Smarter Replay Buffer Options?

FAT9L · May 14, 2022

I've done some research and poked around in my settings/plugins, and can't seem to find a way to do what I'm trying to accomplish. For context, I have my replay buffer running all the time, complete with a hotkey and OBS automatically starting minimized at login. This makes it behave essentially the same as a program like Shadowplay. Very convenient, especially with the NVENC encoder. It also performs slightly better than constantly recording, and avoids wasting disk space. No problems or complaints with that.

The issue I'm running into is that I want the replay buffer to not capture redundant footage, if I grab multiple clips from the same "session" (don't know a better term). For example, here's a generic example of how it currently behaves:

00:00:00 - The replay buffer starts, and is recording 5 minutes of footage at a time.
00:06:00 - I press my "save recording" hotkey, which captures 5 minutes (00:01:00 - 00:06:00)
00:07:00 - I hit the hotkey again, which captures 5:00 minutes (00:02:00 - 00:07:00)
00:13:00 - I hit the hotkey again, which captures 5:00 minutes (00:08:00 - 00:13:00)

Here's what I would like to happen instead:

00:00:00 - The replay buffer starts, and is recording 5 minutes of footage at a time.
00:06:00 - I press my "save recording" hotkey, which captures 5:00 minutes (00:01:00 - 00:06:00)
00:07:00 - I hit the hotkey again, which captures ≤ 5 minutes, depending on whether or not I have recently saved a recording. Ideally this would still have a bit of padding on the leading end, let's say 30 seconds (~00:05:30 - 00:07:00 [starting from 00:06:00, minus the 30 second padding])
00:13:00 - I hit the hotkey again, which captures ≤ 5 minutes (00:08:00 - 00:13:00)

Hopefully this makes sense.

I cannot seem to find a way to make this happen. It cuts down on my workflow efficiency when editing later on, due to having redundant footage that I have to skip through an arbitrary amount to find something new. This also consumes more storage space (not a huge concern for me, but annoying), and seems like it would be more efficient than repeatedly encoding/saving part of the replay buffer unnecessarily.

Thoughts, ideas, workarounds, plugins? Anything would help. Thank you in advance.

FAT9L · May 14, 2022

For what it's worth, I know that Advanced Scene Switcher supports macros to enable/disable the replay buffer, however I don't think that constantly stopping and restarting it every time I save a recording is the best option. I'd guess that it might cause issues as well, or miss parts of recordings between when it's stopped and started.

Tomasz Góral · May 15, 2022

OBS don’t remember time of last saving replays.
Replays buffer is circullay, new data arrive, old data is removed.

You need somethings who after save clear replays buffers.
Now i see solution in macro, maybe in future, someone add options to clear buffer after save.

KillianM · Jul 13, 2022

Bump - @FAT9L Are you still utilising Advanced Scene Switcher for this purpose? Looking to set this up myself as I also do not like the overlap in recordings.

FAT9L · Jul 16, 2022

KillianM said:
Bump - @FAT9L Are you still utilising Advanced Scene Switcher for this purpose? Looking to set this up myself as I also do not like the overlap in recordings.

I have not yet found a decent workaround or a way to make it happen.

I've poked around in a few different tools, done extensive research, and tried every possible thing I can think of, short of creating my own plugin. Nothing seems to be right for my use case.

FAT9L · Jul 16, 2022

KillianM said:
Bump - @FAT9L Are you still utilising Advanced Scene Switcher for this purpose? Looking to set this up myself as I also do not like the overlap in recordings.

@KillianM
As I think you've already seen, this was fixed with the latest release shown here:

Advanced Scene Switcher

Ugh, I see it's all macros now. That's cool, I can recreate the sequence. But I previously imported a sequence and it's running, and I can't see where to clear that all out. How do I reset advanced scene switcher to clear the config? thank you

obsproject.com

There is still the slight problem that you lose a couple of seconds between recordings, however I'm willing to accept that tradeoff. Best of luck.

anthonybaldwin · Dec 9, 2022

I was looking into this myself and found this thread. While there is probably a simple way to do the same or smarter with a Lua script, I'm using my Elgato Stream Deck and the OBS plugin w/in a multi action key to reset the buffer. The key simply saves buffer, waits, stops buffer, waits, then starts the buffer again.

OBS Studio: Replay Buffer Save
Delay (2000ms)
OBS Studio: Replay Buffer (Stop)
Delay (2000ms)
OBS Studio: Replay Buffer (Start)

Note: 1000ms also does the trick, but not including a delay did not. I'm erring on the side of caution with 2000ms.

