Recording has frame drops and stuttering

[calet]

Hello,
I’m using OBS Studio 31.1.2 (via Steam) for game recording, but I’ve been experiencing stuttering and frame drops in my recorded videos.

This is my log file: https://obsproject.com/logs/6HXE5QwqCzUqrGus

Here’s my system setup:

• CPU: Intel i7-13700K
• GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super (using NVENC encoder)
• OS: Windows 11 23H2

I was playing Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (a well-optimized older game) while recording. Even though my GPU usage was around 50%, I still encountered noticeable stuttering. The issue seems to worsen over longer recording sessions.

I’ve included a MediaInfo screenshot below for additional details about the recording file. Hopefully, it can help diagnose the problem.

Please let me know if you need any further information or logs.

 

[rockbottom]

Audio lag seems to be your worst issue, there's next to no rendering lag. Try a different Media Player on those old recordings.
18:12:47.468: Output 'adv_file_output': Total drawn frames: 14492 (14496 attempted)
18:12:47.468: Output 'adv_file_output': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 4 (0.0%)
18:12:47.468: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 4/14494 (0.0%)

Turn Game Mode On
17:20:22.111: Game Mode: Off

Disable HDR, color should be 8-bit (NV12 is 8-bit)
17:20:23.077: name=VX2780-4K-hd
17:20:23.077: pos={0, 0}
17:20:23.077: size={3840, 2160}
17:20:23.077: attached=true
17:20:23.077: refresh=60
17:20:23.077: bits_per_color=10

Run OBS @ 60fps (Integer). Color Range should be Partial
17:20:23.190: video settings reset:
17:20:23.190: base resolution: 1920x1080
17:20:23.190: output resolution: 1920x1080
17:20:23.190: downscale filter: Bicubic
17:20:23.190: fps: 120/2
17:20:23.190: format: NV12
17:20:23.190: YUV mode: Rec. 709/Full

Fix your bugged Scene, only (1) Display, Game or Window capture per Scene to avoid potential interference.
17:20:24.273: Loaded scenes:
17:20:24.273: - scene '场景':
17:20:24.273: - source: 'wyy' (wasapi_process_output_capture)
17:20:24.273: - source: 'musicPlayer' (wasapi_process_output_capture)
17:20:24.273: [WASAPISource::TryInitialize]:[[VIRTUAL_AUDIO_DEVICE_PROCESS_LOOPBACK]] Failed to find window
17:20:24.273: - source: 'DSⅡ' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: WASAPI: Device '' failed to start (source: balatro (音频))
17:20:24.273: - source: 'Elden Ring' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: - source: 'inscryption' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: - source: '尘白禁区' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: - source: 'balatro' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: - source: '星露谷' (game_capture)

Keep an eye on the Audio Lag going forward, hopefully it improves after the changes are made.
18:08:13.351: Max audio buffering reached!
18:08:13.351: adding 960 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 960 milliseconds (source: 桌面音频)
18:08:13.351:
18:08:13.373: Source 桌面音频 audio is lagging (over by 195822.81 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
18:15:45.512: Source 桌面音频 audio is lagging (over by 50577.36 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
18:17:22.493: Source 桌面音频 audio is lagging (over by 10923.40 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.

Test

 

[calet]

Audio lag seems to be your worst issue, there's next to no rendering lag. Try a different Media Player on those old recordings.
18:12:47.468: Output 'adv_file_output': Total drawn frames: 14492 (14496 attempted)
18:12:47.468: Output 'adv_file_output': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 4 (0.0%)
18:12:47.468: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 4/14494 (0.0%)

Turn Game Mode On
17:20:22.111: Game Mode: Off

Disable HDR, color should be 8-bit (NV12 is 8-bit)
17:20:23.077: name=VX2780-4K-hd
17:20:23.077: pos={0, 0}
17:20:23.077: size={3840, 2160}
17:20:23.077: attached=true
17:20:23.077: refresh=60
17:20:23.077: bits_per_color=10

