Question / Help Dual PC / Stream Question.

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Pherix

New Member
Hello all,

Quick question for you pro streamers out there.

• SETUP
Gaming PC Video out via HDMI to capture card (Elgato HD60 Pro) on streaming PC.
Gaming PC Audio out via Optical to audio SPDIF in sound card on streaming PC.
Streaming PC running OBS Studio to Twitch.
​
This is how I currently have it setup, with my streaming PC setup for that specific purpose (streaming to Twitch).

I was wondering what it would take (if its even possible) to use game capture or window capture on the streaming PC (one that is running OBS) to capture specific windows on my gaming PC? I was thinking initially not, as the streaming PC wouldn't know of any .exe's (how it captures games, I assume) that the gaming PC was running.

Basically I want to have it both ways, and use my streaming PC to handle all of the encoding and sending it to Twitch, while my gaming PC handles all of the gaming stuff. Currently, when I stream, anything on my main monitor shows up in stream, since it is being captured on a secondary PC. I would like to only stream game windows (or whatever I setup as a source) specifically like you could if I was streaming from the same PC. I may have this setup wrong, so please feel free to correct me.

But, if I need any additional equipment or anything, please let me know. I was thinking like maybe 2 capture cards somehow, but wanted to reach out to those that have more experience and see if they had any suggestions. If you have any questions, or need any additional clarification, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks!
Pherix
 
Last edited:
Suslik V

Suslik V

Active Member
For such setups you may use OBS Studio on gaming PC with light encoding settings (maybe HW encoder) to generate video with high bitrate and send it to the other PC (streaming PC) via Ethernet cable. On streaming PC you import that high bitrate (up to full Ethernet speed but in most cases less than 50-75Mbit/s) video in OBS Studio, add layers, facecam etc. and compress it higher at 2000-4000 bitrate (depend on service and quality) at max CPU strength. Thus application influence on the gaming PC is minimal (almost same as during recording). If all stuff connected through the router make sure that you didn't overload it with such high data transfers.
 
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Beardedbob

Member
As @Suslik V has suggested if you want to game capture then you would need to run OBS on the game pc then send that footage cross to the streaming pc to send it on to twitch. This though means the gaming pc has some performance hit as it will need to do some encoding before transferring it across.

Ngnix and RTMP module can allow you to do this but you will need a decent LAN, the bonus is you can remove the capture card then as the data is sent via the network not the HDMI.
 
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Pherix

New Member
Thanks for the reply, guys! So, quick question. If I am having to run OBS on my gaming PC, is there that much of a difference in impact using the suggested setup vs. just streaming from the gaming PC?
 
Suslik V

Suslik V

Active Member
You can try to record something to compare it, but imagine that you are recording to very fast drive (SSD like or so).
 
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Pherix

New Member
@Suslik V,

For my gaming PC, that is correct. Its not a terribly big deal to not have what I want if the network impact is going to overshadow the minor convenience of not having to watch what I put up on stream. I have a pretty beefy system for my gaming PC, so wondering if it would even be worth the trouble, in your opinion. If that makes sense.
 
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