Freezes and lags in recorded video file using OBS with video capture card

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Dewie der Katzenbock

New Member
Hey folks,

My problem is this: The video file created by OBS contains lags and temorary freezes at the same 'location' within the game.

But let me explain in detail, please excuse my possibly poor language:
- I have two different machines
- Machine A is running DosBox with an old game. It outputs an HDMI signal, 1080p.
- The HDMI cable leads to an HDMI splitter, that forwards to only *one* of possible two outputs at the same time. The currently active one leads to a video capture card (why this setup? see below *)
- The video capture card forwards the HDMI signal to my monitor and it provides a USB signal for machine B at the same time
- Machine B is running OBS and records audio and video from the video capture card. I choose this to make sure OBS is running alone and is not affected by the performance that is possibly los to the game (I know, for dosbox that doesn't is necessary, but for future purposes it might be)

While I'm playing all is fine but the recorded video file stucks and freezes for short periods of time at the same spot in the game. All in all, it doesn't happed that often, and if it doesn't, the result is fine, but it is unavoidable because it happens at the same spots. The audio is playing fine all the time, it does not interrupt and comes from the same USB signal. There a no resolution changes or so at this spot (as it might be if you press ALT+TAB or something like that, I noticed that this can lead to black screens sometime). How is that possible since I recorded a technical VIDEO SIGNAL that doesn't have anything to do with any content of the recorded programs?
Has DosBox something to do with that?
Or the splitter?
Or the capture card?
Or OBS?
I have no idea. Please help, thanks in advance.

(* Why this setup with the switchable HDMI splitter? The other cable bypasses the capture card and leads directly to my Receiver + TV. The capture card makes everthing stereo. When I'm not recording, I want to be able to use 5.1 sourround sound without (un-)plugging any cables.)

Greetings
 
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Dewie der Katzenbock

New Member
Sorry for multiposting so much but I want to rule out some possibilities so hopefully somebody answer this. Also I tried to run DosBox in windowed mode, same behavior. When the freeze happens, the whole recording freezes, not just the dosbox window. I also can observe this in thepreview of OBS, so there is no need for actually recording now. But clearly it is caused by the DosBox (and the game in it). But I dunno at which point the video signal "breaks" because of this and why.

Especially this is weird: It's possible to kind of "release" the freeze. When I pu another window over the dosbox in freezed state, the whole screen unfreezes. It returns back if the dosbox window is visible/active again. This is so strange because OBS is just getting a whole video signal and should not know about any actual things displayed on the screen.
 
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D

Dewie der Katzenbock

New Member
Well, nobody answered but nevertheless I want to provide my "solution" for anybody who has this kind of problem. My capture card was from a company named KKTECT but almost the same models were available under other generous company names. I don't know if these are crappy things or if it's just coaccident, but now I use the HD60 S+ from Elgato. I came with an own software so I don't need OBS for this anymore. The error doesn't occure anymore. It is not clear whether OBS or the capture card causes the issue. Maybe it's some weird escape sequence or control character or whatever in this specific data stream that is my video signal that causes the card to stop recording. I don't know.

It's not a good solution or a solution at all, but more like an expensive workaround. I'm not happy with that, but that's it for me.
 
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