OBS Audio Minus Host Mic Audio for Projector Mode

[Talonis]

Hello,

So – I output my OBS video to Full Screen Projector (which does not carry HDMI audio). The video signal FSP HDMI destination is actually an external streaming box that handles the encoding/recording/video platforms.

The OBS audio output is also sent to the streaming box via a third party piece of routing software on the Mac. All fine BUT I cannot monitor the OBS audio without the host microphone being included - which gives audio feedback and echo on our voices.

Is there anyway to listen to the output of OBS without our host mics (a mix minus if you will)?

[Obviously this isn't a problem if using OBS itself to stream and record - it automatically does a "mix minus" on the mic channel but I'm not using that method. :-)]

Any thoughts/advice appreciated. Thank you.

 

[AaronD]

Sounds like you've arrived at the same place that I did, from a different direction:

Add a Local Output for Main Audio?

Many times I've been bitten by this setting being wrong, usually because I added something and didn't check it, and so the thing that I added is silent: The default is currently "Monitor Off", which is understandable with the assumption that the Monitor output goes to a set of live speakers and...

obsproject.com

 

[Talonis]

I have solved my issue (I think) by using the Audio Monitor plugin.

 

[Talonis]

For those keeping track, I did not solve the issue after all. Exeldro's plugin did not work for my configuration.

I will leave it as a mystery for now and fall back on Plan A.

 

[Babs Johnson]

Hello,

So – I output my OBS video to Full Screen Projector (which does not carry HDMI audio). The video signal FSP HDMI destination is actually an external streaming box that handles the encoding/recording/video platforms.

The OBS audio output is also sent to the streaming box via a third party piece of routing software on the Mac. All fine BUT I cannot monitor the OBS audio without the host microphone being included - which gives audio feedback and echo on our voices.

Is there anyway to listen to the output of OBS without our host mics (a mix minus if you will)?

[Obviously this isn't a problem if using OBS itself to stream and record - it automatically does a "mix minus" on the mic channel but I'm not using that method. :-)]

Any thoughts/advice appreciated. Thank you.

If you enable your desktop audio and set it to monitor only then all other audio sources to monitor off and use VB cable to route it to desktop, that could work.

 

[AaronD]

If you enable your desktop audio and set it to monitor only then all other audio sources to monitor off and use VB cable to route it to desktop, that could work.

Normally, it *would* be as simple as you said, but in the OP's situation (and you quoted), OBS is not actually streaming. Its Main output goes nowhere. Instead, it goes to an external streaming box via HDMI (the Full Screen Projector, which doesn't include audio), and thus requires a local audio out to send to that HDMI. OBS only has one local audio output (the Monitor), and so it's already tied up as the effective Main out.

So, since the only local audio out is already in use, how now to Monitor? That's the question.

The solution that I'd like to see, is to add a second local audio out to OBS, that carries the Main audio. The Monitor remains unchanged and would return in the OP's situation to being an actual monitor. The new Main audio out then goes to the HDMI port that feeds the streaming box.

Add a Second Audio Out, like the Monitor, but for the Main Audio instead

To support external hardware destinations, like an overflow room or an external streaming box, or to feed a virtual device like a remote meeting - basically any time that OBS is feeding some other streaming device but the workflow is otherwise the same - add an audio output that follows the...

obsproject.com

 

[Babs Johnson]

Normally, it *would* be as simple as you said, but in the OP's situation (and you quoted), OBS is not actually streaming. Its Main output goes nowhere. Instead, it goes to an external streaming box via HDMI (the Full Screen Projector, which doesn't include audio), and thus requires a local audio out to send to that HDMI. OBS only has one local audio output (the Monitor), and so it's already tied up as the effective Main out.

So, since the only local audio out is already in use, how now to Monitor? That's the question.

The solution that I'd like to see, is to add a second local audio out to OBS, that carries the Main audio. The Monitor remains unchanged and would return in the OP's situation to being an actual monitor. The new Main audio out then goes to the HDMI port that feeds the streaming box.

Add a Second Audio Out, like the Monitor, but for the Main Audio instead

To support external hardware destinations, like an overflow room or an external streaming box, or to feed a virtual device like a remote meeting - basically any time that OBS is feeding some other streaming device but the workflow is otherwise the same - add an audio output that follows the...

obsproject.com

I'll play around later to replicate your situation, maybe I can figure out a solution.