HAMODE3389 · Jun 17, 2024

anthonybaldwin said:
I was looking into this myself and found this thread. While there is probably a simple way to do the same or smarter with a Lua script, I'm using my Elgato Stream Deck and the OBS plugin w/in a multi action key to reset the buffer. The key simply saves buffer, waits, stops buffer, waits, then starts the buffer again.

OBS Studio: Replay Buffer Save

Delay (2000ms)

OBS Studio: Replay Buffer (Stop)

Delay (2000ms)

OBS Studio: Replay Buffer (Start)

Note: 1000ms also does the trick, but not including a delay did not. I'm erring on the side of caution with 2000ms.

View attachment 89573

Lua:

obs = obslua

function script_description()
    return "Stops and re-enables replay buffer when a replay is saved."
end

function script_load(settings)
    obs.obs_frontend_add_event_callback(on_event)
end

function on_event(event)
    if event == obs.OBS_FRONTEND_EVENT_REPLAY_BUFFER_SAVED then
        toggle_replay_buffer()
    end
end

function toggle_replay_buffer()
    local replay_buffer_active = obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_active()
   
    if replay_buffer_active then
        obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_stop()
        obs.timer_add(start_replay_buffer, 2000)  -- Re-enable after 2 second
    end
end

function start_replay_buffer()
    obs.timer_remove(start_replay_buffer)
    obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_start()
end

Credit: ChatGPT

mee · Jul 11, 2024

Until the much-requested smarter replay buffer without overlap/waste gets implemented, one can "hack it" with Advanced Scene Switcher macros. The disadvantage is that you can potentially lose about 1 second of footage *after* every replay save (aka the time OBS takes to clumsily stop&restart the buffer)

1. install the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/advanced-scene-switcher.395/
2. Tools -> Advanced Scene Switcher -> Macro -> right click the Macros menu on the left -> Import -> paste the code -> OK

JSON:

{
	"macros": [{
		"name": "replay-anti-overlap",
		"pause": false,
		"parallel": false,
		"onChange": true,
		"skipExecOnStart": false,
		"stopActionsIfNotDone": false,
		"group": true,
		"groupData": {
			"collapsed": false,
			"size": 2
		}
	}, {
		"name": "part1",
		"pause": false,
		"parallel": false,
		"onChange": false,
		"skipExecOnStart": false,
		"stopActionsIfNotDone": false,
		"group": false,
		"dockSettings": {
			"register": false,
			"hasRunButton": true,
			"hasPauseButton": true,
			"hasStatusLabel": false,
			"highlightIfConditionsTrue": false,
			"runButtonText": "Run",
			"pauseButtonText": "Pause",
			"unpauseButtonText": "Unpause",
			"conditionsTrueStatusText": "Conditions are true.",
			"conditionsFalseStatusText": "Conditions are false."
		},
		"macroActionConditionSplitterPosition": [{
			"pos": 210
		}, {
			"pos": 210
		}],
		"macroElseActionSplitterPosition": [{
			"pos": 172
		}, {
			"pos": 0
		}],
		"registerHotkeys": false,
		"pauseHotkey": [],
		"unpauseHotkey": [],
		"togglePauseHotkey": [],
		"conditions": [{
			"segmentSettings": {
				"collapsed": false,
				"useCustomLabel": false,
				"customLabel": "My label"
			},
			"id": "replay_buffer",
			"logic": 0,
			"durationModifier": {
				"time_constraint": 0,
				"seconds": {
					"value": {
						"value": 1.0,
						"type": 0
					},
					"unit": 0,
					"version": 1
				}
			},
			"state": 2
		}],
		"actions": [{
			"segmentSettings": {
				"collapsed": false,
				"useCustomLabel": false,
				"customLabel": "My label"
			},
			"id": "replay_buffer",
			"enabled": true,
			"action": 0
		}],
		"elseActions": [],
		"inputVariables": []
	}, {
		"name": "part2",
		"pause": false,
		"parallel": false,
		"onChange": false,
		"skipExecOnStart": false,
		"stopActionsIfNotDone": false,
		"group": false,
		"dockSettings": {
			"register": false,
			"hasRunButton": true,
			"hasPauseButton": true,
			"hasStatusLabel": false,
			"highlightIfConditionsTrue": false,
			"runButtonText": "Run",
			"pauseButtonText": "Pause",
			"unpauseButtonText": "Unpause",
			"conditionsTrueStatusText": "Conditions are true.",
			"conditionsFalseStatusText": "Conditions are false."
		},
		"macroActionConditionSplitterPosition": [{
			"pos": 210
		}, {
			"pos": 210
		}],
		"macroElseActionSplitterPosition": [{
			"pos": 172
		}, {
			"pos": 0
		}],
		"registerHotkeys": false,
		"pauseHotkey": [],
		"unpauseHotkey": [],
		"togglePauseHotkey": [],
		"conditions": [{
			"segmentSettings": {
				"collapsed": false,
				"useCustomLabel": false,
				"customLabel": "My label"
			},
			"id": "macro",
			"logic": 0,
			"durationModifier": {
				"time_constraint": 4,
				"seconds": {
					"value": {
						"value": 1.0,
						"type": 0
					},
					"unit": 0,
					"version": 1
				}
			},
			"macros": [],
			"macro": "part1",
			"type": 1,
			"condition": 0,
			"count": {
				"value": 0,
				"type": 0
			},
			"multiStateCount": {
				"value": 0,
				"type": 0
			},
			"multiStateCondition": 2,
			"actionIndex": {
				"value": 1,
				"type": 0
			},
			"version": 1
		}],
		"actions": [{
			"segmentSettings": {
				"collapsed": false,
				"useCustomLabel": false,
				"customLabel": "My label"
			},
			"id": "replay_buffer",
			"enabled": true,
			"action": 1
		}],
		"elseActions": [],
		"inputVariables": []
	}],
	"variables": [],
	"actionQueues": [],
	"version": "1.26.4"
}

