Question / Help How best to manage a very crowded Sources Window?

FWard

New Member
We live stream sports and have many, many items in our Sources window. Scoreboard, videos, pictures, etc. and we have to scroll and scroll to get what we want to transition to. Is there a way to effectively manage all the things we are adding to the stream? Timing is everything and when we have to put something up quickly, well...all the time it takes to scroll through the sources screen sometimes makes us a little "tardy" on getting to it and transitioned in. We just recently went to Live Score to help with the scoreboard...thank God for that! But we still have 15 plus items in our sources window we need to get to during the game. Forget putting player pictures up...there's 30 players to a team. Ouch!!
 

FWard

New Member
If you want something more clear for switching between scenes i can recommend https://github.com/t2t2/obs-tablet-remote on a tablet.
If you mean the sources themself there is currently a feature in development scheduled for the 22.0.0 release to group sources https://ideas.obsproject.com/ideas/13/add-source-folders-for-management
Worst case is to undock the Sources panel and use some free space on a monitor to make so high that you can see all the sources(Same works with Scenes)
Thank you! I will explore the undocking, didn't know you could. Yes, the sources themselves are so numerable, it has become almost impossible to call the one up when we need it. We are trying to consolidate and eliminate as much as possible, but it becomes so convoluted it becomes a back and forth scroll trying to find what is needed. Ideally, a separate display with nothing but those items, but we already have to use a monitor to manage the scoreboard. We would need a 3 monitor output, but we are currently using a laptop. Maybe time to change to a dedicated streaming computer with more than two displays.
 

seaotter

New Member
Thank you! I will explore the undocking, didn't know you could. Yes, the sources themselves are so numerable, it has become almost impossible to call the one up when we need it. We are trying to consolidate and eliminate as much as possible, but it becomes so convoluted it becomes a back and forth scroll trying to find what is needed. Ideally, a separate display with nothing but those items, but we already have to use a monitor to manage the scoreboard. We would need a 3 monitor output, but we are currently using a laptop. Maybe time to change to a dedicated streaming computer with more than two displays.

Look into nesting scenes and sources to declutter your scene list.
 

FWard

New Member
Sorry...blush...We have only one scene and all our Sources are set up under that one scene. You are surprised by that? Maybe I'm missing something about scenes. I am pretty new to all this, so the chances are highly likely I'm causing more work than needs to be done. This is our set up....We have three cameras that feed into a Blackmagic TV STudio HD ATEM. The ATEM feeds the program signal into a capture card. The capture card feeds into the computer for broadcast. We also have a Behringer 1204 USB mixer that feeds two broadcasters into the computer. We will soon be adding another monitor so we can use our Live Score Scoreboard. Right now, we have three graphics that we have to change the properties to for Scores, Inning Number, and Top/Bottom of Inning. With the Live Score, we can combine all three of those into one that will also add more info, but can be controlled very easily on the extended monitor. We have a static opening graphic, an opening video, a couple lower third graphics, a series of commercial videos, plus the mics, Blackmagic properties, the capture card properties, and maybe a few other items...all on the same scene, all in the same Sources panel. We feed the BM Program feed into OBS. When we are ready to change the score, inning, top/bottom, we click on the source and change the properties (now, soon going away to Live Score). When we come to the end of the inning, we click on the commercial we are going to run, then transition to the commercial. As soon as the commercial video starts playing, we click the "eye" to close in the transition window. That brings our live feed back to the preview window. As soon as the commercial ends, it transitions back to the live feed.s And on and on we go through the entire game. Whew...long winded, but I am sure there are lots and lots of suggestions for improvements on this work flow. Oh, during the inning play, we will throw up some bottom thirds, for when a batter is coming to the plate for one of our sponsors. Sigh.... Added: Oh, and we do that with one person in the control room, one camera operator, and two commentators. Forget going to the bathroom during the game.
 
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koala

Active Member
A scene is for everything that you fade in or fade out so the output more or less changes completely.
By using one scene and manipulating the sources you change the composition on the fly, but you can save your standard manipulations by creating one scene for every standard composition.
You say you have a static opening graphic: make this one scene.
You have an opening video: make this one scene.
You have a series of commercial videos: make them one scene.
If you want to switch from the opening graphic to the opening video, you click on the opening video scene instead of deactivating the graphics and activating the video in your sole scene.
For minor manipulations of sources before showing the corresponding scene, use studio mode, change to the next scene, customize it and then switch it live. (this is probably how you currently work, but instead of using only one insanely large scene, divide this large scene into a few smaller ones.)
If there are common characteristics in every scene, that means common sources that should appear on every scene, create one template scene that contains all common sources that never change and include this scene as source into your main scenes (Sources->add Scene). See this as a collection of sources.
In the end, your goal is to have one distinct scene in OBS for every source composition you want to broadcast, so you only switch scenes instead of searching and clicking scenes on and off.
Also look into the multiview. This is a thumbnail preview of all existing sources. There you can just click on the thumbnail to switch it live (or in studio mode to make it the next scene you intend to make live.)
 

FWard

New Member
Wow! Thank you. I have some work to do. Tonight is our last game for the series, and then 4 days off before the next games. Guess what I will be doing those 4 days. This should help. Plus, I'm trying to convince our team we probably should add a person just for the graphics, it's getting that big and varied. I've got to study this scene thing and the multiview. Looks like I've got some homework. I really enjoy OBS, can't believe how powerful it is getting. Keep at it OBS Team. You probably don't hear it (enough), but the great unwashed out here really do appreciate all your hard work and efforts.
 
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