Brand New to Obs: questions regarding sources and scenes

[cambridgeport90]

If this has been asked before... I haven't found it yet. I'm brand new to Obs, and I'm trying to figure out something that I haven't quite found in the documentation. Say I'm doing a screencast with an intro, the content itself,and then an outro. (most likely what I would be doing.) So, if I have a scene, say, called Intro, and then I add a source with a media file, then my middle scene, called content, then the added source would be the window I'm trying to capture from my computer, and finally the end scene, called most likely outrow, again with a media file as the source, most likely a stinger of some sort. The transitions...do they happen automatically, or do I have to do something while recording to ensure that they transition at the right time? Needless to say, using Obs for video content as a blind person is rather interesting. But it can be done; I know several blind folks who make videos all the time. And, how do I ensure that only one source is added to one scene and only stays active while the particular scene that it goes to is active? Thanks for any tips. Appreciated!

 

[dqm]

A transition occurs automatically when the program (active) scene changes. Normally, the default transition is applied, but that can be overridden by a setting in the scene's context (right-click) menu. Note that a "cut" transition is immediate and without effects, so kind of like no transition at all.

I don't think there is a way to limit a scene to a single source. It's actually quite common to have more than one source in a scene, for example, you might want to display a countdown timer in your intro scene. Or many, many other combinations--the flexibilty is one of OBS's greatest strengths.

Sources do not "flow" to your recording or streaming output unless they are in the program (active) scene. In the case of audio/video media, the source properties allow you to control when the media starts playing, whether it loops, and so forth.

 

[Suslik V]

Transition is visual effect that fades-out current scene and fades-in another. During transition the sound from current scene also fades-out and another fades-in.

Each scene can has its own independent sound and video sources.
The video sources in OBS can has sound (like mic device) or hasn't (like media source or video capture device).
By default OBS adds global sound sources that are heard in all scenes. Usually, this are: the "Mic/Auxiliary Audio" device and the "Desktop Audio" device. This can be changed by disabling the devices in the main menu File > Settings > Audio > Global Audio Devices group box.

OBS Studio is real-time tool. You should give the program a command (in time) what to do now.
To better control the output of the program OBS has two embedded preview windows and two output modes.
This previews are named:
1. "Preview", usually lies on the left
2. "Program", usually lies on the right
This names are standard for the broadcasting industry.

Thus, OBS Studio has two modes of operation: casual one and "Studio Mode".
By default you running casual mode of the OBS where only one "Preview" window is available (the "Program" window is hidden and not accessible).
In the casual mode the title of the OBS application changes and has no "Studio" name in it.
In the casual mode the content on the "Preview" window goes to output immediately.
The content that displayed in the "Preview" is determined by the currently selected scene.
Currently selected scene is the scene that is highlighted in the "Scenes" pane.
To select the scene you need to click its name by mouse in the "Scenes" pane (this is default method) or use hotkey combination. To set hotkey combination for each scene you need to go to File > Settings > Hotkeys and set unique hotkey combination to the field named "Switch to scene" that lies next to the scene name in the list of all hotkeys. When you adding new scene the list grows and "Switch to scene" field appears next to each scene name in the "Hotkeys". The File > Settings > Hotkeys page is huge and the scenes names usually lies at the bottom, better to scroll down to find them.

When you selecting new scene in the "Scenes" pane (by mouse or hotkey) your "Preview" window content changes, but not immediately. It all depends on the "Transition" pane settings. If in the "Transition" pane you have transition effect set to "Fade" and "Duration" to 1500ms, then the "Preview" content, during given time period (the 1500ms), changes from one scene to another smoothly.
Let's assume you have created few scenes and named them: "Intro", "Broadcasting", "Bye-bye".
If the "Intro" scene was selected and you click "Start Recording" button (or hit start recording hotkey), then content of the "Intro" scene start going to the OBS output.
If the "Intro" scene had media and it is ended - then nothing happens. OBS continues to output muted black scene. If you now (or at any time) select any other scene (let's say now you selected scene named "Broadcasting") then the contents of the "Intro" scene fades-out and content of the "Broadcasting" scene fades-in. Full transition will be complete in 1500ms. So, you need manually select the scene if you want it to go to the output instead of other scene.Always, only single scene goes to output.

In "Studio Mode" of OBS the title of the application changes and it has additional word "Studio" in it.
In the "Studio Mode" OBS outputs only content of the "Program" window (window appears on the right).
Content to the "Program" window can be placed only by special "Transition" button that lies between the "Preview" and "Program" windows. This is done to be able to modify real-time (during active broadcasting) any scene without broadcasting all your: add, edits, give_it_a_new_name moves.

 

[AaronD]

Yet another take on the question. It's not clear which direction you're going with it.

When you play a Media file, it does not transition automatically when it finishes. That would be a bug for most of us.
Also, the ordering of scenes is only for the operator's organization. Most of us don't operate sequentially, so that would also be a bug.

