Question / Help Webcam can't be accessed from multiple scenes

[Polda18]

Hello. I am setting up my broadcast configuration and need to switch between scenes where I am using webcam in multiple scenes. Since I need to display webcam with different settings (especially with different filters) in each scene, I can't simply add existing source into new scene, but has to add new source with the same webcam video input. This, however, leads to weird behaviour: the original scene holds the webcam input and doesn't let it pass to the new scene and it shows black background instead. I've read about "Global Sources", but these guides are all for older OBS Classic and I have OBS Studio installed (64bit Windows). Is there "Global Sources" function in OBS Studio? If there is it, where to access it? I am really curious about that...

 

[RytoEX]

All sources in OBS Studio are global sources by default. That's kind of what the "Add Existing" option is for - adding an instance of a globally available source. I think filters attached to a source are also considered global, which is kind of the problem you're running into here. I'm not sure of a way to do what you're looking for at the moment, short of running some kind of webcam sharing/splitting software. Perhaps ManyCam?

A webcam being exclusively available to only one thing at a time is a design of Windows and its driver/device handling, if I recall correctly. Windows 10 changed that device handling model with the Anniversary Update so that multiple applications could access the same webcam/device, but it also broke lots of webcam functionality (no really). For more reading on that, see this thread. I'm not sure if or how OBS can take advantage of new Windows 10 AU device handling model, but even if it could, it would only help those on Windows 10 AU. I've asked the developer about the new Windows 10 AU camera features just to see if anything can in that regard.