Stuttering in preview and recording

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ParasiteEve

New Member
Hello! Some time ago, I started to notice stuttering in the preview and video recorded in the OBS. They appeared suddenly, there is a small chance that this happened after updating the OBS or updating the video card driver, but a rollback to previous versions did not change the situation.
I reinstalled the system, drivers, OBS, used different versions, combined them. I downloaded updates for Win10, deleted absolutely all updates. Tried different modes in Nvidia settings. Tried running OBS in administrator mode (always). Tried turning game mode on and off. Tried combining different output settings. I watched the drop in frames (statistics show that they are not there, but if there is a stream, then a small number of them may appear with the onset of stuttering, although the game works fine, and the OBS does not send messages about the overload of the encoder).
I've tried screen capture, I have tried Game Capture (including on separate scenes, although before I always used different capture methods in one scene and everything was fine, I just turned on the desired method and lived happily). I tried to capture the game with the Capture Card (Elgato HD60Pro), dabbled with its settings - sometimes stutters were in the preview, but not in the recording, sometimes there were stutters in the preview and in the recording. Sometimes it was a slight stutter, sometimes it reached the edge of my patience.
I've tried everything you can imagine. I have never encountered this before, before reinstalling Win10 or installing an old version of OBS solved the problem, but not this time.
Stuttering can appear immediately after the start of capturing the game, or it can appear after a few minutes of smooth play. It does not depend on what is happening on the screen, sometimes it is enough to just stand still and turn the camera, or walk back and forth.
The only thing that I noticed: the old versions of the OBS work worse, the new ones work much better, but the problem is still relevant and does not allow working with the content. I'm desperate, I don't know how to fix this. Please help or share your experience!
P.S. I apologize for the English, this is the level of google translator)

 
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fatmatrow

Member
You're running into a problem that seems to be becoming more widespread. Unfortunately there is no fix yet, as there is no apparent cause that can be identified (I've run insanely granular monitoring programs trying to find SOMETHING and came up empty handed). And there doesn't seem to be a specific hardware combo that causes it. When OBS 27 is released, the OBS team should be looking into it in earnest. It sucks, many of us have been dealing with it, I've had it for 7 months, others over a year. Older versions of windows and obs don't fix it, pcie gen 3/4 both do it, its unrelated to overclocking, its affecting 2 of my computers with gpu's that are 2 gens apart.
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
It's horrible! It appears completely randomly, I'm not even sure if I updated the OBS before this happened.
But in the game itself, I notice that stuttering occurs more often either when the camera is rotated, even in small locations in the game, or when looking at the end of the location, if it is large, and also turning the camera. You look in one direction - everything is fine, you look in the other - stuttering. But only on the preview and only on the record, everything is fine in the game. And if stutters appear, and you continue to move, the OBS seems to be unable to quickly process the incoming video signal and intensifies the stuttering. As if it were a game that loads the location. However, this does not explain why stuttering appears in a closed location, where you have been for several minutes and just stand still, turning the camera.
Older versions also have problems: not only are stuttering more noticeable, they also have strange sound scales stuttering. Has anyone noticed something similar? As if the OBS does not work well with the audio driver. Maybe a similar problem occurs with the video? Not fully compatible with the video driver? Combined with the lack of any C ++? Codec conflict?
I've been streaming for a few years now and have never had this problem, and now I can't work properly and it's terrible! Stress is already actually undermining my health. I really hope that the OBS developers at least study this issue, and do not leave users to their own devices, so far I have not seen a single answer from their side that would help solve this problem...
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
Also could it be a problem that OBS uses Direct3D11 on systems where DX12 is installed by default (Windows 10, in fact)? After all, OBS previously could not properly transfer images from games using DX12, he will learn to do this only in version 27. I understand that this may sound crazy, but I have no idea how to fix it, so I grab any straw. The strange thing is that reinstalling Windows does not solve this problem. If you have encountered this problem once, you will stay with it forever, this is how it looks. And it's scary as hell.
 
