Question / Help I cant start stream, but I can start recording. NVENC encoder For both

[Im_Narmo]

Ok so I didn't update for awhile cause in all honesty I finally got everything working and how I like it I could stream with NVENC and Record with NVENC just fine and I got it to a point to where everything looked just fine. A few days later, I decided to update to 0.16.2 and I could no longer stream with my advanced output mode setting only Simple which looked like trash compared to the norm. But, I could record with my advanced settings. So, I go to Geforce Experience to do a reinstall with clean settings of my driver and that didn't fix it. Now, I'm here looking at my current logs and it looks like the warning "This encoder is deprecated, use 'h264_nvenc' instead" appears for both my stream and recording setting but yet I can record but not stream. Im stumped now so I give, Can you guys help? I should've attached the log im looking at... unless I didn't cause I have the short term memory of a retarded goldfish :P anyways much love for any help

*Sorry if my english is bad*

 

[RytoEX]

You should look at this guide for high quality recording. Where are you trying to stream to? Most streaming services recommend (or require) CBR, not VBR. Do you know what all of the settings you've changed do? If you don't, you probably shouldn't change them.

If you must use Advanced Output Mode, start with these NVENC settings for recording:

• Rate Control: CQP
• CQP: 23
• Preset: High-Quality
• Profile: high
• Level: auto

And try these for streaming:

• Rate Control: CBR
• Bitrate: 2500
• Keyframe Interval: 2
• Preset: Default
• Profile: main
• Level: auto

Make sure that works. If it does, you can adjust from there as needed. Please note, that NVENC often doesn't look very good in streaming, so you should probably use x264 for the streaming encoder.

 

[Im_Narmo]

Yea Im streaming CSGO to twitch and Im using VBR atm moment because I read on encoding.com that VBR better adjusts to spikes in the bitrate due to the nature of it being variable but my enoding method isn't the problem as going to CBR doesnt change a thing i still cant stream. and If your wondering why I use low-latency High Quality its because my ping to twitch severs are relatively low and My GPU can handle high quality if your wandering why I use 3.1 it's because that best fits 720p 60frames if I remember right which atm it appears Im not streaming or recording at 720 so I should prob change it to 4.1 but what ever. So short answer is yes I know what the settings I changed do but this is beside the point as my issue resolves with NVENC not streaming but is able to record.

Also I use NVENC cause my CPU gets ridiculously hot during streaming on that and In CS streaming normal x264 give me a huge input lag in game due to the nature of source engine and when I use NVENC the heat and ingame lag issues are practically gone. Also a side note NVENC looks perfectly fine if you take the time to learn how it works and set it appropriately for the usage scenario.

Anyways any ideas as to how I can fix my current issue and not be forced to stream with extreme heat and lag? (x264)

Oh and I'd like to say thanks for responding as for the past few weeks ive been trying to figure out, but I finally caved and made a post cause multiple brains are better that one.


EDIT: It appears I was a bit misinformed on the Low Latency preset as I just found out that it keeps the frames at a constant size for stuff like video conferences, As opposed being ping related like I thought but either way still has no effect on my issue at this point i'm just rambling :P Also Im just trialing VBR not even sure if I'll stick with it but I dont know if i will until I stream which I cant do

Source for low latency: https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/differents-between-nvenc-low-latency-and-normal.17130/

 

[RytoEX]

Twitch specifically requires CBR.

NVENC can look good on stream, but often doesn't, especially with older hardware and the low bitrates that Twitch requires. My mention of NVENC vs. x264 was meant just as much for you as it was for anyone else reading this thread. NVENC can look okay given some configurations. I'm just cautioning that it's not a miracle solution that will alleviate all issues. If I recall correctly, x264 still produces better video on a per bitrate basis.

16:02:54.662: warning: The variable bitrate rate-control requires the 'qmin' and/or 'qmax' option set.
16:02:54.700: error: InitializeEncoder failed: invalid param (8)
16:02:54.711: [NVENC encoder: 'streaming_h264'] Failed to open NVENC codec: Invalid argument

You're providing an invalid argument to the NVENC encoder.

As far as I can tell, Level 3.1 does not support anything above 720p. If you want 1080p, you have to use Level 4 at minimum. However, keep in mind Level 4 and Level 4.1 only support up to 1080p@30f. If you want 1080p@60f, you would have to use at least Level 4.2, which the GTX 760 does not support. Using "auto" for Level should select the Level that is most appropriate for your other settings without having to know or look up what each one means.

As you've already pointed out, you misinterpreted the "low latency" setting. All of this is why I suggested to change your settings back to a known configuration that should work and then adjust from there to find out what exactly your card or driver does not like. The fact that it's even starting recording seems more of an anomaly to me than that it won't start streaming.

 

[Im_Narmo]

Ok thanks your response gave me an idea as to how to fix it and I just simply changed the profile off of high444p to see and that was the issue which is strange to me cause before I update I was able to run High444p beautifully and it looked great on stream. Also I forgot twitch was Strict CBR only aswell thanks mane. But, the issue is solve thanks for your help. Much Love

 

[RytoEX]

Ok thanks your response gave me an idea as to how to fix it and I just simply changed the profile off of high444p to see and that was the issue which is strange to me cause before I update I was able to run High444p beautifully and it looked great on stream. But, the issue is solve thanks for your help. Much Love

Depends on what version of OBS Studio you used before you updated. If you were using a version of OBS Studio from 0.14.2 to 0.15.4, then that makes sense, because the NVENC profile setting wasn't actually working from 0.14.2 to 0.15.4. If that's the case, then you were probably actually defaulting to the Default Profile without realizing it.