OBS cannot capture Zoom window (and others)

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SalvaROCK

New Member
Hi everybody (and thanks in advance!)
I'm running OBS 26.1.2 and experiencing this problem. When I got to add my zoom as a source via display and window capture, i don't have the option for zoom. The same for some other windows (Keynote, etc...) that appear as "null" in the list of possible sources.
I have the same problem posted some months ago here: https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/zoom-null.128907/
Please, can anybody help??
I'm using a MacBook Retina 12-inch with macOS Catalina 10.15.7. Both the OBS and Zoom are last updated versions
Thanks so much!!
SalvaROCK
 
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SalvaROCK

New Member
Okay, I finally discovered what was the problem. It was all about the "permissions" of OBS. I didn't need to install any plugin, nothing. In my Mac I only had to go to settings>security & privacy>screen recording and activate the permission for OBS to capture other windows. And that was all. Now it works perfectly.
I hope this can help others!!
Best regards,
SalvaROCK
 
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NeilR

New Member
SalvaROCK said:
Okay, I finally discovered what was the problem. It was all about the "permissions" of OBS. I didn't need to install any plugin, nothing. In my Mac I only had to go to settings>security & privacy>screen recording and activate the permission for OBS to capture other windows. And that was all. Now it works perfectly.
I hope this can help others!!
Best regards,
SalvaROCK
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks for the hint. I looked at my Privacy settings and OBS is checked. Interestingly, this feature used to work (I used it to 'capture' a Zoom session) but it mysteriously stopped working on both my Macbook running MacOS Catalina 10.15.7 and my iMac running MacOS High Sierra 10.13.6 - I'm running OBS 26.1.2 with all latest updates. The only thing I can think of that has changed is that I installed the audio monitor update BUT I believe that that was ONLY on the iMac. Has anyone else experienced the same issue and have any suggestions? many thanks
 
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michaelshaw

New Member
I'm thinking it's the Mac OS version. I'm having the problem with OBS 26.1.2 on a MacBook Pro with Big Sur, but 26.1.2 works fine on a Mac Mini with Mojave. As a further clue, Mojave's Security & Privacy settings do not include Screen Recordings as a controllable activity. Big Sur has Screen Recordings and OBS is checked to allow use, but the only options available under Window Capture are two Dock images (Desktop Picture and Fullscreen Backdrop), OBS itself, and Window Servers for the Cursor and Desktop.
 
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NeilR

New Member
That's exactly what I see. I have un-installed OBS 26.1.2 from my MacBook Pro running Catalina 10.15.7 and then re-installed it. When I do this, Window Capture works for about 10 mins...and then stops working and reverts back to only showing OBS, [Dock] and [Window Server] Desktop as options. I have even tried checking & unchecking OBS in Privacy-Screen-Recordings and that hasn't changed anything.
 
Highend

Highend

New Member
there is a setting in zoom to hide from window sharing, it could be messing with things as recording, I had issues and turned that off and now is everything fine. But I don't have hard proof. You can always use zoomOSC, never had issues with that on the first place.
 
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michaelshaw

New Member
I seem to have it working now, longer than the "ten minutes" mentioned above. Here's what I did:

1. Go to System Prefs/Security & Privacy/Privacy, and disable Screen Recording for OBS (This step and the final step may not be necessary, just reporting what I did).
2. Delete the OBS application.
3. Delete the folder /Library/Application Support/obs-studio. (if you need help with finding this, see the video at

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com

4. Empty the trash.
5. Re-install OBS
6. Re-enable Screen Recording for OBS as outlined in step 1. (Again, may not be necessary, did not have time to A/B test.)
 
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NeilR

New Member
Hey guys, just to let you know that it seems to be working now on my MacBook Pro Catalina system. I still have issues on my iMac (High Sierra) BUT I can live with that.

(I now have a problem with my fan coming on when I'm running OBS and Zoom together but that's for another thread).

Many thanks for your help and suggestions.
 
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ccclapp

New Member
I had the same issue on a Win10 PC. I solved it by changing settings on the OBS Source (the "Window Capture" source) as follows...

-- Under "Capture Method" change from "Automatic" to "Windows 10 1903 and up"

After that , it worked fine in Zoom
 
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