Struggling with encoding lag...

[Ace Lightning]

I've been streaming for a while with the same setup, using OBS for YouTube and TikTok Studio for TikTok. My PC isn't high-end, so I stick to less resource-intensive games like "The Stanley Parable," "Little Misfortune," and "Dude, Stop!"

Last time I streamed "Little Misfortune," everything worked perfectly. I could stream both vertically and horizontally on YouTube and on TikTok simultaneously. Recently, I tried streaming it again, and I encountered severe issues: 98% skipped frames due to encoding lag, resulting in a static picture. The same problem occurred with "Dude, Stop!" I could only stream horizontally on one platform at a time, either YouTube or TikTok.

PC Specs and Stream Settings:

• CPU: Ryzen 5 5500
• GPU: MSI Nvidia GTX1060 6GB
• RAM: KLEVV CRAS XR 32GB
• MB: MSI A520M PRO-VH

Resource Usage During Stream:

• CPU: 45-55%
• RAM: 45-55%
• GPU: 100% (was 80-90% when it worked fine)

Encoder and Bitrate:

• Encoder: Used to be Hardware NVENC, H264. Now changed to X264, one output at a time.
• Bitrate: Currently 6500, was 8000 before.
• Bitrate Setting: CBR

So there are actually 2 things that I need assistance with. The reason why my stream is lagging so much and why I can't change my settings.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Ace Lightning]

move to streamlabs, its better for streaming, unlike this garbage.

Streamlabs is a resource hungry, greedy app that doesn't allow me to do half of the stuff I do on OBS. My OBS is pretty much automated for me. Thanks, but no thank you! Don't even want to use it for free.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Encoder and Bitrate:

• Encoder: Used to be Hardware NVENC, H264. Now changed to X264, one output at a time.

So there are actually 2 things that I need assistance with. The reason why my stream is lagging so much and why I can't change my settings.

X264 means CPU... so there is your problem.
You did NOT mention, but I'm presuming OS and OBS Studio update in between working state and your now problem state right?

This is not my area of expertise, but with recent OBS Studio, there is some more checking on GPU capabilities, and clearly there are some 'kinks' to work out... whether issue is one or more of OS, video drivers, or OBS Studio I couldn't say
Regardless, your focus shoudl be on getting back to having NVENC H.264 as an option... until you resolve that, don't bother moving onto anything else.

Though your log shows NVENC as available?
For testing, drop to 30fps... and beware CPU impact of noise filter
And log FULL of that PoS streamelements...
if you installed streamelements PoS plugin, for testing I'd advise either using OBS Studio portable mode install OR uninstall streamelements, re-install OBS Studio to fix what streamlements 'changed' and test again... And don't use ANY browser sources while testing. See all those errors in your OBS Studio log... keep testing / changing your setup until your don't have that 'noise'... Then post an update
Good Luck

 

[Ace Lightning]

X264 means CPU... so there is your problem.
You did NOT mention, but I'm presuming OS and OBS Studio update in between working state and your now problem state right?

This is not my area of expertise, but with recent OBS Studio, there is some more checking on GPU capabilities, and clearly there are some 'kinks' to work out... whether issue is one or more of OS, video drivers, or OBS Studio I couldn't say
Regardless, your focus shoudl be on getting back to having NVENC H.264 as an option... until you resolve that, don't bother moving onto anything else.

Though your log shows NVENC as available?
For testing, drop to 30fps... and beware CPU impact of noise filter
And log FULL of that PoS streamelements...
if you installed streamelements PoS plugin, for testing I'd advise either using OBS Studio portable mode install OR uninstall streamelements, re-install OBS Studio to fix what streamlements 'changed' and test again... And don't use ANY browser sources while testing. See all those errors in your OBS Studio log... keep testing / changing your setup until your don't have that 'noise'... Then post an update
Good Luck

NVENC is available yes, but I get so much errors running on this. The problem started randomly, not after any update. I played a game that I was previously able to run without any problems. Second time running the game it gave me problems.

But what I will do is try running a OBS Studio Potable and see what happens from there. I do have a bunch of Streamelements browser sources, but they are more just for things like labels and alerts, that is it. I will try and streamline some of the things and see how it goes. If all else fails I will have to get me a better GPU, which I don't have the money for right now.

But, thank you for the help. Will have a run with what you said and see how things go.

 

[qhobbes]

1. The Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling ("HAGS") feature in Windows is currently known to cause performance and capture issues with OBS, games and overlay tools. It's an experimental feature and we recommend disabling it via these instructions.
2. Having the YUV Color range set to "Full" will cause playback issues in certain browsers and on various video platforms. Shadows, highlights and color will look off. In OBS, go to "Settings -> Advanced" and set "YUV Color Range" back to "Limited".
3. In the video encoding settings, set Multipass Mode to Single Pass and disable Psycho Visual Tuning. Change the Preset from P5 to P1. Those use additional GPU.