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fatmatrow

Member
ParasiteEve said:
Also could it be a problem that OBS uses Direct3D11 on systems where DX12 is installed by default (Windows 10, in fact)? After all, OBS previously could not properly transfer images from games using DX12, he will learn to do this only in version 27. I understand that this may sound crazy, but I have no idea how to fix it, so I grab any straw. The strange thing is that reinstalling Windows does not solve this problem. If you have encountered this problem once, you will stay with it forever, this is how it looks. And it's scary as hell.
Click to expand...
Just forget about doing it for awhile and periodically check back in, that's what I had to do. Once every few weeks I update and test and search for updates then just forget about it. And after trying the obs 27 release candidate I doubt it will fix this issue. And the dx version doesn't matter because dx11 games also fuck up!
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
I would like to forget about it, I even tried for the last month, but it doesn’t work for me, it seems that the solution to the problem is somewhere nearby, since if it is possible to make stuttering worse through the settings, perhaps there is a way to remove them altogether. It used to work, right? All this is so strange that it is hard to believe that this problem is forever. It defies logic! In other words, you want to get at least hope that you can wait for a solution to the problem.
And by DX11 I meant the rendering of the OBS itself. DX11 games certainly have the same stuttering, but maybe there is a way to make an OBS version that uses DX12 instead of DX11 in its base? I don't understand these things, I admit, but I can't stop thinking about the causes of the problem and a possible solution.
And here's what I wanted to say: I noticed that in the Studio Mode the OBS shows not only a preview, but also a picture from the source, that is, the game. And he stutters too. that is, the OBS sees the game as stuttering. There is a problem at the level of perception of the source by the program. This is clearly related to software, possibly codecs. Maybe something is missing, but in theory, the OBS should include all the software necessary for work.
 
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fatmatrow

Member
ParasiteEve said:
I would like to forget about it, I even tried for the last month, but it doesn’t work for me, it seems that the solution to the problem is somewhere nearby, since if it is possible to make stuttering worse through the settings, perhaps there is a way to remove them altogether. It used to work, right? All this is so strange that it is hard to believe that this problem is forever. It defies logic! In other words, you want to get at least hope that you can wait for a solution to the problem.
And by DX11 I meant the rendering of the OBS itself. DX11 games certainly have the same stuttering, but maybe there is a way to make an OBS version that uses DX12 instead of DX11 in its base? I don't understand these things, I admit, but I can't stop thinking about the causes of the problem and a possible solution.
And here's what I wanted to say: I noticed that in the Studio Mode the OBS shows not only a preview, but also a picture from the source, that is, the game. And he stutters too. that is, the OBS sees the game as stuttering. There is a problem at the level of perception of the source by the program. This is clearly related to software, possibly codecs. Maybe something is missing, but in theory, the OBS should include all the software necessary for work.
Click to expand...
To run natively dx12, the entirety of obs would have to be rewritten, from how I understood it. They would have to mostly start from scratch from what I'm told, and I don't think thats happening anytime soon. I spent 3 straight months testing different things every day to no effect. It could be a windows issue, it could be a driver issue, it could be a vbios issue, there are so many variables that work together its almost impossible to suss out right now, unless you know what all is at work and have a deep knowledge of both windows and OBS. OBS devs are aware of it, nvidia is aware of it, from what I'm told even Microsoft is aware of it. It will get solved when it gets solved unfortunately.
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
I don’t know how much it will help, but I remembered something. Firstly, I definitely didn't update the video drivers and OBSs before this started. However, I was installing a game that installed C ++ 2008. And this game worked extremely poorly, on its own, I barely managed to finish it. Secondly, this game had a bad effect even on the PC itself, it was necessary to reboot the entire system. However, exactly after this situation, I got small statters in other games. I chalked it up to the game, I figured reinstalling Windows would fix this, but you know how it ends. I do not know if this information will help somehow, it is likely that it will not, but who knows.
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
A funny moment happened today. As I said earlier, I tried different versions of the OBS, from 21.1.2. up to 27 rc3. After updating Windows, literally the last two days, I tried installing different versions again. Today, to keep my hands busy, I tried installing 21.1.2 again and then upgrading to 26.1.1. And before this version opened perfectly, although it gave out familiar stuttering. Today OBS 26.1.1. gave me this error. For understanding, I did not install any video drivers or change anything in the system, and everything worked yesterday. What is this magic?
I assumed it was due to the fact that after update 21.1.2. I didn't change NVEC to (new), so I turned on the 32-bit version of OBS (it opened, by the way) and replaced NVEC with NVEC (new). However, the 64-bit version of the OBS never opened, giving the same error. I repeat, yesterday the same manipulations did not cause such problems, I did not touch the driver, I did not change the settings. It looks like the OBS is working at the behest of the Cosmos.
Fortunately, a complete reinstallation of the OBS got rid of this error, but the very fact of its appearance is curious.
It is also curious that the 32-bit version works as "well" as the 64-bit one.
And yes, I became convinced that in older versions of OBS (21.1.2. In this case) stuttering occurs much more often and looks more terrifying.
It is also curious that earlier on my Win10 (1709) for a better picture in the OBS, I set the Fast capture rate (not super fast) and was happy. Now, on Win10 2004, with Game Mode disabled, I notice that: a) stuttering occurs more often in OBS, although I don't exclude that it's just random; b) When capturing a game, the Normal Capture Rate option performs much better (and enabled Game Mode).
But it still looks bad.

