Unfortunately, I think G-SYNC might be my issue.

[jeanmonday]

PROBLEM
Unable to record buttery-smooth 60fps gameplays without having to run current monitor through HDMI and being forced to play games at 60Hz with VSync enabled.

SYSTEM SPECS
Lenovo Legion Y720 (Laptop)

• Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ (2.80GHz)
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (6GB)
• 16GB (2 × 8GB) DDR4-2400MHz
• Windows 10 Home (version 20H2)

I also have a Dell S2417DG, which is a 1440p 144Hz monitor. Though, I only run it at 1080p 120Hz with G-SYNC enabled through Mini DisplayPort. Just wanna make clear that, when I say Mini DisplayPort, I mean a cable that has a regular DisplayPort on one end connected to the monitor and a Mini DisplayPort on the other end connected to the laptop. I know this monitor is overkill for my system, but past me didn’t know enough about patience and technology to notice that.

Since I have to post at least one log file, I took the time to run three tests on Halo: The Master Chief Collection—which is one of my favorite games that my system can run well over 120fps—and give you the detailed settings I used for them as well as the .mp4 video files, in case you wanna take a closer look to my problem. Without further ado, here's the material:

WINDOWS SETTINGS
Settings > Gaming

• Game Bar: Off
• Captures: Off
• Game Mode: On

OBS SETTINGS
OBS > Settings > Output > Recording

• Recording Path: C: drive*
• Recording format: flv
• Encoder: NVIDIA NVENC H.264 (new)
• Rate Control: CQP
• CQ Level: 27
• Keyframe Interval: 2
• Preset: Quality
• Profile: High
• Look-ahead: Unchecked
• Psycho Visual Tuning: Checked
• Max B-frames: 2

OBS > Settings > Video

• Base (Canvas) Resolution: 1920x1080
• Output (Scaled) Resolution: 1920x1080
• Downscale Filter: Bicubic (Sharpened scaling, 16 samples)
• Common FPS Values: 60

OBS > Settings > Advanced > General

• Process Priority: High

OBS > Settings > Advanced > Video

• Renderer: Direct3D 11
• Color Format: NV12
• Color Space: 709
• Color Range: Partial

*OBS is installed on the C: drive (Samsung PM961 Polaris 128GB M.2 SSD) but I run my games from my D: drive (Seagate ST1000LM035 1TB SATA HDD).

SETTINGS - TEST #1
NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Global settings

• Max Frame Rate: 117FPS
• Monitor Technology: G-SYNC
• Vertical sync: On

NVIDIA Control Panel > Change resolution

• Connector: DisplayPort - PC display
• Resolution: 1920 × 1080
• Refresh rate: 120Hz

NVIDIA Control Panel > Set up G-SYNC

• Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible: Checked
• Enable for fullscreen mode: Selected

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

• WINDOW MODE: FULLSCREEN
• RESOLUTION SETTINGS: 1920x1080
• V-SYNC: OFF
• FRAMERATE LIMIT: 120 FPS
• GRAPHICS QUALITY: ENHANCED

SETTINGS - TEST #2
NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Global settings

• Max Frame Rate: Off
• Monitor Technology: Fixed Refresh
• Vertical sync: On

NVIDIA Control Panel > Change resolution

• Connector: DisplayPort - PC display
• Resolution: 1920 × 1080
• Refresh rate: 120Hz

NVIDIA Control Panel > Set up G-SYNC

• Enable G-SYNC, G-SYNC Compatible: Unchecked

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

• WINDOW MODE: FULLSCREEN
• RESOLUTION SETTINGS: 1920x1080
• V-SYNC: OFF
• FRAMERATE LIMIT: 120 FPS
• GRAPHICS QUALITY: ENHANCED

SETTINGS - TEST #3
NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Global settings

• Max Frame Rate: Off
• Vertical sync: On

NVIDIA Control Panel > Change resolution

• Connector: HDMI - HDTV
• Resolution: 1920 × 1080
• Refresh rate: 60Hz

Halo: The Master Chief Collection

• WINDOW MODE: FULLSCREEN
• RESOLUTION SETTINGS: 1920x1080
• V-SYNC: OFF
• FRAMERATE LIMIT: 60 FPS
• GRAPHICS QUALITY: ENHANCED

.MP4 FILES

Tests - Google Drive

drive.google.com

So, as you noticed, TEST #3 has way better frame pacing than the previous ones. This is what gives it the buttery-smooth look (except for occasional hitches here and there which are pretty much normal), at the expense of higher input lag and less FPS while gaming, obviously.

