Input lag when booting console capture in OBS Studio

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Zachrulez

New Member
So I get lag spikes on my controller input in OBS studio when I boot up the connected capture console (PS5) with OBS already on.

Just thought this one was worth noting because I have narrowed the problem to very specifically occur ONLY when actually firing up the console that is on my capture card when OBS is already open. It doesn't happen if I let the console boot up first and then open OBS. It's just such a strange thing to happen that there must be something going on. I suspect it's connected to the latest windows updates on win 11 and that OBS might need to do an update to their software in the near future to fix this and other weird issues that it is creating. I am able to work around this problem, just thought it was worth noting. (Also when it happens I can disable and re-enable the capture source to fix the problem. It's just... uhhh *shrug)
 
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Zachrulez

New Member
I'll just add that the behavior seems to be specific to OBS. I tried to replicate it in RECentral and it worked fine (I have an Avermedia LGX) which most likely eliminates anything actually being wrong with the aging capture card itself. Also is latest version of OBS that I'm using. (27.1.3 64-bit)
 
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Zachrulez

New Member
Still working around this annoying problem. Strangely it will trigger when I reboot the console as well. Anyone have any idea what's going on here?
 
FerretBomb

FerretBomb

Active Member
Can you clarify what you mean by "lag spikes on my controller input in OBS studio"?

There will always be a certain amount of capture latency if you are playing on the capture preview instead of a separate dedicated display (through an HDMI splitter or passthrough on the capture device). Applications like RecCentral and Elgato GameCapture are much more simplistic; their primary focus is the capture card input, and not handling any kind of compositing; they do less, so they can be faster.

My guess would be that OBS is delaying a bit, having to deal with the renegotiation/handshake/sync process when the capture card goes from 'no signal' to whatever the console is providing. Where if the console is on and signal+ already, it can just grab and go.
You could test this by going into the Video Capture Device source properties, hitting the Deactivate button to shut-down the capture card, then Activate again with the console up and running.

Really though, the answer is to not play on the capture preview. :b I'd recommend either an HDMI splitter to an extra input on your monitor, or if you don't have one, an inexpensive HDMI Matrix (which is what I use).
 
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Zachrulez

New Member
It goes from instantanious feedback (which is to say fast enough to be usable.) to something around 500-1000ms delay on input feedback. (It might actually be higher. It's VERY noticable.)

Deactivating the capture and reactivating it eliminates the lag. Booting the system with OBS on for some reason is the cause. I'm assuming it's because something in windows 11 isn't playing well with OBS because it never happened prior to win 11.

... If there are some settings to play with to mitigate this I would really appreciate it but really I'm dumbfounded to the cause. I'm not really sure what these splitter and matrix solutions entail. I was just trying to be optimistic that the OBS devs could figure out what win 11 apparently broke here. ^.^
 
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sssnake

New Member
Hello im here in 2024 and have the same problem!
Did you get it fixed?

The "starting obs after ps5 boots up" didnt help me ...

The console gameplay is fine on the monitor i play with but lags on the monitor i record with and have obs open.

I need help please!
 
qhobbes

qhobbes

Active Member
Here's my setup: PS4 > 4 in. HDMI extender > 5 ft HDMI cable > HDMI coupler > 2 ft HDMI cable > Elgato HD60 X > whatever cable came with it, 3 or 4 ft > PC > OBS > Scene collection with 1 scene and 1 Video Capture Device source only.

Video base and canvas set to 1920x1080 59.94 FPS. Elgato set to same with Video Format NV12, Space 709, Range Limited, Buffering Disable, Use hardware decoding enabled.

I disconnected my PC from the Internet, closed all other programs except OBS and Task Manager and was able to play a 30 minute race in Gran Turismo 7 using a wired (18 ft) controller on my PC with no issues on a 14 year old iMac. I had the preview set to Canvas and had OBS running in full screen.

I tried to use 60 FPS for Elgato and Video FPS but 3D GPU usage wasn't as stable. I'm suspecting frame rate conversion causing that but don't know if PS4 outputs at 59.94 or 60 FPS, caused by my 59.951 Hz screen, both or something else.

@sssnake Try setting the FPS on your console capture device to match the refresh rate ot the monitor you record on.
 
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sssnake

New Member
on my macbook air m2 it ran very smoothly almost instantly without lag. now im on my new pc and it doesnt run smoothly.
both options are already 1920x1080 and i also tried the 59.94fps method

both without success

Only thing i noticed was my ps5 is on 1440p and if i put it on 1080p it gets a little better and if i put it on 720p its almost smooth

so idk if it has to do with anything of that

here are my logs

 
qhobbes

qhobbes

Active Member
@sssnake 1. You are running Windows 11 21H2, which has not been supported by Microsoft since October 2023, almost a year ago. We recommend updating to the latest Windows release to ensure continued security, functionality, and compatibility.
2. The Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling ("HAGS") feature in Windows is currently known to cause performance and capture issues with OBS, games and overlay tools. It's an experimental feature and we recommend disabling it via these instructions.
3. I'm guessing you're running OBS on your ProLite monitor which the log shows as 59 Hz. Set the resolutions and FPSs on your Elgato, base, canvas and ps5 to 1080 and 59.94. Enable Hardware Decode in the capture device settings.
 
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sssnake

New Member
SOLVED IT!

I plugged the elgato into the usb2.0 port
i now plugged it in the 3.2 port and it runs smoothly without ANY other options needed!

THANK GOD

Hope this helps someone else another time in the future!
 
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