Just in case.
 

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fatmatrow

Member
ParasiteEve said:
I don’t know how much it will help, but I remembered something. Firstly, I definitely didn't update the video drivers and OBSs before this started. However, I was installing a game that installed C ++ 2008. And this game worked extremely poorly, on its own, I barely managed to finish it. Secondly, this game had a bad effect even on the PC itself, it was necessary to reboot the entire system. However, exactly after this situation, I got small statters in other games. I chalked it up to the game, I figured reinstalling Windows would fix this, but you know how it ends. I do not know if this information will help somehow, it is likely that it will not, but who knows.
Click to expand...

Its an anomaly. It makes no difference, I've done it a ton of times. When you reinstalled, did you update your gpu driver, as windows typically doesn't grab an up to date one, and use DDU to uninstall and reinstall (if nvidia or amd gpu) to make sure it was up to date. Whatever is at play here isn't figured out by random testing of windows installs, its how obs and windows and all those graphics subsystems are interacting with eachother somewhere along the process pipeline, and is going to take people with a deep knowledge of how it works to fix it. I worked with people way above my knowledge level trying to figure this out and we still came out shrugging. Multiple computers even. Right now is the time to sit and wait instead of banging your head against the wall. Get your PC running, play games on it, and wait.
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
I think I found some pattern. One of many, most likely. The OBS preview starts to stutter at the moment when the GPU reaches 30% or more. I'm not sure if these numbers are normal and if the OBS has always demanded this amount of performance from a graphics card. If not, perhaps the newer versions contain something that is consuming more resources than before. If this has always been the case, the question arises why now such a small load causes stuttering in the preview (!), As well as in the video itself. The saddest thing is that this happens even if you capture the OBS game with a Capture Card.
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
In fact, I notice during the tests that usually the OBS takes no more than 10% of the GPU, but at some moments (periodic) they jump to 30 - and this is where serious stuttering begins. Up to this point, stutters are very weak, rare, more like the absence of vsync, rarely appear. It is quite curious what this may be connected with and whether it has always been so. Although this still does not explain where the stuttering comes from, the GPU utilization is somehow absent, it is still no more than 30-40 percent (which is mainly created by the OBS when it is naughty).
It is important to note that the OBS starts to stutter, not when the GPU reaches 30% due to all programs, but when for some reason it starts to consume these 30%. Specifically ran through a number of very different games to capture these strange jumps - usually the OBS takes about 10%, as I said.
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
I understand Russian. I watched the video, I want to say that the method indicated in the video is another plug, but not a solution to the problem, unfortunately. In addition, work with other programs is required, which in one way or another will affect the overall workload of the PC, which we would not want. Well, it should be noted that the OBS should still work well without using other programs, right?
I guess for now I'll just use the Capture Card and live with a little stuttering. Important: I noticed that if you remove small animations in the Windows Theme, thereby reducing the load on the GPU, there are fewer stutters in the OBS. Just in case, I note that I have a game that consumes 70% of the GPU and when it is captured, the OBS does not always stutter, but according to the same cycle. Previously, this game was recorded and streamed flawlessly.
In other words, unfortunately, this is still not a solution to the problem.
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
However, the person in the video said the right idea: in the OBS, it is extremely NECESSARY to set up buffering in each of the capture methods. There is such a setting, for example, in Capture Maps, which is why they slightly smooth out this problem. Please, people working on OBS, pay attention to this point! It really does not allow people to live and work in peace.
 