 

[Talonis]

Since no solutions from the community are forthcoming (to be fair I don't think there is one without re-writing OBS) I will consider this thread closed and stick with "Plan A" to deal with this.

Thanks for your time!

 

[Babs Johnson]

Since no solutions from the community are forthcoming (to be fair I don't think there is one without re-writing OBS) I will consider this thread closed and stick with "Plan A" to deal with this.

Thanks for your time!

One last try. As it can only be done via hardwire, what about using a USB sound card like this, then use VB cable to send the audio to this sound card. Then hardwire the headphone side to the external streaming box.

 

[AaronD]

One last try. As it can only be done via hardwire, what about using a USB sound card like this, then use VB cable to send the audio to this sound card. Then hardwire the headphone side to the external streaming box.

The OP wants something DIFFERENT to go to each physical destination. That's the entire point of "mix minus". A copy of the same is not useful here.

 

[Babs Johnson]

The OP wants something DIFFERENT to go to each physical destination. That's the entire point of "mix minus". A copy of the same is not useful here.

Right, in that case Rodecaster Pro can help you with that.

 

[Talonis]

Yea, I could use a Rodecaster Pro to go straight to HDMI via various virtual cables but I already use a MixPre for the voice channels. The reason I send the MixPre audio into OBS first is:

1) I use software hotkeys to control the voice audio (on/off, context based multi-actions etc.) in the stream.
2) I use OBS with internal audio plugins/equalisers/compressor/limiter to modify the sound.

If OBS allowed another audio route this could resolve the issue, but que sera.

 

[Babs Johnson]

If OBS allowed another audio route this could resolve the issue, but que sera.

That could work well, I happen to have VB cable and SWB audio capture on my Mac, and although I only use them for the same purpose I think they can be routed independently for separate tasks.

 

[AaronD]

Right, in that case Rodecaster Pro can help you with that.

I'm an audio guy. That looks to me like a VERY limited-function mixing console for $600, with 4 XLR (pro analog mic) inputs, 3 digital inputs with different connectors, a bunch of sound-effects buttons...and an expensive name. I'm also an electronics hobbyist, and I could probably replicate everything it does, albeit with different methods, AS A ONE-OFF for about half that. If you're going that route, I'd look instead at some of the small-ish offerings from the other well-known pro audio brands like Behringer, Allen & Heath, Yamaha, Soundcraft, etc. (yes, I came up with all of those just off the top of my head) Good sources are:

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Sweetwater.com

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Get free shipping on instruments and musical equipment, easy zero-interest payment plans, and top-rated service at zZounds! Join 1 million+ happy customers.

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Thomann - Welcome Home!

Browse our huge range of musical instruments, studio, lighting, and PA equipment at Europe's largest music retailer. We have the hottest brands, affordable alternatives and many free resources for musicians.

www.thomannmusic.com

Etc.
(yes, I also came up with those off the top of my head)
Guitar Center has physical stores, so you can go play with the displays before you buy (and dismiss the salespeople that don't know what they're talking about but they're good at convincing laypeople); the rest are online-only.

Size it for your actual input count and types, and make sure that the Main Out can end up in OBS somehow. That could be an analog line input to the computer that connects to the board's analog line out (make sure it really IS a LINE input and NOT a MIC in: the standard PC color code has pink for mic-in and blue for line-in, green for line-out, all on confusingly identical 1/8" TRS connectors), or it could be a USB sound card built into the board itself. Most of the small analog boards with USB already send the stereo main out to the PC, so you don't have to worry about any of that.

Do all of the audio stuff on the external mixer, and send the finished signal to OBS to pass through unchanged. What used to be a physical hotkey is now a physical button, knob, or fader on that board. Still physical, just in a different place now, and guaranteed to be dedicated to that one function. And you can drive your headphones from that board as well, separately from the main out that goes to OBS.

If you MUST do everything "inside the box" - that is, all in software on the same PC - then you might look at using a DAW (digital audio workstation) as your mixer. Same idea: do all of the audio stuff in there, and send the finished result through a loopback to OBS to pass through unchanged. I do that (several times with two copies of OBS) with a live meeting rig. Some example DAW's are:
https://ardour.org/ (my favorite, and comes preinstalled with the free Ubuntu Studio operating system)

Studio One Pro 7 | Music Production Software | PreSonus

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www.presonus.com

https://www.image-line.com/ (FL Studio)
Etc.
All of them will take both live and pre-recorded sources and combine them in any way you can imagine and lots more. I see them as infinitely customizable mixing consoles, that can do everything that a physical one can and light-years more, including as many processors and effects as your CPU will support...but the user interface is often replaced by the other apps that you're using at the same time. Pick one, and configure it for your needs, including separate outputs for the loopback to OBS and for your headphones.

