Question / Help Problems streaming Steam library

[Aelwrath]

Hey guys, I just started tinkering with OBS yesterday, and almost everything is working well. The one issue I can't seem to resolve involves my Steam library/store/whatever. I can broadcast games just fine so far, but I've had an extremely difficult time getting the actual Steam program to stream.


Basically I'm looking to be able to stream my Steam library so viewers can suggest games for me to play. I've tried Game Capture (it seemed to work ONCE when Steam was in Big Picture mode, haven't been able to get it working again), but it doesn't show anything whether I select Steam from the drop-down menu or I try to select the Steam window with a hotkey.


Has anyone had any issues specifically with Steam? I can't think of any reason other programs would display fine but Steam is giving me such a hard time.


Appreciate any help you may be able to give!

 

[Kharay]

One sure-fire way to capture it would be to simply capture everything you're doing, using Monitor Capture. If you're on Windows 7, make sure to disable Aero when doing this though. Performance-wise, Aero has a negative effect on Monitor Capture in Windows 7.

 

[Aelwrath]

I should have clarified that I don't find Monitor Capture to be an acceptable solution. I'd prefer not to have to tiptoe around passwords/private info while using Monitor Capture.

 

[dodgepong]

The Steam window can't be captured with Game capture. You have to capture it with Window capture or Monitor capture. What kinds of passwords/private info are you afraid of sharing?

 

[Kharay]

I should have clarified that I don't find Monitor Capture to be an acceptable solution. I'd prefer not to have to tiptoe around passwords/private info while using Monitor Capture.

Finally, someone with a good head on their shoulders. Personally, I would not dream of using Monitor Capture either. I just suggested it because Steam is a bit of a peculiar beast that may in fact not be properly capturable in any other way.

 

[Aelwrath]

The Steam window can't be captured with Game capture. You have to capture it with Window capture or Monitor capture. What kinds of passwords/private info are you afraid of sharing?

Ummm, I don't know how to say this without sounding sarcastic, but, all of it?

It just seems much more manageable to display just the Steam library window rather than my monitor. It's all good if it isn't possible, but I'm fairly certain I did somehow get it to work with Game Capture at least once (in Steam's "Big Picture" mode). Have no idea how to replicate it though, so I could have been mistaken. Definitely was NOT using Monitor Capture during that time, though.


Anyway, thanks for the timely reply, dodgepong!


p.s. - I do have one other question that I might as well ask while you're here. I recently tried streaming the older game Jedi Academy, and as soon as I'd start streaming (or previewing) I'd experience horrible framerate lag in-game. I've successfully streamed games with much higher system requirements, so I can't imagine it's an issue involving resource usage.


I don't expect you to be able to magically solve my problem or hold my hand through any troubleshooting, but if you could point me in a direction to get started with this issue I'd greatly appreciate it!


Thanks,

Aelwrath

 

[Kharay]

Which capture method did you use to capture it? And would you happen to have a log of that particular session? If not, could you try again to generate a logfile... just to see what's going on as far as OBS is concerned.

 

[Aelwrath]

Hey I BELIEVE this is the log of that session. First time accessing the logs though, so I'm really not sure.

