provides some virtual audio devices, which allows you to designate one of those as your default windows audio output, and control which hardware devices to route it to.

https://obsproject.com/forum/resour...nagement-for-1-and-2-pc-streaming-setups.397/

This is what the 3 settings mean:

Monitor Off - This audio device will be streamed or recorded, but the sound will not be routed to the Monitor device. So if this is an external source, like a capture card or a USB device, your audience will hear this *but you won't*.

Monitor Only - This audio device will NOT be streamed or recorded, but it WILL be sent to your Monitor device. So if your Monitor device is your headset, this device will play in your headset so you can hear it, but it will NOT be in your recording or stream.

Monitor and Output - This audio device will be streamed and recorded, and ALSO sent to your Monitor device.

 

[Brenda D.]

Narcogen, you seem to know quite a but about OBS and I could certainly use some help as a beginner.

 

[Popmillipede]

I have 95% of this working. My primary scenario is using virtual cam and virtual audio to feed Zoom. That's working great. Zoom receives all the audio and video. And OBS recording works as well. All audio is recorded. But I cannot hear the audio from any external sources in this configuration. So when I play an MP4 or YouTube video via a browser source, I cannot hear it. But my audience on Zoom can so it's not a show-stopper. What's the secret to outputting audio to a virtual audio cable and hearing it in my headphones? My monitoring device in Advanced audio settings is VB-Audio Virtual Cable, and that's my "mic" in Zoom.

 

[JVRaines]

Go to the NT-style Sound Control Panel (Settings/Sound/Sound Control Panel; it's an obscure text link in "Related Settings"). In the Recording tab, select your VB-Audio virtual cable, then Listen tab, check "Listen to this device" and select desired playback device.

 

[dljonesrn]

im very new to all of this too...but my question seems stupid even to me. but anyway.... I am working to stream a church service. I have my Canon Vixia HF r 800 hooked up to my PC via a HornetTek video capture card. in my scene in OBS, I added a video capture device, which the computer recognized as inputting via my USB.
my question is does that input both video and audio? or do i need to do an audio capture also?

thanks

 

[tiwillti]

Hi everyone, maybe that's a wrong topic to ask this question, so I'm sorry in advance.
I'm fresh new to the world of DJing and mixing. I got Roland DJ-99 as a birthday present, but I don't know if I need any special stuff for proper use.

 

[InteractiveDNA]

im very new to all of this too...but my question seems stupid even to me. but anyway.... I am working to stream a church service. I have my Canon Vixia HF r 800 hooked up to my PC via a HornetTek video capture card. in my scene in OBS, I added a video capture device, which the computer recognized as inputting via my USB.
my question is does that input both video and audio? or do i need to do an audio capture also?

thanks

It depends! How are you connected? If the camera only uses usb, the video and audio will show up. When you select the camera on OBS, there is an audio tab, check it! if the camera support audio you will see the audio there to select. See more on my channel about audio and video with streaming.