Question / Help Gradual Game Audio Delay

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sarcasmrox3

New Member
Hello All,

I've been in communication with ElGato hoping the issue was on their end but I see multiple users having similar issues. Can't seem to find the results in the threads after searching for a solution and after troubleshooting with ElGato over 10 emails over 2 weeks and talking to senior technicians on their team, it's a loop of troubleshooting and they're going to try and help me set up an NDI, which I don't think is the right solution to be frank.

After about an hour or so of streaming on Twitch, an audio delay begins to occur and gradually gets worse. I use a PS4 with ElGato HD60s via HDMI plugged into my Macbook Pro. I use the OBS Link plug in along with the default Macbook Pro camera and an external Blue Snowball microphone and 3rd party iShowU software.

The delay doesn't occur in ElGato's studio software but it would eliminate my viewer experience with my stream. My only current solution is to frequently disable and reenable OBS Link throughout the stream to re-sync. Not ideal.

Log Files of last stream testing without the Macbook Pro camera in hopes it was the issue. Was not the culprit.
https://obsproject.com/logs/R2naETjT09TVo3PI


Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thank you
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
There's no MacOS device driver for the HD60S, which is why they offer the OBS Link application instead. It talks directly to the device and provides an NDI feed that goes into OBS. Using OBS Link as a source requires and uses NDI.

You have a VERY old version of the OBS NDI plugin (version 4.1.3; current is 4.7.1).

https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-ndi-newtek-ndi™-integration-into-obs-studio.528/

I don't know if that relates to your issue or not.

Bottom line: Elgato promotes this device as "compatible with OBS" and "compatible with MacOS" without bothering to say that it does not run with OBS on MacOS-- before they released the OBS Link utility, the only options were Elgato's own app or booting into Windows to get a native device driver.

Devices by Magewell, BlackMagic and AJA all have native MacOS drivers and work better than the HD60S.

8:54:44.664: ==== Streaming Start ===============================================
18:58:29.726: User switched to scene 'Scene'
20:05:58.542: adding 23 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 139 milliseconds (source: ElGato)
20:09:06.558: adding 23 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 162 milliseconds (source: ElGato)
20:21:22.129: adding 23 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 185 milliseconds (source: ElGato)

The above lines in the log indicate that your MacBook is increasingly unable to keep up with the stream of data from the capture device, and it is increasing audio buffering in response. I'm guessing this would not happen on the same hardware in Windows, does it?
 
S

sarcasmrox3

New Member
Thank you for the response.

I figured the issue was going to be with OBS Link and the compatibility between Mac and Elgato.

I'll go ahead and download the latest OBS NDI Plugin. I'm pretty sure I've checked for updates prior but it seems like I either missed something or I'm doing it incorrectly. Regardless, thank you for the link and heads up on the latest version.

I purchased my Macbook Pro for business as priority and streaming secondary, but streaming has grown into something I and a few others enjoy. I used to screen capture the display from Elgato Studio on a second monitor and bring in audio separately. When they released OBS Link, I was ecstatic that I didn't need the second monitor just for screen capturing. I'll probably go back to that method for the time being.

As for windows question, I believe my brother used his laptop with the Elgato in the past without issue. So you are probably correct in the assumption.

I'll look into the other devices and see which may fit my needs best.

If I'm going to build a PC, I'd want to do it correctly, which would require a nice budget I don't necessarily have atm! :) So I'm stuck with my MacOS that works amazing with designing and only presents obstacles for everything else! haha

Again, I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to respond with a direct answer and not making me trouble shoot simple things like turning it off and on again.
 
S

sarcasmrox3

New Member
Hello again Narcogen,

I've been streaming using the original method of screen capturing the Elgato gameplay from their software rather than using the plugin. It works but having OBS and Game Capture HD open at the same time is rough.

I'm at a point where Elgato is ALSO the root of another issue (dealing with compatibility of a new monitor i bought) so I'm definitely going to buy a new capture card.