This macro is a bit more reliable than the more barebones ones that wait for a fixed number of milliseconds, because by being slightly faster it tries to waste as little footage as possible

KillianM · Mar 29, 2025

mee said:

Until the much-requested smarter replay buffer without overlap/waste gets implemented, one can "hack it" with Advanced Scene Switcher macros. The disadvantage is that you can potentially lose about 1 second of footage *after* every replay save (aka the time OBS takes to clumsily stop&restart the buffer)

1. install the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/advanced-scene-switcher.395/
2. Tools -> Advanced Scene Switcher -> Macro -> right click the Macros menu on the left -> Import -> paste the code -> OK

JSON:

{
    "macros": [{
        "name": "replay-anti-overlap",
        "pause": false,
        "parallel": false,
        "onChange": true,
        "skipExecOnStart": false,
        "stopActionsIfNotDone": false,
        "group": true,
        "groupData": {
            "collapsed": false,
            "size": 2
        }
    }, {
        "name": "part1",
        "pause": false,
        "parallel": false,
        "onChange": false,
        "skipExecOnStart": false,
        "stopActionsIfNotDone": false,
        "group": false,
        "dockSettings": {
            "register": false,
            "hasRunButton": true,
            "hasPauseButton": true,
            "hasStatusLabel": false,
            "highlightIfConditionsTrue": false,
            "runButtonText": "Run",
            "pauseButtonText": "Pause",
            "unpauseButtonText": "Unpause",
            "conditionsTrueStatusText": "Conditions are true.",
            "conditionsFalseStatusText": "Conditions are false."
        },
        "macroActionConditionSplitterPosition": [{
            "pos": 210
        }, {
            "pos": 210
        }],
        "macroElseActionSplitterPosition": [{
            "pos": 172
        }, {
            "pos": 0
        }],
        "registerHotkeys": false,
        "pauseHotkey": [],
        "unpauseHotkey": [],
        "togglePauseHotkey": [],
        "conditions": [{
            "segmentSettings": {
                "collapsed": false,
                "useCustomLabel": false,
                "customLabel": "My label"
            },
            "id": "replay_buffer",
            "logic": 0,
            "durationModifier": {
                "time_constraint": 0,
                "seconds": {
                    "value": {
                        "value": 1.0,
                        "type": 0
                    },
                    "unit": 0,
                    "version": 1
                }
            },
            "state": 2
        }],
        "actions": [{
            "segmentSettings": {
                "collapsed": false,
                "useCustomLabel": false,
                "customLabel": "My label"
            },
            "id": "replay_buffer",
            "enabled": true,
            "action": 0
        }],
        "elseActions": [],
        "inputVariables": []
    }, {
        "name": "part2",
        "pause": false,
        "parallel": false,
        "onChange": false,
        "skipExecOnStart": false,
        "stopActionsIfNotDone": false,
        "group": false,
        "dockSettings": {
            "register": false,
            "hasRunButton": true,
            "hasPauseButton": true,
            "hasStatusLabel": false,
            "highlightIfConditionsTrue": false,
            "runButtonText": "Run",
            "pauseButtonText": "Pause",
            "unpauseButtonText": "Unpause",
            "conditionsTrueStatusText": "Conditions are true.",
            "conditionsFalseStatusText": "Conditions are false."
        },
        "macroActionConditionSplitterPosition": [{
            "pos": 210
        }, {
            "pos": 210
        }],
        "macroElseActionSplitterPosition": [{
            "pos": 172
        }, {
            "pos": 0
        }],
        "registerHotkeys": false,
        "pauseHotkey": [],
        "unpauseHotkey": [],
        "togglePauseHotkey": [],
        "conditions": [{
            "segmentSettings": {
                "collapsed": false,
                "useCustomLabel": false,
                "customLabel": "My label"
            },
            "id": "macro",
            "logic": 0,
            "durationModifier": {
                "time_constraint": 4,
                "seconds": {
                    "value": {
                        "value": 1.0,
                        "type": 0
                    },
                    "unit": 0,
                    "version": 1
                }
            },
            "macros": [],
            "macro": "part1",
            "type": 1,
            "condition": 0,
            "count": {
                "value": 0,
                "type": 0
            },
            "multiStateCount": {
                "value": 0,
                "type": 0
            },
            "multiStateCondition": 2,
            "actionIndex": {
                "value": 1,
                "type": 0
            },
            "version": 1
        }],
        "actions": [{
            "segmentSettings": {
                "collapsed": false,
                "useCustomLabel": false,
                "customLabel": "My label"
            },
            "id": "replay_buffer",
            "enabled": true,
            "action": 1
        }],
        "elseActions": [],
        "inputVariables": []
    }],
    "variables": [],
    "actionQueues": [],
    "version": "1.26.4"
}

