Pixelation won't go away

[cyberninjaTF2]

No matter what settings i change, the image is still pixelated and it only goes back to normal if i Alt+Tab.
My GPU usage doesn't go beyond 40% on MSI Afterburner but i'm still getting 1.9% Rendering Lag with NVENC and 1.9% Encoder Overload on x264, even when my CPU usage is smaller than 55% on MSI Afterburner. Limiting my FPS to 120 is inviable because Team Fortress 2 always stutters.

I5 9600KF @4.7GHz
GTX 970 Mini 3.5Gb VRAM
16gb RAM @3500 MHz

Here's a log of two recordings: one saved as mp4 and the other as flv.

https://obsproject.com/logs/-_vnXuDFnhcAdpwJ

Thanks in advance.

*I thought i fixed this issue on my last thread but only after comparing screenshots side-by-side i realized that it still persists. I reported my profile and the thread asking mods not to make it public and unfortunately i don't have permission to delete it.

 

[Harold]

If you're recording, you should not be using your streaming encoder settings at all, and you should not be using CBR as your rate control while recording.

 

[cyberninjaTF2]

If you're recording, you should not be using your streaming encoder settings at all, and you should not be using CBR as your rate control while recording.

I set the encoder as "(use stream encoder)" but sadly the problem perseveres.
Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/UdsYu69chzlfu-1u

I tried saving as .flv after that but the image is still blurry.

https://obsproject.com/logs/ToTkPoncz-YOkXBu

 

[cyberninjaTF2]

Pardon my ignorance but is there a way not to use my stream enconder settings while recording?

I tried changing the streaming enconder to VBR max 5.000 Kbp/s (1.000Kbp/s less than before) but the image still gets heavily pixelated except when i Alt+Tab. I also saved in the .flv format.
Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/ubnQpBOfsnPLAq5K

 

[Harold]

Lower bitrate is going to make pixelation worse, not better, and streaming services do NOT like VBR feeds for streaming.

Set your recording encoder to use CQP or CRF rate control with a CQP/CRF level between 14 and 22
Save to MKV.

 

[cyberninjaTF2]

Setting the Rate Control to CQP and 20 CQ Level seemed to fix the pixelation on my recordings, thank you.
Unfortunately my stream still looks heavily pixelated from time to time.

Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/9KY8pZeOZ1Xb8Fvy (i didn't run OBS as admin)

 

[Harold]

There's nothing you're really going to be able to do to solve the pixelation on stream due to limited bitrate

 

[cyberninjaTF2]

There's nothing you're really going to be able to do to solve the pixelation on stream due to limited bitrate

Even if i'm using the same Rate Control and CQ Level as my recordings? (CQP - 20)
Thanks for your time, Harold.
I think i'll try migrating to Youtube.

 

[cyberninjaTF2]

I streamed at 30.000Kbp/s on Youtube but the problem is considerably worst.
Log: https://obsproject.com/logs/F77gfAqHHimIIIw-

 

[cyberninjaTF2]

SOLUTION: I'm sorry for bumping this thread again but apparently Youtube's compression is horrible below 1440p.
Streaming on Twitch at 6.000kbp/s with Rate Control to CQP and 14 CQ Level fixed the problem entirely. Thank you again, Harold, you're an absolute hero.

https://obsproject.com/logs/w5NQcVxq7k37kGfy