Hello linuxGODS, i have recently installed Linux Mint (good linux distro, if that matters) and have also installed OBS Studio from my system's package manager. i am here to find out which recording type is the best for recording, without lag. I want to find out which rate control and which video encoder is best for recording. I am on intel if (You) guys wanted to know.
Want to speed up my FPS on OBS
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Well, i suppose since anybody isn't responding to that question, i guess i will ask another question that you guys will probably respond to.
Which version of the OBS linux app is the most updated and is the best for me (since i am on linux mint)? The Flathub (also known as Flatpak) version, or the one that comes with my system's package manager?
Which version of the OBS linux app is the most updated and is the best for me (since i am on linux mint)? The Flathub (also known as Flatpak) version, or the one that comes with my system's package manager?
stephematician
Member
Hi, I saw your message but I don't run Linux Mint so I can't give specific advice.
There have been roughly 4 major releases of OBS since then, you can see their release notes here: https://obsproject.com/blog/ - look for release notes for 30.1 30.2, 31, and 32.
The release notes will give you an idea what features have been added with those major releases. Typically minor releases (e.g. from 32.0.1 to 32.0.2) contain bugfixes and occasionally some small experimental feature updates.
The Flatpak version is the latest version but it comes with some caveats. Not all features will work with Flatpak due to sandboxing - I believe Custom Browser Docks are an example of a feature that won't work.
While packaging is a mess (i.e. hence why you're having to ask this question!) - there is no harm to trying both on your system and deciding which one to keep later - so you may just want to do that.
Hopefully someone with more familiarity with your setup can help; but I will say these forums are rather quiet (see this unanswered post :https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/hardware-encoding-support-on-ubuntu-25-04.192422/) - so you're best bet is to keep looking for information yourself - and you can help the community out by posting anything you learn.
Encoding of audio is a much less problematic aspect of the stream, so I'm going to say nothing about it here.
Lastly, we haven't talked about "latency" between a source and OBS itself; which is another aspect of performance.
For audio; I use the pipewire audio capture plugin, for which the environment variable PIPEWIRE_LATENCY can be adjusted. I use PIPEWIRE_LATENCY=512/48000 which is not super-low in terms of latency, but you need to balance latency versus the risk of stutters or pops (e.g. underrun and overrun). With respect to video capture, if its a Vulkan based application (i.e. a video game) then there is https://github.com/nowrep/obs-vkcapture - otherwise depending on whether you are running Wayland or not - you should be reasonably well served by pipewire capture or xcomposite etc.
Mint uses the Ubuntu repositories, and I know that Mint 22 is based off of Ubuntu 24.04; therefore the system package will probably be version 30.0.2.
There have been roughly 4 major releases of OBS since then, you can see their release notes here: https://obsproject.com/blog/ - look for release notes for 30.1 30.2, 31, and 32.
The release notes will give you an idea what features have been added with those major releases. Typically minor releases (e.g. from 32.0.1 to 32.0.2) contain bugfixes and occasionally some small experimental feature updates.
The Flatpak version is the latest version but it comes with some caveats. Not all features will work with Flatpak due to sandboxing - I believe Custom Browser Docks are an example of a feature that won't work.
While packaging is a mess (i.e. hence why you're having to ask this question!) - there is no harm to trying both on your system and deciding which one to keep later - so you may just want to do that.
I also don't have Intel, so I can't provide specifics. In fact, I use NVIDIA NVENC, so I have no specific information for you. The main thing you'll want to ensure is that you are using hardware encoding, and for that the Settings -> Output -> Recording tab should have either QuickSync H.264 or maybe FFMPEG VAAPI (which might also use QuickSync). FFMPEG has a list of parameters for QuickSync (https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-codecs.html#QSV-Encoders) and you can use that as a starting point to search for more information on duckduckgo or whatever you prefer. You can also try the Tools -> Auto Configuration option in OBS Studio for some 'sensible' defaults.
Hopefully someone with more familiarity with your setup can help; but I will say these forums are rather quiet (see this unanswered post :https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/hardware-encoding-support-on-ubuntu-25-04.192422/) - so you're best bet is to keep looking for information yourself - and you can help the community out by posting anything you learn.
Encoding of audio is a much less problematic aspect of the stream, so I'm going to say nothing about it here.
Lastly, we haven't talked about "latency" between a source and OBS itself; which is another aspect of performance.
For audio; I use the pipewire audio capture plugin, for which the environment variable PIPEWIRE_LATENCY can be adjusted. I use PIPEWIRE_LATENCY=512/48000 which is not super-low in terms of latency, but you need to balance latency versus the risk of stutters or pops (e.g. underrun and overrun). With respect to video capture, if its a Vulkan based application (i.e. a video game) then there is https://github.com/nowrep/obs-vkcapture - otherwise depending on whether you are running Wayland or not - you should be reasonably well served by pipewire capture or xcomposite etc.
Okay, i will try both out, the Flatpak version and the system package. I do not have QuickSync H.264 but i do have FFMPEG VAAPI. Will also be looking at the ffmpeg link you sent. My audio is fine so i don't have any problems or questions about that, if i do, i will be asking away or be looking at the links you sent.
Will also be taking the advice you sent, thank you.
Update, i have tried the Auto Configuration and it has said that these settings are ideal for me:
Recording Encoder: Software (x264)
Recording Quality: High Quality, Medium File Size
Base (Canvas) Resolution: 2880x1800
Output (Scaled) Resolution: 767x480
FPS: 30
So i am guessing that is supposed to be good. Will be back for more questions or advice next time.
Another update, just found out my system package version of OBS is outdated because it runs on 30.0.2.1 while the Flatpak one runs on 32.0.4. I guess i will be choosing the flatpak version, even if it has some cons to it. But i don't really want outdated software so i will be choosing flatpak.
stephematician
Member
I wouldn't say those are "good" options. In Settings -> Output make sure to switch from "Simple" to "Advanced".
Software x264 will not perform as well as hardware encoding - which (in theory) should be available through FFMPEG VAAPI: e.g. https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Hardware/QuickSync but NOTE: to use this API you need particular drivers, which I _think_ is provided by the intel-media-va-driver package.
The FFMPEG QuickSync documentation provides a few examples of transcoding etc; you might want to try those on some sample videos. If they don't work, then this is something to troubleshoot with other Mint users who have used Intel hardware (i.e. not me!).
If the FFMPEG command line does work, then that might help identify some options that OBS should pass on to FFMPEG - which can be inserted via the Settings -> Output -> Encoder Settings/FFmpeg Options.