Spoiler

21:19:59: =====Stream Start: 2013-08-25, 21:19:59===============================================
21:19:59: Multithreaded optimizations: On
21:19:59: Base resolution: 1600x900
21:19:59: Output resolution: 1280x720
21:19:59: ------------------------------------------
21:19:59: Loading up D3D10 on Intel(R) HD Graphics Family...
21:19:59: Playback device Default
21:19:59: ------------------------------------------
21:19:59: Using desktop audio input: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
21:19:59: ------------------------------------------
21:19:59: Using auxilary audio input: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
21:19:59: ------------------------------------------
21:19:59: Audio Encoding: AAC
21:19:59: bitrate: 160
21:19:59: Using text output
21:19:59: ------------------------------------------
21:19:59: device: Integrated Webcam,
21:19:59: device id \\?\usb#vid_1bcf&pid_2881&mi_00#7&113e7dfa&0&0000#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global,
21:19:59: chosen type: YUY2, usingFourCC: false, res: 1280x720 - 1280x720, frameIntervals: 1333333-1333333, fourCC: 'YUY2'
21:19:59: audio device: Disable,
21:19:59: audio device id Disabled,
21:19:59:
21:19:59: Using directshow input
21:19:59: Using text output
21:19:59: Using graphics capture
21:19:59: ------------------------------------------
21:19:59: Video Encoding: x264
21:19:59: fps: 30
21:19:59: width: 1280, height: 720
21:19:59: preset: veryfast
21:19:59: CBR: yes
21:19:59: CFR: no
21:19:59: max bitrate: 1200
21:19:59: ------------------------------------------
21:19:59: MMDeviceAudioSource: Frequency for device 'Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)' is 384000, samples per sec is 48000
21:19:59: MMDeviceAudioSource: Frequency for device 'Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)' is 352800, samples per sec is 44100
21:19:59: SharedTexCapture hooked
21:20:01: Using RTMP service: Twitch / Justin.tv
21:20:01: Server selection: rtmp://live-jfk.justin.tv/app
21:20:01: Interface: Intel(R) Centrino(R) Wireless-N 1030 (802.11, 72 mbps)
21:20:03: SO_SNDBUF was at 8192
21:20:03: SO_SNDBUF is now 65536
21:20:04: RTMPPublisher::Socketloop: Increasing send buffer to ISB 131072 (buffer: 0 / 174080)
21:20:06: RTMPPublisher::Socketloop: Increasing send buffer to ISB 262144 (buffer: 0 / 174080)
21:24:31: RTMPPublisher::Socketloop: Increasing send buffer to ISB 524288 (buffer: 0 / 174080)
21:28:35: Total frames rendered: 15364, number of late frames: 283 (1.84%) (it's okay for some frames to be late)
21:28:36: RTMPPublisher::SocketLoop: Graceful loop exit
21:28:36: Number of times waited to send: 0, Waited for a total of 0 bytes
21:28:36: Number of b-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Number of p-frames dropped: 0 (0%), Total 0 (0%)
21:28:36:
21:28:36: Profiler results:
21:28:36:
21:28:36: ==============================================================
21:28:36: frame - [100%] [avg time: 8.837 ms (cpu time: avg 5.955 ms, total 91494.6 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 99.8%] [unaccounted: 0.158%]
21:28:36: | frame preprocessing and rendering - [32.4%] [avg time: 2.86 ms (cpu time: avg 2.236 ms, total 34367 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 9.69%] [unaccounted: 22.7%]
21:28:36: | | scene->Preprocess - [9.69%] [avg time: 0.856 ms (cpu time: avg 0.705 ms, total 10842.1 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
21:28:36: | video encoding and uploading - [67.5%] [avg time: 5.963 ms (cpu time: avg 3.712 ms, total 57034 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1] [children: 64.1%] [unaccounted: 3.38%]
21:28:36: | | flush - [5.78%] [avg time: 0.511 ms (cpu time: avg 0.256 ms, total 3946.83 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 1]
21:28:36: | | CopyResource - [3.13%] [avg time: 0.277 ms (cpu time: avg 0.192 ms, total 2964.02 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
21:28:36: | | conversion to 4:2:0 - [3.56%] [avg time: 0.315 ms (cpu time: avg 0.006 ms, total 93.602 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
21:28:36: | | call to encoder - [50.1%] [avg time: 4.426 ms (cpu time: avg 3.174 ms, total 48765.9 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
21:28:36: | | sending stuff out - [1.53%] [avg time: 0.135 ms (cpu time: avg 0.034 ms, total 530.403 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
21:28:36: | Convert444Threads - [379%] [avg time: 33.531 ms (cpu time: avg 2.366 ms, total 36363.8 ms)] [avg calls per frame: 0]
21:28:36: ==============================================================
21:28:36:
21:28:36: =====Stream End: 2013-08-25, 21:28:36=================================================

 

[dodgepong]

The Steam window can't be captured with Game capture. You have to capture it with Window capture or Monitor capture. What kinds of passwords/private info are you afraid of sharing?

Ummm, I don't know how to say this without sounding sarcastic, but, all of it?

I guess what I was trying to understand was what you might be showing on screen...when I play games, I don't do a lot of password typing, and even the games that require a password, it's ***'d out. Maybe if the login was an email or something, then sure, but the standard solution to that is to switch to another scene. Plus, if the logging in is done in a game window, then you're going to be streaming it anyway with game capture...I guess I was having a hard time imagining a scenario where the concerns you were expressing would arise. But whatever.

If you only want to capture the Steam window and nothing else, use Window capture with Aero enabled. That should only capture the Steam window, even if something is overlayed on top of it (as long as Steam isn't minimized).

 

[Kharay]

Well, take Blizzard for instance -- essentially all of their titles currently use your email address as an account name. Obviously, you could simply add a 2nd scene (on a hotkey) to quickly switch to when entering username/password but still...

 

[Aelwrath]

I guess what I was trying to understand was what you might be showing on screen...when I play games, I don't do a lot of password typing, and even the games that require a password, it's ***'d out. Maybe if the login was an email or something, then sure, but the standard solution to that is to switch to another scene. Plus, if the logging in is done in a game window, then you're going to be streaming it anyway with game capture...I guess I was having a hard time imagining a scenario where the concerns you were expressing would arise. But whatever.

Honestly, I kind of just think it looks terrible and unprofessional if I'm showing everything I'm doing. I'd also like to be able to chat with friends without displaying their name on twitch.

If you only want to capture the Steam window and nothing else, use Window capture with Aero enabled. That should only capture the Steam window, even if something is overlayed on top of it (as long as Steam isn't minimized).

This seems to work. Thanks a ton!