Question / Help Getting Started...

J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi learned mates

I'm a newbie to screen recording and to OBS.

I downloaded and installed the Full Installer.

I thought I might get lucky so I pressed the Start recoding and moved the mouse around the screen pointing to my program icons on my desktop while talking during the “recoding.”

I did a search of the hard drive using Agent Ransack on my Windows 7 PC on a 32-bit laptop but I did not find that recoding.

What file format are OBS saved as? Can I change the saved format (e.. mp4, etc.)?

Is there a way to direct where the recordings will be saved?

Do I just press the Start Recoding button and when I'm finished recording pres the Stop Recording button and it saves the recording?

Or are there other steps?

Is there a way for me to name each recording?

Is there time limit for each recording?

Thank you so much for your kind help!
 
RYAM77

RYAM77

Member
That's a lot to ask!
  • The recommended file format is mp4, as it is compatible with pretty much any video editing software and YouTube.
  • In OBS, Go to Settings, then click on Output, then set the Output Mode to Advanced to see more settings. Assuming that you don't stream, click on Recording, and set the Recording Path to a specific file. Of course, you can name it whatever you want.
  • Yes, you click on Start Recording to start your recording, and while recording, click on Stop Recording to stop recording and the file will be saved.
  • No, even though OBS is free software, there is no limit to how long you record each session.
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi RYAM77,

Thanks so much for sharing your much appreciated details.

I thought it better to ask the questions right away rather than piecemeal.

When I did a search for all files created yesterday, I did not see any .mp4 files.

But,now that you've kindly shared the correct steps, I'll follow them and check again for the recorded file.

Thank you again for all your help.
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi RYAM77,

Thank you so much for your helpful instructions.

I now can save the recording in mp4 (or other formats) in a pre-selected folder on my PC's hard drive.

Is there any way to name the recording before it records?

Right now it just saves it with a default name so I have to right click on it and rename it.

I noticed that although the recorded length was the full 13 seconds on screen all I can see when I play it back in VLC Media Player is a black screen. It didn't record the cursor pointing to various icons on my Windows 7 icon screen as I had done.

Perhaps, I've missed a setting or two?

Also, are there function keys for startling and stopping a recording? e.g. Ctrl/F1 to start recording and then Ctrl/F3 to sop the recording?

I downloaded the zipped OBS but that opens to many folders like bin so I wasn't sure how to install from that zip file.

Instead, I then downloaded and installed from the OBS Full Installer.exe file.

Are there any benefits in installing from the OBS.zip file instead?

Thank you so very much for your all kind help and patience.
 
B

buntershu

New Member
Hi jeff I'm actually having the same exact problem as I'm new to obs have you fond a solution to the black screen?
 
Harold

Harold

Active Member
The recommended file format is mp4,
Click to expand...
No it is NOT.
The recommended file format is flv, because it can survive a non-graceful shutdown of the recording process without losing the ENTIRE recording.

Are there any benefits in installing from the OBS.zip file instead?
Click to expand...
Nope.
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi Harold,

Can you please share the link to the official site for the older versions of OBS Studio?

When I do this…

To use the DirectX Diagnostic Tool to determine the version of DirectX that is installed on your computer, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type dxdiag, and then click OK.
3. On the System tab, note the version of DirectX displayed on the DirectX Version line.

It generates these results … DirectX Version: DirectX 11 - DX Setup Parameters: Not found

But, when I ran Speccy it displayed these results …
DirectX Support 9.0 | DirectX Shader Model 2.0 |OpenGL Support 2.0 | GPU RC410

I have no idea how to test for opengl 3.2 whatever that is exactly?

Thank you for your help.
 
Harold

Harold

Active Member
Older versions of OBS studio won't work on that system anyway.

OpenGL 3.2 HARDWARE or Directx 10.1 HARDWARE support has always been the minimum.
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
On my newer laptop...

I visited the OBS-Studio: Quickstart Guide

Hotkeys
- Set Hotkeys to Start/Stop Streaming/Recording
- to Hide/Show Sources
- for PTT/PTM
- to Switch to a specific Scene

It doesn't seem to show you exactly how to create/set hot keys. I tied clcikon on the words - Set Hotkeys to Start/Stop Streaming/Recording but it didn't open to anything. How does one set a hot key for Start Recording? Another hot key for Stop Recording?