If you want to transition automatically to a specific scene when a Media file finishes, I'd recommend the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin. This should be a good starting point:

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

I also use Advanced Scene Switcher (aka AdvSS, for short) for the exact functionality @AaronD mentioned - the change of a scene when a media file ends playing. I use that same plugin to handle my ending sequence (using multiple scenes, with a fade-to black feature). Using AdvSS, I also automated the start of recording (as I use Facebook's Scheduled Event feature, so one must stream before the start time, so I set a Scene change to a specific scene at a specific time to start recording, then go to a Countdown scene, to a standard intro video, then to my actual fist 'Live' content scene. The last scene in my ending sequence also triggers an end of Streaming and Recording

If not clear in the above, going from OBS Scene #1 (Intro) to Scene #2 (normal content) by default means clicking on the desired Scene (#2 in this case) using Keyboard or mouse (and I only use the mouse for this). If I accidentally click a Scene I don't want - too bad, OBS does as instructed [Hence my use of the AdvSS plugin, to automate as much as was practical for me].

And the Scene order in OBS doesn't really have a meaning. I do standard top to bottom as a sequence, but I also have a couple of scenes where I vary the camera vs screen content. I select between those scenes as appropriate. As my text content is in a PowerPoint slide show, I could use the Macro functionality in PowerPoint to send commands to OBS (using websockets) to change OBS scene, or whatever, as I advance slides. In my workflow, someone else creates the slides, and is not the type of person to be attentive to a hidden detail like macro settings, so for now, I do the Scene changes manually. I mention this as there are ways to let your content be pre-setup to trigger actions in OBS (but depends on source 'program' and actual material)... just food for thought

As for using OBS when blind.... yes, a true challenge, as many features essentially assume a sighted person making real time selections (like Scenes). This is NOT my use case, so don't consider me authoritative on this, but I'd suspect using something like a Streamdeck would come in handy, where specific buttons on the panel could be associated with Scene selections, or other OBS actions. I'm assuming using a mouse to select a specific item on scene is a challenge (for visually impaired) to near impossible to do quickly (if at all??) for a completely blind person. I further assume that fixed position button would be MUCH easier. One option is to configure OBS Hot Keys to map specific keyboard key combinations to a specific action, another common options I'd think would be a streamdeck, or similar.

Other side note - Regarding @Suslik V comment above about Studio Mode. Beware that Studio Mode involves 2X the rendering, and unlikely to be of use to someone blind. Regardless, if a PC gets overloaded with the computationally demanding workload of real-time video encoding, recognize turning Studio Mode off might be one way to help reduce workload on computer

Good Luck

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Oh and one other item that trips up new users
OBS does not (to my understanding) have native noise-cancelling. Meaning that if you have speakers and a microphone, it is easy to create an audio loop (nasty echo). What you don't want is speaker with Desktop Audio output and a microphone that picks up that sound and both Desktop Audio and Mic added as audio sources in OBS (as Desktop Audio now duplicated, with original source, plus mic input picking up the same, with slight delay).
For my use case, I didn't want ANY Desktop Audio in OBS, so I disabled/de-activated all of the OBS Global Audio inputs. I then Added select Audio Input Sources into appropriate Scenes (creating Reference not Duplicate) Audio Source in other OBS Scenes with same audio input. Adding a Media Source (an Audio or Video with Audio file) to a Scene automatically includes its Audio in OBS

Other use cases essentially require using Desktop Audio... in which case the common workaround is to use a headset (so microphone isn't picking up the speaker audio output). There are noise-cancelling plugins of varying effectiveness/quality, and CPU impact

 

[AaronD]

Oh and one other item that trips up new users
OBS does not (to my understanding) have native noise-cancelling. Meaning that if you have speakers and a microphone, it is easy to create an audio loop (nasty echo).

It does not. As I was setting up my rig, I had lots of feedback loops because I was working on a different part of the audio path (more than just OBS) and hadn't gotten around yet to setting OBS correctly. Fortunately, the speakers I was using are pretty pathetic, so it wasn't an immediate painful thing, as it easily could be on a larger PA or if the feedback path taps off to some headphones. Here's where those settings are:

In the Audio Monitoring section:

• Output goes to the stream and recording, via the Tracks selection here. The stream and recording have their own settings to choose which of these tracks to use.
• Monitor goes to a physical audio device. Usually headphones or a set of "studio monitor" speakers. (or a crummy set of computer speakers that are used as studio monitors anyway, as I have)

Keep the complete audio path(s) in mind, not ending with the speakers, but continuing through the air and into any mics you may have. If you end up with a loop, then that'll feed back if the total volume setting is too high. The total setting includes:

• Mic sensitivity and input volume
• OBS's volume for that mic
• Any external processing
• System output volume
• Speakers' volume and sensitivity
• Physical distance between mic and speaker
• Directional patterns of each
• Any other acoustics like the type and placement of walls, furniture, people, etc.

Close-to-ear speakers - like headphones, earbuds, and hearing aids - are still speakers, and technically still capable of feeding back into a mic somewhere. As a Front-of-House, Live Audio Engineer:

• I've had the performers' IEM's (in-ear monitors - earbud replacement for floor wedges) get into their singing mics so that I could hear their click track (metronome) over the PA.
• I've come to recognize the sound of a hearing aid feeding back on itself, so I don't screw up the PA to try and get rid of it. I can hear it from across the room, but the wearer is usually oblivious.
  • (I think that hearing aids should be set to give up on what the wearer is not going to hear anyway: oblivious feedback only wastes battery and annoys others. For those that have them, make sure they're set correctly.)