Narcogen said:
Devices by Magewell, BlackMagic and AJA all have native MacOS drivers and work better than the HD60S.
Click to expand...

Magewell USB Capture HDMI Gen2 is $300
Blackmagic Intensity Shuffle is $200
AJA U-TAP USB is $350
I was also recommended an AVerMedia - Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus which is $130

Is there one that works best with OBS on iOS. I'll probably invest in one early next year as PC is out of the question for a bit (unfortunately).

Thanks in advanced for the help. You've helped me more than an entire support team so I GREATLY appreciate your time.
 
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Zeros.81

Member
I don't recommend you the Intensity Shuttle because it only accepts video resolutions up to 1920x1080@30p . If I were you I would buy a Magewell USB device, it's a bit expensive but it works like a charm.
 
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sarcasmrox3

New Member
Zeros.81 said:
If I were you I would buy a Magewell USB device, it's a bit expensive but it works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Copy that. I'm at a point where I'm just streaming directly from the PS4 because I don't want to deal with the dropped frames due to my computer not being able to handle everything. A capture device that I can input without needing a second screen and second software that's compatible with iOS would be ideal haha. If Magewell is the best then Imma get the best.
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
A capture device that also encodes and doesnt need external screens or software is a portable encoder like a Teradek.

They ain't cheap.
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
Exactly. Combining this with OBS is difficult because while you can make a projector of your Program output and send it to a display, and then also set up an audio monitor to send audio output to that same port, assuming you have HDMI audio support on your card, this won't necessarily maintain audio sync. OBS really isn't intended for use with outboard encoders like this.
 
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sarcasmrox3

New Member
Sorry for the delay. So what's the best course of action for me? Should I just scrap the idea of getting a new capture device and just save for a PC build? Or is there an affordable alternative to Elgato that works with OBS and iOS to stream?

sarcasmrox3 said:
A capture device that I can input without needing a second screen and second software that's compatible with iOS would be ideal haha.
Click to expand...

What I meant by this was not needing to have a second screen dedicated to just displaying the same video so I can screen capture the gameplay. Sorry for the confusion. I attached a photo with annotations.
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
There's not really enough information about what you're trying to do here to give good advice, but I'll just try to put in some observations that might help:
MacOS is not in a good place these days with regard to live video capture and encoding, or with regards to good value for money on capture hardware. The best available consumer grade video encoder is not available (NVENC) and the low end of the market for capture cards, where vendors like Elgato operate, have a range of devices that are only compatible with MacOS partially, if at all.

On the same hardware, generally these tasks run more poorly under MacOS than on Windows, and at the same price points, hardware by other vendors offer better features and price/performance ratio than Apple does. Windows laptops have significant limitations, but Apple ones are, at the same tasks, consistently worse with regards to rendering performance and live encoding.

If you decide to stick with MacOS and have problems with Elgato, the best advice I can give is to use capture hardware from another vendor: BlackMagic, Magewell, AJA. If possible borrow equipment to test, or order one from a place with a good return policy so you can send it back if you have a problem.

If you have to procure a new machine, as much as I would like to recommend MacOS for this, I simply can't. Desktops are better than laptops, and Windows laptops with NVENC capable cards are better than just about anything in Apple's lineup (despite the aforementioned limitations).

Almost any OBS setup is going to perform better and have fewer limitations in a desktop configuration than a laptop configuration, and be easier to use and manage in a multi monitor setup than in a single monitor configuration. (One caveat: don't mix refresh rates).

If you can't have multiple monitors, OBS-Websocket offers a remote control interface that works from nearly any device, and there are iOS apps that build on that API to provide OBS-specific controls (TouchPortal).
 
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sarcasmrox3

New Member
I think you put it in good perspective. I'll probably skip on buying a new capture device and simply go with saving to build a gaming/streaming PC.

I greatly appreciate all the help and I apologize for any confusions. It's a confusing setup to begin with.

Have a great holiday!
 
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