This macro is a bit more reliable than the more barebones ones that wait for a fixed number of milliseconds, because by being slightly faster it tries to waste as little footage as possible

I had to reset things up and stumbled back on this thread. This is working like a charm (so far) for me. Thanks very much!

Suslik V · Mar 30, 2025

Similar functionality with Python script (".py") for OBS:

OBS Python - Smart Replays

Smart Replays Smart Replays is a python OBS script whose main purpose is to save clips with different names and to separate folders depending on the application being recorded (imitating NVIDIA Shadow Play functionality). This script also has...

obsproject.com

HAMODE3389 · Apr 1, 2025

HAMODE3389 said:

Lua:

obs = obslua

function script_description()
    return "Stops and re-enables replay buffer when a replay is saved."
end

function script_load(settings)
    obs.obs_frontend_add_event_callback(on_event)
end

function on_event(event)
    if event == obs.OBS_FRONTEND_EVENT_REPLAY_BUFFER_SAVED then
        toggle_replay_buffer()
    end
end

function toggle_replay_buffer()
    local replay_buffer_active = obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_active()
  
    if replay_buffer_active then
        obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_stop()
        obs.timer_add(start_replay_buffer, 2000)  -- Re-enable after 2 second
    end
end

function start_replay_buffer()
    obs.timer_remove(start_replay_buffer)
    obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_start()
end

Credit: ChatGPT

Even though it’s been a while since I first shared this script, I’ve since improved it and have been using the updated version. Here’s the improved script:

Lua:

obs = obslua

SETTING_ENABLED = "enabled"

enabled = true

function script_description()
    return "Replay Buffer Always On."
end

function script_properties()
    local props = obs.obs_properties_create()
    obs.obs_properties_add_bool(props, SETTING_ENABLED, "AlwaysOn")
    return props
end

function script_load(settings)
    enabled = obs.obs_data_get_bool(settings, SETTING_ENABLED)
    obs.obs_frontend_add_event_callback(on_event)
    obs.timer_add(ensure_replay_buffer_active, 1000)  -- Check every 1 second
end

function script_update(settings)
    enabled = obs.obs_data_get_bool(settings, SETTING_ENABLED)
end

function on_event(event)
    if event == obs.OBS_FRONTEND_EVENT_EXIT then
        obs.timer_remove(ensure_replay_buffer_active)
    elseif event == obs.OBS_FRONTEND_EVENT_REPLAY_BUFFER_SAVED then
        stop_replay_buffer_temporarily()
    end
end

function stop_replay_buffer_temporarily()
    if enabled then
        obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_stop()
    end
end

function ensure_replay_buffer_active()
    if not enabled then
        return
    end
    
    local replay_buffer_active = obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_active()
    
    if not replay_buffer_active then
        obs.obs_frontend_replay_buffer_start()
    end
end

function script_save(settings)
    obs.obs_data_set_bool(settings, SETTING_ENABLED, enabled)
end

Credit: ChatGPT

Smarter Replay Buffer Options?

FAT9L

New Member

FAT9L

New Member

Tomasz Góral

Active Member

KillianM

New Member

FAT9L

New Member

FAT9L

New Member

Advanced Scene Switcher

anthonybaldwin

New Member

HAMODE3389

New Member

mee

New Member

KillianM

New Member

Suslik V

Active Member

OBS Python - Smart Replays

HAMODE3389

New Member