I then visited this page - https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/full-video-guide-for-obs-studio-and-twitch.46303/

Full Video Guide for OBS Studio And Twitch
A detailed set up guide OBS Studio

I tried watching them with the latest version of VLC Media Player and even when I changed the view to Zoom to 200% (highest) level I could not see clearly the tiny figures in the video.

I then clicked on an mp4 video in VLC Media Player and started viewing it. I then clicked the OBS Start Recording button and watched the time as it was recording.

However, when I clicked on that OBS recording of that video there was no video and audio was very low even when I slid the slider in the Speaker Icon (in system tray) up all the way I could barely hear it.

When I play mp3s or mp4s in VLC Media Player I don’t have to push that slider up past 50% to hear them clearly.

I have In OBS Settings > Output > Output Mode > Advanced > Recording Path set to C:\Videos on my hard drive.

Also, are there function keys in OBS to start, pause and stop recording? Ex. Alt/S, Alt/P, etc.

Do I have to draw any square around the area on the screen I’m trying to record? Some video recorder require that you draw a square around the recording are you wish to record.

Thanks so much for your help!
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi All,

I've successfully installed OBS on my laptop.

I've set my Advanced setting to record as .mp4 to my C drive.

I click on OBS's Start recording and I see the meter numbers advance.

I then click open the video in my browser.

I can see and hear the video (in flv format) but when I open the screen to OBS (reducing my browser screen) and press stop and then open that recorded OBS file saved a .mp4 in VLC Media Player. t only plays audio, no video.

The audio also has a loud buzzing in the background.

Can anyone pls. share why I'm not recording any video?

Could you pls share why there might be a loud buzz in the background?

Thank you so much.
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi EBrito,

I'll look in Control Panel.

Are there function keys I can use to Start Recording then Pause then Stop and finally to Save?

Ex. Ctrl/S to Start? Alt/P to Pause? Alt/S to Save?

Thanks so much.
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Harold said:
You're better off following http://goo.gl/bLzO5T or http://goo.gl/dGcPZ3 for the most part if you're just getting started.
Click to expand...

Hi Harold, I tried to watch each of those videos but when I play them they are microscopically tiny. Even when I enlarge the screen in VLC Media Player they are only slightly visible with a magnifying glass and I have good vision.

Is there a way to convert those videos into larger viewing?

Thanks so much.
 
EBrito

EBrito

Active Member
You can set Hotkeys to start / stop recording. No hotkey for pause.

Edit your preferences here:
upload_2017-1-26_22-55-3.png
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi EBriot,

Thanks for sharing that.

Are there any Hotkeys for Saving the recording?

How do I choose which folder to save the recording in and then name the file?

Thanks so much for all your kind help.
 
J

jeff haskell

Member
Hi EBrito,

Thank you so much for sharing that link to the help pdf.

I saw on page 106 you choose the Settings (tab) in the lower right of the screen. Then, choose the Hotkeys (icon) on the drop-down menu along the left of the screen. Once there, there is a field for Start recording. If I hold down the Alt key that appears in the field window but if I press the letter S key it eliminates the Alt and substitutes the letter S key leaving that alone in the window.

I’ve tried holding down the Shift key to create a cap S but that just types in the word Shift in that window pane. I then tried putting the caps lock on but that did not work either.

I’m trying to create the hot Keys as follows:

1. Start Recording: Alt + S
2. Stop Recording: Ctrl + S

Can you pls share the exact steps to attain that?

Also, I noticed in the PDF it listed Scene – Switch to Scene (Pause) but it does not list that as a Pause option in my OBS version 0.16.6

Mine just lists Scene – Switch to Scene and blank window pane.

How can I set a Hotkey for Pause the recording?

Thank you so very much for all your kind help.
 
EBrito

EBrito

Active Member
Start recording: click Alt and s letter -both together- (just s, do not capitalize). Then ALT + S will appear as the Hotkey created
Stop recording: click Control and letter s -together- . Then CTRL + S will be what you see in that field.

EDIT: You can´t set a hotkey to pause recording. That option is not available
 
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