Since G-SYNC is constantly updating the monitor’s refresh rate to prevent some tearing, it’s basically impossible to get stable frame pacing (AKA ‘frametimes’) but only when the framerate can’t go past the refresh rate… which doesn’t happen in this case scenario! My system can go past 120fps in this game, so why isn’t it recording as expected like Shadowplay would?!

Could it be that I’m ignorant to how some of this stuff works? Or maybe smooth recordings are only achieved on desktop PC environments where you just use a capture card and call it a day? Could it be the Mini DisplayPort cable? I’m so confused!

Please, if you have any questions/suggestions, let me know. This has been a learning journey of almost a year and I hope I’m not doomed to record 30fps videos until I get a desktop PC. Also, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong in some of the stuff I said in this thread, it’s always good to learn.

Anyways, thank you for reading.

 

[jeanmonday]

SET CBR in encoder Settings
set your refreshrate to 120hz the framerate is dubble of the framerate of the video

I don't use CBR merely because, having a constant bitrate is not as good as having a quality target value like with CQP.

Oh, and the first two tests I posted here were made running the monitor at 120Hz, if you read the NVIDIA Control Panel settings section on the post.

But, just so you're left satisfied... I've tested with CBR countless times before and I get the same results on the output file. And is not like I'm getting skipped frames or rendering lag using CBR or anything, really.

 

[Swyft]

Hey there! Did you ever find a fix for this your issue or find a workaround? Basically, I am having the same issues as you, I cannot get smooth gameplay recordings when I try to record COD: MW. I don't even get any issues/warning in the OBS Analyzer. I believe it might be something to do with Gsync, but without Gsync, I lag in-game and the recordings still look crappy.

 

[Swyft]

have you test to disable HDR features and the RTY features ?

HDR is off. RTY? Do you mean RTX? If not, you're gonna have to explain that one to me. I have all RTX features off in-game.

 

[DayGeckoArt]

Try using the Nvidia Geforce Experience recorder and see what happens

 

[Swyft]

Tried many, many times before. I get the same lag/microstutter/non-smooth recording playback, maybe worse too.

 

[DayGeckoArt]

What if you just disable G-sync?

 

[Swyft]

What if you just disable G-sync?

Tried, still doesn't work. Probably worse.

 

[DayGeckoArt]

Maybe it has to do with how data goes from the Nvidia graphics to the Intel graphics on its way to your DP output. I would try screen capture instead of application capture

Also, set your color range to full instead of partial

 

[Swyft]

Maybe it has to do with how data goes from the Nvidia graphics to the Intel graphics on its way to your DP output. I would try screen capture instead of application capture

Also, set your color range to full instead of partial

Alright, thanks..

 

[SmokinSexyStyle]

Hi, sorry to necro your thread, but I've been having similar issues and I'm here to confirm that 100% G-Sync is the culprit. I've been trying to record some Resident Evil 4 gameplay and the end result always looked choppy, like the framerate was somehow dropping from 60 to 30 at random intervals, and it was driving me crazy.

For the record, I own a i9 12900k and an RTX 4080 with 32gb, using some very modest 1440p recording settings instead of my usual 4K. As you can image, my PC is nowhere near close to being stressed, but the end result is always the same: A choppy video.

I've tried everything, every setting, every suggestion, nothing worked. As a Hail Mary I decided to disable G-Sync, and suddenly I cannot replicate the issue. Everything looks fine when G-Sync is disabled. If I enable it, it goes right back to being a choppy mess.

I haven't done any further testing, but I wonder if the same issue occurs when one is streaming with G-Sync turned on? If it is, that's a bummer. G-Sync helps a lot with fluidity and disabling every time you record or stream is a pain in the butt.