KAIBENSON

KAIBENSON

New Member
Hi first of all sorry for my poor english but anyway.

I do have the same problem with "floating stuttering" of all video sources i'll connect to obs with the capture input on different platforms ( mac, windows) and gpu/processor combinations. Now after cross checking the different obs versions and other live capture software like quicktime player (no stuttering at all because QT is slave), i found out that the problem seems the missing "video input source sync" because the "fixed fps" (internal) setting in the capture input module of OBS.
That means for me the capture input gives a frame rate setting option not syncing exactly to the always "fixed" (not syncable) source framerate. The result is a "floating" but nearly exact synchronisation of the source and the obs input depending.
This causes for me the "not digital" issue of stuttering sometimes in preview. (I´m not sure but it feels like that OBS reacts as a clock master-- right?)
In NDI input sources its possible to set the sync to the Input Signal or Network but Internal. The Input signal sync setting always works fine. Especially between two OBS machines (stream master, stream server) So for me the main problem is missing a synchronize option like sync to video input frame rate in the capture module. Just add a option like NDI does, this solves just this problem for 1 source. Another problem generally is combining serveral video sources in obs.
All the sources are not locked (e.g. slave mode), that means if you switch- or fade in obs studio between these lets say two, and one of the sources is out of the exact same framerate this causes stuttering just during the fade or framefreeze on switching to the scene vice-versa.
The other option in the video input module missing is the disable in background option too --important--.
I´m not sure but it seems that many people not recognizing the stuttering or its not that important.
Globally the main problem Is the missing Masterclock for all sources--The good old video sync generator .):).
This is not solvable for consumer products for the future i´m sure.
From my position OBS is a great tool for post production and live streaming but this issue is really disturbing me since years too.
P.s. Buffering for me is not that option because the missing buffer size configuration. The buffer size seems "dynamical", after a few minutes the frame delay rans out. For life situations not useful.
Thank You and regards to the OBS coding team
Kai Martinkovic
Westreammuc UG Munich
westreammuc.com

kai@kaikai.de
 
KAIBENSON

KAIBENSON

New Member
Oh i forgot having a idea for solving maybe the problem codewise: lets say you lookahead just one source to the streaming output why it´s not possible to give OBS a general slave option (clockmaster is allways the viewable capture input) All other media formats slaved to OBS anyway. The only restriction is combining, switching or fading to other (clock-fixed) sources. Therefore you have systemically a framedrop or stuttering just until OBS syncing to the next viewable source. This would be acceptable but not fine, i know. In CBR modes it would be necessary to add a buffer before the streaming encoder built in. NDI outputs don´t have problems with floating framerates. (Obs Master NDI>OBS Streaming Server config)
Regards again Kai
 
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ParasiteEve

New Member
An interesting observation. As I said before, when trying to record the game using the Capture Card, I found that the recordings still have stutters, screen cuts and FPS drops at some points. However, when I turned off preview, most of these problems were gone. I tried to apply the same method on Game Capture, using the 27rc4 version of the OBS, and found that stuttering similar to the lack of vertical sync, almost (
I did not see these stutters in the places where they were before, but I did see them in the moments when the game was saved, although I admit that this was always the case in this game) disappeared, however, the visual drop in FPS remained, although on this version of the OBS they seem to be slightly different from those , which could be seen in 27rc2. Although I suspect this is the effect of the disabled preview, as if it conveys its problems to the finished video. Strange bullshit, but the fact that there are stutters even when captured by a Capture Card, and they almost completely disappear when preview is turned off, may speak in favor of this.
 
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