Question / Help Frame drops when recording

[LevelCap]

Hello, I'm using the latest version of OBS studio (0.13.4) and trying out some 1080p 60fps recording settings with 3 different audio channels. When i record the frame rate is fine, when testing in battlefield i can get a stable 144fps @1440p but the recorded file drops a about 1 in 10 frames making the video appear to stutter.

I'm currently recording to a 1TB SSD with 257 MB/sec write speed. Any ideas?

 

[Suslik V]

From this log, I've had a thought that you successfully captured Rainbow Six... Maybe you have other log-file to post?

 

[Osiris]

Yeah, would need to see the log from when you were recording battlefield 4.
Recording 1080p 60fps and playing BF4 at 144fps @ 1440p is quite intensive.

 

[LevelCap]

Sorry for the confusion. The results are the same with BF4 and R6 the latest attempt was with R6, and it shows it as successful yet they are frames being dropped from the video file. It's slight but when i pop the video file into my editor about ever 7-10 frame there are duplicate frames. So it technically recorded a 60fps file but there are jitters in the playback because of the doubled up frames.

 

[Suslik V]

And at which rate your game is rendered (what says fps counter)? If no limits, or VSync is enabled (in your case) --> 144/60=2.4 What frames to put in the video and which are not going to? Capture games at 144 fps.

 

[LevelCap]

rainbow six fluctuates a bit more but is always over 60fps, battlefield can maintain a solid 144fps. I realize the 60fps doesn't divide evenly into a 144 frame rate or a fluctuating frame rate, however im basing my recording expectations from other software like dxtory that i guess "intelligently" pulls frames for smooth 60fps video even from a fluctuating frame rate.

I guess my next question is does OBS support or intend to support fluid 60fps recording from variable frame rate gameplay?

 

[Suslik V]

Enable limiter in game itself. You want to get max experience (fps) of the game yourself and want to fix viewers at less than half of your quality (fps)? It is quite unfair.

 

[LevelCap]

I'm not sure what you mean by "unfair". I don't want to play at a fixed 60fps and there is no point in recording at a high frame rate since youtube is best at 60fps. I can already play at high frame rates and record fluid 60fps using dxtory but if I can get OBS to do the same then I would like to try it out as an alternative recording software since the compression seems to be a bit better.

Ultimately I think OBS is capable of doing this, I'm just trying to figure out how.

 

[Suslik V]

Understood. Your main goal is Youtube. At least you know your goal.

 

[Osiris]

Do you have a log from a longer recording session? This one doesn't state any duplicated or skipped frames.

 

[Suslik V]

Osiris, he said ...about ever 7-10 frame... that means, about 8-6 frames per second (60 fps video). Session is quite enough length. Maybe Studio count doubles when it renders, not captures? - I need more info.

 

[Osiris]

Yes, but at the end of the short recording session it doesn't mention any skipped/duplicated frames.

 

[moriz1]

Yes, but at the end of the short recording session it doesn't mention any skipped/duplicated frames.

which isn't anything new. in all my time using OBS MP, i've always had a persistent frameskipping/duplication issue, and my logs always show 0% frame skips. the logging system simply isn't revealing the issue at all.

 

[Suslik V]

which isn't anything new. in all my time using OBS MP, i've always had a persistent frameskipping/duplication issue, and my logs always show 0% frame skips. the logging system simply isn't revealing the issue at all.

And how you are work around?

 

[moriz1]

And how you are work around?

there's no workaround. i either have to go back to using dxtory and accept the huge loss of game fps (encoder independent; dxtory is just slow), or continue using OBS MP and accept that my recorded footage will look like a stuttery mess.

i tolerate the stuttering issue with OBS MP, because i'm mostly recording for archival purposes, and the fact that OBS MP literally has zero performance impact ingame for my computer. i'll just have to live with it, since apparently nobody can solve this issue. i'm not even sure the developers are even aware of what's exactly wrong either.

examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV6pNLfPMfc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vQGn0tv8Nw

the first video was recorded using dxtory, the second using OBS MP. the animations are clearly smoother in the first video compared to the second. this is particularly noticeable in the opening frames. similar settings and the exact same rig used in both.

 

[Tymorafarr]

I encountered the same issue that moriz1 has faced. OBS locally recorded videos tend to have (very) slight stuttering in irregular intervals, like in his videos. Some viewers might not notice it but it gets on my nerves. Logs doesn't show any problem at all. I too, resorted to going back to Dxtory and Action.

Might it be a CPU load issue? I noticed the stutters are way lesser on 720p compared to a 1080p recording. Have you tried reducing your game resolution and see if the frame stutters are less apparent?

 

[moriz1]

Might it be a CPU load issue? I noticed the stutters are way lesser on 720p compared to a 1080p recording. Have you tried reducing your game resolution and see if the frame stutters are less apparent?

i didn't notice anything if i change resolutions. 1920x1200 and 1280x800 seems to give the same stuttering. my rig isn't really capable of recording in 2560x1600 (native resolution), so i didn't bother checking higher resolutions.

personally, i think levelcap might be right about dxtory doing some frame interpolation as it records, while OBS MP simply doesn't. otherwise, there's no reason why dxtory has such a noticeable performance impact, while OBS MP doesn't have any performance impact at all.