Recording Quality is slightly pixelated even on higher settings.

[Jade_Parade]

Hello all. I am very new to OBS, I am and trying to get it all set up to record gameplay and other programs. I am currently having a bit of trouble with the quality of my recordings. As far as I'm concerned, the quality isn't terrible, but it is noticeably more pixelated and rigid than my actual screen. I don't have I've tried changing as many settings as I can recognize, but so far nothing has really improved the quality to where it matches the actual quality of my monitor. Is there something I am missing? any help is appreciated.

URL for my log file: https://obsproject.com/logs/GyFppb6ds6MNEBQf

First image is a direct screenshot from the game, and the second image is a screenshot from the recording. It's especially noticeable on the smaller text, where you can see things look more rough and rigid.

 

[rockbottom]

The encodings only last about 2 seconds each so probably too short to verify if there's any rendering or encoding lag. Assuming there's not at any point, that's a good start. Here are some things that should improve your quality.

Change both of them. Game DVR can waste resource & since you're gaming...
11:09:38.250: Game DVR: On
11:09:38.250: Game Mode: Off

You're recording @ 120FPS, your main monitor should be running @ 120HZ to match. Your secondary monitor should be @ 60. Everything in the same timing. BTW, if you have v-sync enabled now on your system, it's not working but it will with the settings corrected.

Color Range was changed to Partial at the end of the log. That is the correct setting.

For your encoding settings, I would set your Key-Frame Interval to 2 Seconds. Preset P5 is recommended & since CQP is in play the Preset has nothing to do with quality, only the compression level. Quality is adjusted with the CQ Level, I stay in the 15-18 range for 1080p. Next, zero B Frames, they are the lowest quality frame type & they will be replaced with higher quality P frames. Also disable Lookahead & Visual Tuning.

Test but run your recording for a few minutes if you need more help.

 

[Jade_Parade]

The encodings only last about 2 seconds each so probably too short to verify if there's any rendering or encoding lag. Assuming there's not at any point, that's a good start. Here are some things that should improve your quality.

Change both of them. Game DVR can waste resource & since you're gaming...
11:09:38.250: Game DVR: On
11:09:38.250: Game Mode: Off

You're recording @ 120FPS, your main monitor should be running @ 120HZ to match. Your secondary monitor should be @ 60. Everything in the same timing. BTW, if you have v-sync enabled now on your system, it's not working but it will with the settings corrected.

Color Range was changed to Partial at the end of the log. That is the correct setting.

For your encoding settings, I would set your Key-Frame Interval to 2 Seconds. Preset P5 is recommended & since CQP is in play the Preset has nothing to do with quality, only the compression level. Quality is adjusted with the CQ Level, I stay in the 15-18 range for 1080p. Next, zero B Frames, they are the lowest quality frame type & they will be replaced with higher quality P frames. Also disable Lookahead & Visual Tuning.

Test but run your recording for a few minutes if you need more help.

That appeared to be the exact problem. It's been fixed. Thank you for the help!