Question / Help What settings should I be using to record on my PC?

Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
I'm getting a little weary of Shadowplay's problems (shadowplay is what I normally use to record). And as much as I would like to switch to OBS, I can't seem to find ANY setup that allows me to record at 60FPS with good bitrate and scaling at either 1080p or 720p for Youtube (bitrate that's good enough to not look pixel-y). I do not stream, I only record. And I've only been able to record at like, 4000 bitrate.

My specs (as listed by CCleaner):

ccleaner computer rig.PNG


I have the latest version of the 1903 update:

windows update check.PNG


Both Game Bar and Game Mode are turned off:

game bar.PNGgame mode.PNG

So I ask all of you, what should I be using as my settings to record at an acceptable visual quality for Youtube recordings on my Windows 10 PC? I imagine that this thing is more than capable of relatively high bitrates at 720p60 or 1080p60 considering my CPU and GPU but I can't figure out how to record at such quality.

I also have to ask if there is anything else I should be worried about on my PC that could be causing problems. Cuz as far as I'm aware the primary problem with recording on Windows 10 is Game Mode interfering, but that's turned off.

__________________________________________________________________

Here's my log files (it may be comprised of multiple start and end recording things as I was trying to find out which settings worked and was getting encoding overloads):

Last Log File: https://obsproject.com/logs/YdXQz8uGQYT4UTJd

Current Log File: https://obsproject.com/logs/D3t0ZXXiUZKpLwjO
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
Simple output mode

Indistinguishable quality, large file size.

17:10:54.839: YUV mode: 709/Full

You probably want that to be 709/Partial.

https://obsproject.com/forum/resour...t-color-range-settings-guide-test-charts.442/

05:28:34.716: - source: 'Display Capture' (monitor_capture)
05:28:34.716: - source: 'Audio Output Capture' (wasapi_output_capture)
05:28:34.716: - source: 'Game Capture' (game_capture)

Display and Game captures in the same scene can degrade performance.

05:31:05.882: [jim-nvenc: 'recording_h264'] settings:
05:31:05.882: rate_control: VBR
05:31:05.882: bitrate: 18000

Use CQP rate control and a quality setting; say around 15 if you're not going to use the Simple output method. You're overloading the encoder with the above settings.

05:31:20.682: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 364/761 (47.8%)
05:32:22.832: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 345/974 (35.4%)
05:33:32.497: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 540/1316 (41.0%)
05:35:10.731: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 549/2193 (25.0%)
 
Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
Narcogen said:
Simple output mode

Indistinguishable quality, large file size.

17:10:54.839: YUV mode: 709/Full

You probably want that to be 709/Partial.

https://obsproject.com/forum/resour...t-color-range-settings-guide-test-charts.442/

05:28:34.716: - source: 'Display Capture' (monitor_capture)
05:28:34.716: - source: 'Audio Output Capture' (wasapi_output_capture)
05:28:34.716: - source: 'Game Capture' (game_capture)

Display and Game captures in the same scene can degrade performance.

05:31:05.882: [jim-nvenc: 'recording_h264'] settings:
05:31:05.882: rate_control: VBR
05:31:05.882: bitrate: 18000

Use CQP rate control and a quality setting; say around 15 if you're not going to use the Simple output method. You're overloading the encoder with the above settings.

05:31:20.682: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 364/761 (47.8%)
05:32:22.832: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 345/974 (35.4%)
05:33:32.497: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 540/1316 (41.0%)
05:35:10.731: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 549/2193 (25.0%)
Click to expand...
I've tried everything you've suggested (I've removed game captures from all of my scenes, changed Full color range to Partial, tried all the settings you recommended for simple and advanced output mode) and for whatever reason I am still getting encoding overloads. I'm not sure what the problem is.
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
Please post an updated log reflecting the changes.

You may end up having to choose between 720p60 and 1080p30, although it seems to me you shouldn't have to.

Last ditch would be checking that the card's drivers are up to date, or maybe doing a DDU reinstall of the drivers.
 
Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
Narcogen said:
Please post an updated log reflecting the changes.

You may end up having to choose between 720p60 and 1080p30, although it seems to me you shouldn't have to.

Last ditch would be checking that the card's drivers are up to date, or maybe doing a DDU reinstall of the drivers.
Click to expand...
Nevermind, I think I found the problem. I thought I didn't have to have everything closed except for OBS, the game I'm playing and File Explorer (so I can rename my recordings when they are finished), but apparently my PC can't handle any more than those three being open while recording??? That's just strange, my PC should have more than enough horsepower to be able to record without closing anything, so its either an issue with the OS (Windows 10) or an issue with the current version of the driver by Nvidia.

I'm going to do some further tests with these Advanced mode settings you told me to use in some more graphically detailed games like Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition.

https://obsproject.com/logs/pKtnaqZpYhROs1-B There's my current log.

