Question / Help Best Quality Settings for Local Recording in 1440p?

[RAZR31]

What are most likely going to be the best settings to use for simple recording fast-paced, high-detailed games (FPS or World of Tanks for example) in 1440p @ 60 fps? Here is my current hardware and settings breakdown:

Hardware:

i7 6700k overclocked to 4.6 GHz
MSI GTX 980ti Overclocked Golden Edition
2560 x 1440 G-Sync monitor, max refresh of 144Hz
Games are not locked to a certain frame rate, that's why I have a G-Sync monitor


OBS Settings:

Encoding:
Preset: x264
Use CBR: No
Quality Balance: 10
Max Bitrate: 4000
Custom Buffer Size: No
Buffer Size: 4000 (matches whatever you type into Max Bitrate)

Video:
Base Resolution: 2560 x 1440
Resolution Downscale: None
FPS: 60

Advanced:
Process Priority: Normal
x264 CPU Preset: veryfast
Encoding Profile: main
Use CFR: Yes
Custom x264 Encoder Settings: No


When I go back and look at my videos they aren't very clear but slightly blurry or pixelated. I did try moving my CPU preset to Faster but I started getting 'High CPU/Encoding' warnings or whatever they actually say. I would prefer not to downscale if I don't have to. Another thing that I saw was to change the Custom Buffer Size to 'Yes' and then put 0 in for the Buffer Size. Then make Custom x264 Encoder Settings 'Yes' and type in 'crf=15' into the text box. Not sure what that will all do but I will try it.

If you see anything else that I can change or tweak, please let me know. If you need any other information, just ask me below and I will post it.

 

[Sapiens]

https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/how-to-make-high-quality-local-recordings.16/

 

[RAZR31]

https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/how-to-make-high-quality-local-recordings.16/

That's what I was talking about in my last paragraph. The thing is, the writer says to only use a bitrate of 1000. I'm not sure if that's just a suggestion but 1000 is not going to cut it at all, especially for 1440p. I did change all my settings to what was recommended in that post (except the bit rate) and it does look a little bit better. still a little blurry or soft on all the edges or a lack of textures but no longer pixelated. So now should I raise my bitrate or should I lower the Custom x264 Encoder Settings? crf=12 =10? I don't really understand what that does so I don't want to change it unless someone says it should be fine.

 

[Sapiens]

If you read the guide it explains all of that.

Custom x264 parameters: crf=X
Where X is anywhere from 1-20, lower being higher quality / higher CPU usage. A good place to start is the 15 - 20 range. A CRF of 0 enables lossless recording which will have very high file size and CPU requirements and introduces compatibility issues, so be careful!

Explanation:
Setting the buffer size to zero disables the VBV system, allowing x264 to hit any bitrate necessary to achieve the quality (CRF) specified.

In other words the bitrate you set doesn't matter. It could be 1 or 100000, it's ignored.

 

[RAZR31]

Oh ok, thanks. His explanation made it sound like the buffer size at 0 only affected the buffer size, not the bitrate. My fault I guess. Like I said, I wasn't sure how that setting worked. So how low do you think I can go on the crf setting before I start running into issues?

 

[Sapiens]

The crf param should be set as the highest value that still produces the quality you need.