Yes, understood, OBS Studio can be a bit intimidating initially
The issue with OBS v28 is the new Qt 6 User Interface which requires most plugin developers to update their code to be OBS Studio v28 compatible... so over time, plugins will get updated, or replaced. but there is the current transition timeframe,
As a volunteer, presumably not technically most bleeding edge capable?, keeping it safe/simple is definitely recommended.
However, I'd start with which CPU, GPU, etc you are on, and which features you plan to use. Then check if any of those have compatibility requirements with a specific OBS Studio version. You challenge now is the latest plugins for certain things may only be compatible with OBS v28, so you may have to dig a little deeper to get older plugin versions... not a big deal, just something to be aware of. One thing, with the very limited subset of OBS Studio plugins I've worked with, my experience is that it isn't always obvious which plugin version(s) work with which OBS Studio versions... so a little research often required.. totally doable, just not user friendly
Personally, I ran into issues using OBS Global (Desktop) audio when I started out, so I disabled it (having no need for any Global Audio inputs in our HoW scenario) and set up our mixer as one source, which I added only in scenes for which it was appropriate (2.5 years we started by intermixing a live feed vs pre-recorded announcements, readings, locally performed music, etc.) That one audio source (our mixer) is then added as a Duplicate source into the other scenes (so same source with one setting), does NOT cut out as we switch between scenes that have same audio source enabled.
Why this way? out intro, countdown timer, pre-recorded walk-up video (before service starts), and an ending Go in Peace sequence all have no need for mic input. I'm not aware of OBS v28 changing this audio config option (but I'm not using v28 yet)
How are you physically connecting audio to OBS? it can make a difference
My PTZ camera does NOT have an OBS plugin, so I'm using Panasonic's software, which I have up on Monitor #2. I set up monitor #2 at same time we upgraded from a webcam to a PTZ camera and resumed in-person services
As for losing settings? OBS settings? if yes, I'd be concerned about the OS and/or disk drive. Either that, or you installed OBS v28, then didn't fully removing it (and its settings) before installing an earlier version.
As for which earlier version of OBS Studio to use? My personal thoughts only is that I'd start with latest v27 <
https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio/releases/tag/27.2.4>, or possibly last v26 <
https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio/releases/tag/26.1.2> if you have no need for any features of v27 (though then you plugin search gets even more complicated)