 

[AaronD]

If you're not married to Mac, I'd recommend taking a serious look at Ubuntu Studio on decent PC hardware. Nevermind what version of Windblows it comes with, 'cause you're just going to wipe that off anyway.

UStudio comes preinstalled with OBS, Ardour, and a TON more, and everything you need to connect them. No additional installs necessary, though I've also found the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin to be incredibly useful.

 

[AaronD]

If you do end up using a DAW, perhaps for its unlimited processing ability (you'll never go back to OBS's audio processing), and you still want physical controls, there are (of course) loads of those available as well. Just one example among many:

Behringer X-Touch Universal Control Surface

USB/MIDI Controller with 9 Touch-sensitive Motor Faders, 8 Rotary Encoders, and 92 Illuminated Buttons

www.sweetwater.com

Other DAW's may or may not be limited or brand-locked, but Ardour seems to support every controller there ever was, including a way to define your own if you really need to and have the patience to learn how.

If you really insist on using hotkeys in OBS, then you can use Adv. SS to translate them into Websocket messages that get picked up by NodeRed (graphical programming language that is easy to learn and use, and easy to install on Ubuntu), which then sends a corresponding OSC message (Open Sound Control) to Ardour. Not that you'd actually do it that way - it *is* a bit Rube-Goldberg - but just to show that that control path is possible if you really want it.
(Linux is like the "erector set" of operating systems: there's almost always a way to make it do *whatever* you want.)

If you also install the Dashboard palette in NodeRed, then you can have a custom user interface that runs in a web browser. Depending on your workflow, there might be some value in converting most or all of your controls to that, regardless of what app they actually affect. Each button on a phone, auxiliary laptop screen, or whatever, can send the required message to the required app in the required format, and as far as you're concerned in the moment, you just have a bunch of buttons or other controls that all "just work". NodeRed itself runs on the same machine as everything else, and the control device just points its web browser to that machine's IP address and the port that NR tells you to use.

You may also want to write a script that sets everything up, instead of doing it manually every time. Because you *will* forget something, and then wonder why "it doesn't work".

 

[Talonis]

I am married to the Mac (as I have been since 1989), so that is what I use.

None of the suggested external hardware solutions work for my needs due to point 1) given in my prior post (eg. Use of Context based multi-actions in OBS during live streams) - but thank you for the suggestions. The MixPre series from Sound Devices (with internal plugins) is a fine audio machine.

Essentially it seems it cannot be done under version 28 without a re-writing of the OBS software itself.

 

[AaronD]

I am married to the Mac (as I have been since 1989), so that is what I use.

None of the suggested external hardware solutions work for my needs due to point 1) given in my prior post (eg. Use of Context based multi-actions in OBS during live streams) - but thank you for the suggestions. The MixPre series from Sound Devices (with internal plugins) is a fine audio machine.

Essentially it seems it cannot be done under version 28 without a re-writing of the OBS software itself.

You may yet be in luck, though it looks like more of a long-term thing:

Additional 'Aux Send' / monitor channel, or 'Virtual Audio Output' · OBS Studio Ideas and Suggestions

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OBS Virtual Camera audio · OBS Studio Ideas and Suggestions

I see others posting this idea, but my use case and insights are a bit different. While most people are using OBS Virtual Camera as a way to pipe thei

ideas.obsproject.com

One is the second-highest-voted behind a plugin manager, and at least one of the developers wants the other one. I think most people will be satisfied with the dev's favorite, even if they voted for the other one.

 

[Talonis]

Hmmm, voted on two-and-a-half years ago.

Well, I guess you never know but I at least now accept what the current state of things is.

I can’t blame OBS; it is free/cheap software and if I want more from it than it can offer then I can pay for one of the alternatives.

 

[Talonis]

I got around this in the end by using software audio cables and the OBS Studio audio source delay feature to sync between audio and video signals at the point of streaming. It works.

This ignores an effective mix minus but I set up some button logic to switch Mac audio on/off automatically when needed.

Not ideal but serviceable for purpose.