Question / Help Delay in audio monitoring from capture card

[templeowls]

So I am using OBS through my PC to stream my Xbox One gameplay. I have a Elgato HD60. I also have an Arctis 5 USB headset that I have plugged into my PC, and wanted to use it to hear gameplay and Xbox party chat. I am using the Xbox PC app to get party chat and that comes through the headset very clear & with no delay However, the gameplay audio through OBS and into the headset is delayed. I thought by turning on "Monitoring Only" through the Audio Mixer and having the headset selected as the speakers would be easy, but I have no idea how to get rid of this delay. It's roughly 2 seconds delayed.

Any ideas? Should I just be doing something completely different?

 

[FerretBomb]

This is an inherent problem with the Elgato HD60. It's a USB 2.0 device, which doesn't have the needed bandwidth to transfer uncompressed video across the USB bus. So it has to compress it, transfer, then uncompress it again, which incurs a capture delay of around 2 seconds. This also applies to the video as well, so you'll be reacting 'ahead' of things that happen in-game.

There is no fix for the audio monitoring other than buying a USB 3.0 capture device, that does not need to compress the captured audio and video.

(It's possible to fix the reacting-ahead problem, by adding render delay filters on all of your sources. But that's not what you're asking about)

 

[templeowls]

So if I were to replace the HD60 with a HD60 S, this issue would go away? What about a HD60 Pro?

I also had an issue with actually getting the audio monitoring to even work. I legit just kept switching the Capture Source from "Monitor Off" to "Monitor Only" probably 10-15 times until I finally heard audio (albeit, delayed audio). Have you heard of this issue before and does a USB 3.0 device help remedy it?

 

[FerretBomb]

The HD60S is a USB 3.0 device, and the HD60 Pro is an internal card. I would recommend the Pro if possible, for many reasons. Yes, it will eliminate the 2 second capture delay (there will still be some, but generally in the tens of milliseconds range, not even a tenth of a second). Also, the Pro allows using DirectShow drivers instead of Elgato's Game Capture software; DS drivers work directly with OBS, tend to be far more stable, and are highly preferred. I believe the S also has DS drivers available, but I am not certain.

Audio Monitoring can be a bit odd, but generally will work fine once you're not using a USB 2.0 device any more; it can require some workarounds still, but far fewer of them.

 

[templeowls]

Thanks so much for your help!!