Run OBS @ 60fps (Integer). Color Range should be Partial
运行 OBS，设置为 60fps（整数）。颜色范围应为部分。
17:20:23.190: video settings reset:
17:20:23.190：视频设置已重置：
17:20:23.190: base resolution: 1920x1080
17:20:23.190： 基础分辨率：1920x1080
17:20:23.190: output resolution: 1920x1080
17:20:23.190： 输出分辨率：1920x1080
17:20:23.190: downscale filter: Bicubic
17:20:23.190： 缩放滤镜：双三次滤波
17:20:23.190: fps: 120/2
17:20:23.190： fps： 120/2
17:20:23.190: format: NV12
17:20:23.190：格式： NV12
17:20:23.190: YUV mode: Rec. 709/Full
17:20:23.190：YUV 模式：Rec. 709/全范围

Fix your bugged Scene, only (1) Display, Game or Window capture per Scene to avoid potential interference.
修复你出错的场景，每个场景只使用（1）个显示器、游戏或窗口捕获，以避免潜在干扰。
17:20:24.273: Loaded scenes:
17:20:24.273：已加载场景：
17:20:24.273: - scene '场景':
17:20:24.273: - source: 'wyy' (wasapi_process_output_capture)
17:20:24.273： - 来源：“wyy”（wasapi_process_output_capture）
17:20:24.273: - source: 'musicPlayer' (wasapi_process_output_capture)
17:20:24.273： - 来源：“musicPlayer”（wasapi_process_output_capture）
17:20:24.273: [WASAPISource::TryInitialize]:[[VIRTUAL_AUDIO_DEVICE_PROCESS_LOOPBACK]] Failed to find window
17:20:24.273：[WASAPISource::TryInitialize]：[[VIRTUAL_AUDIO_DEVICE_PROCESS_LOOPBACK]] 未能找到窗口
17:20:24.273: - source: 'DSⅡ' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: - 来源：'DSⅡ'（游戏捕获）
17:20:24.273: WASAPI: Device '' failed to start (source: balatro (音频))
17:20:24.273: WASAPI：设备 '' 启动失败（来源：balatro（音频））
17:20:24.273: - source: 'Elden Ring' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: - 来源：'Elden Ring'（游戏捕获）
17:20:24.273: - source: 'inscryption' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273: - 来源：'inscryption'（游戏捕获）
17:20:24.273: - source: '尘白禁区' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273： - 来源：‘尘白禁区’（游戏捕获）
17:20:24.273: - source: 'balatro' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273： - 来源：‘balatro’（游戏捕获）
17:20:24.273: - source: '星露谷' (game_capture)
17:20:24.273： - 来源：‘星露谷’（游戏捕获）

Keep an eye on the Audio Lag going forward, hopefully it improves after the changes are made.
接下来请继续关注音频延迟，希望在更改后有所改善。
18:08:13.351: Max audio buffering reached!
18:08:13.351：达到最大音频缓冲！
18:08:13.351: adding 960 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 960 milliseconds (source: 桌面音频)
18:08:13.351：增加 960 毫秒的音频缓冲，总音频缓冲现在为 960 毫秒（来源：桌面音频）
18:08:13.351:
18:08:13.373: Source 桌面音频 audio is lagging (over by 195822.81 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
18:08:13.373：来源 桌面音频 的音频延迟（超过 195822.81 毫秒）达到最大音频缓冲。正在重启音频来源。
18:15:45.512: Source 桌面音频 audio is lagging (over by 50577.36 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
18:15:45.512：来源 桌面音频 的音频延迟（超过 50577.36 毫秒）达到最大音频缓冲。正在重启音频来源。
18:17:22.493: Source 桌面音频 audio is lagging (over by 10923.40 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
18:17:22.493：源 桌面音频 音频延迟（超过 10923.40 毫秒）达到最大音频缓冲。正在重启源音频。

Test 测试

Thanks for your reply. The audio in my recording is fine—there's no clipping or latency, and the audio bitrate is all aligned. I'm not sure what else to try at this point.
Integer frame rate may be useful; I'll try it later when I have time. But I also have a couple more questions:
I don’t have HDR enabled, but since my monitor supports 10bpc, I set my graphics card to output a 10-bit signal.
(It seems most platforms don't support 10-bit color depth, so I don't plan on recording in 10-bit.)
Also, if I change the color range to Limited, will it make the colors look washed out?

This is my nvidia control panel settings.

 

[rockbottom]

Audio lag should be corrected.

8-bit is the correct setting when using OBS.

Nope but Full produces recordings that are way over-saturated. Ever see color bleeding?