Bug Report OBS sometimes doesn't create output file, can't stop recording.

[Draconicrose]

OS: Linux Mint 19
OBS: 22.0.2
Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/oFHibO4wXNsJPMgq

This isn't something that happens 100% of the time but it does happen only slightly less than half the times. When I press Start Recording, or use my global hotkey to do it, OBS doesn't actually start creating the output file. The interface will say Recording and the time elapsed will tick, but if I go to the folder where I've set my files to output there will be no new file. When this happens, if I press Stop Recording or use the global hotkey, OBS will be stuck in Stopping Recording, with the time elapsing, without ever exiting. In fact, the only way to stop and exit OBS is to kill the process. This does not cause OBS to generate the file and whatever I recorded is now lost.

It doesn't look like OBS is actually throwing an error. The last 'start recording' on the log file is the only that borked and as far as the log says the file creation went just fine. Yet there was no file.

 

[SpectreKid]

OS: Linux Mint 19
OBS: 22.0.2
Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/oFHibO4wXNsJPMgq

This isn't something that happens 100% of the time but it does happen only slightly less than half the times. When I press Start Recording, or use my global hotkey to do it, OBS doesn't actually start creating the output file. The interface will say Recording and the time elapsed will tick, but if I go to the folder where I've set my files to output there will be no new file. When this happens, if I press Stop Recording or use the global hotkey, OBS will be stuck in Stopping Recording, with the time elapsing, without ever exiting. In fact, the only way to stop and exit OBS is to kill the process. This does not cause OBS to generate the file and whatever I recorded is now lost.

It doesn't look like OBS is actually throwing an error. The last 'start recording' on the log file is the only that borked and as far as the log says the file creation went just fine. Yet there was no file.

If that’s happening, it’s because of you bottlenecking your system. It’s unable to process your command to stop the recording, so you are stuck in a “stop recording screen of death” screen.

In order to counter this, try not to bottleneck your system. As I read your log, I see signs of a suffering system. Your CPU are not capable of pushing out your quality or bitrate.

Try NVENC, or QSV, if available, or any hardware encoder, and try to avoid x264. x264 eats your CPU, and often ruining your performance.

In order to help further, I would need your specs. If your CPU is suffering, I need to know more about your CPU to understand the issue.

 

[Draconicrose]

If that’s happening, it’s because of you bottlenecking your system. It’s unable to process your command to stop the recording, so you are stuck in a “stop recording screen of death” screen.

In order to counter this, try not to bottleneck your system. As I read your log, I see signs of a suffering system. Your CPU are not capable of pushing out your quality or bitrate.

Try NVENC, or QSV, if available, or any hardware encoder, and try to avoid x264. x264 eats your CPU, and often ruining your performance.

In order to help further, I would need your specs. If your CPU is suffering, I need to know more about your CPU to understand the issue.

I'm on mobile so I can't add my specs yet, but I don't believe this is fully the case. I record both on windows and Linux and have never encountered this on Windows, despite recording even more demanding games on Windows.

I often also notice OBS didn't create the output file as soon as I press record so what I do is kill OBS (because it would get stuck), restart it, and press record again. This time it immediately creates the output file and so the recording will proceed normally.

Edit:

I'm using NVENC with a video Bitrate of 2500 (chosen by OBS's auto-setup wizard). My computer specs are: https://dpaste.de/7szK

 

[Draconicrose]

Months later I've replaced most of the components in my computer, done multiple fresh OS reinstalls, and OBS still does this.

 

[Tuna]

Sounds like some function is deadlocking for some reason. Ideally you can provide a GDB stack trace of that happening.

 

[Draconicrose]

Sounds like some function is deadlocking for some reason. Ideally you can provide a GDB stack trace of that happening.

Never heard of it. How do I do this for OBS?

 

[Phantomime]

Hello,

I don't know if the OP still needs help, but I want to respond for their sake and/or anyone else with this problem.

I was having the same problem for the longest time. Of the following reasons, I discovered that it was caused mostly by the former:

1. Recording with any of the variable bitrate settings
-- I switched to Constant Rate Factor (CRF) personally, but Constant Bit-Rate (CBR) also worked. When selecting Automatic Bit-Rate (ABR) or Variable Bit-Rate (VBR), I frequently got stuck on 'recording' with no file created.

2. Using a color format other than NV12
-- for some reason, this could also occasionally cause it.

After testing all different combinations, I found that CBR or CRF with NV12 made it stop completely. Let me know if it works for any of you that try this.

(Anecdotally, I'd really like to know why this would happen when recording with I420, RGB, or I444, especially since I didn't mismatch my color spaces.)