There are obviously still going to be some encoding overloads for some really quick and/or overly detailed visuals (such as spawning into the world in Borderlands 2 when loading a game), but for things as minor as that I don't think I'll mind. At this point I think its just a juggling act at figuring out when to use 720p60 or 1080p60.
 
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Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
What else did you have open?

16:46:04.320: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 791/12152 (6.5%)

That still seems like too much encoding lag. Your card should be able to run NVENC with those settings easily.

Are the drivers up to date? Is the card fully seated and getting full PCI bandwidth?
 
Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
Narcogen said:
What else did you have open?

16:46:04.320: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 791/12152 (6.5%)

That still seems like too much encoding lag. Your card should be able to run NVENC with those settings easily.

Are the drivers up to date? Is the card fully seated and getting full PCI bandwidth?
Click to expand...
Yes the drivers are up to date, I have Game Ready Driver version 430.86 from Nvidia. But like I said, its either an issue with Windows 10 or an issue with the current drivers. I wouldn't put it past Nvidia for this to be some sort of bug with the driver, nor would I put it past Windows 10 (since its a crap OS).
driver up to date.PNG


The card should be fully seated (this is a pre-built HP Omen I got at BestBuy), PCI-E x16 slots have a clip to hold the card in place aat one end and then the bracket is screwed to the case at the back. The only way it wouldn't be fully seated is if it was seated improperly at the factory, and if it wasn't properly clipped in it probably wouldn't work properly (if at all).

How do I check to see if its getting full PCI bandwidth?

As far as what I had open, I believe I had Comodo Dragon (my browser), Discord and iCUE (the program I use to customize my headset) open primarily. I also tend to always have Steam open (obviously).

I tend to always have iCUE open in case I need to change the channels on my Corsair headset, and sometimes I have my browser open to look at guides for certain games I am playing. I don't see how those other apps should be relevant and sucking up resources though because I'm not livestreaming, so bandwith shouldn't be a problem.

Edit: Ah, I forgot that I had Game Mode turned on when I did my testing yesterday. I'm not sure if that's relevant with the 1809 update which did optimize it for Shadowplay, but it might have starved OBS of its resources.
 
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Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
Narcogen said:
GPU-Z should be able to tell you how much PCI bandwidth you're getting. Just be sure to load the card during the test, because in low power mode it will automatically start using less.

Running anything on this list?

https://obsproject.com/wiki/Known-Conflicts

After 1809 leaving Game Mode on should be fine.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure how to run this "test" of yours with GPU-Z, but it says my bandwidth is 256.3 GB/s.

I don't run most of those apps, aside from Discord. So I guess I'll have to have Discord closed when I record, which is fine.

I'm positive I do not have Dell Backup & Recovery OR Alienware Aline Respawn (my tower is an HP Omen). But I used the program that unregisters them just in case since I do have Dell monitors.

I never used MSI Afterburner, RIveTuner, TeamSpeak, and Overwolf. But I uninstalled them just in case.

As far as everything else goes, I'm positive I do not have them on my system. Otherwise they would have turned up in the Control Panel while I was uninstalling various programs.
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
GPU-Z should report for your card what speed it is running at, and how many PCI lanes it is using.

It will be noted like this:

x16 3.0 is PCI 3.0 speed, using 16 lanes.

How many lanes you have available depends on your motherboard.

In some cases, machines have slots for more than one GPU, and using the 2nd slot splits bandwidth between them, so this case it would report as x8 which is 8 lanes. It also might report this if not properly seated, or if its in the wrong slot.
 
Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
Narcogen said:
GPU-Z should report for your card what speed it is running at, and how many PCI lanes it is using.

It will be noted like this:

x16 3.0 is PCI 3.0 speed, using 16 lanes.

How many lanes you have available depends on your motherboard.

In some cases, machines have slots for more than one GPU, and using the 2nd slot splits bandwidth between them, so this case it would report as x8 which is 8 lanes. It also might report this if not properly seated, or if its in the wrong slot.
Click to expand...
So when I do the render test it runs at PCI-Express x16 v3.0. But when I don't do the test it says the same thing, but instead of v3.0 its v1.1 for some reason.
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
The 1.1 means the card is idling so it is using less resources.

Sounds like the card is properly seated and in the correct slot.
 
Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
Narcogen said:
The 1.1 means the card is idling so it is using less resources.

Sounds like the card is properly seated and in the correct slot.
Click to expand...
Aight, I won't have to worry about the card itself then!

I tested OBS earlier today to see if I can use it to record games with highly detailed games such as Subnautica, and it turns out that I can't. Either that or my PC was slowed down by something even after I closed all apps aside from Steam, File Explorer and OBS. I'm not quite sure if those settings you gave me should allow me to record Subnautica with high in-game graphics settings or not though.

I believe this is the log file from earlier today: https://obsproject.com/logs/nwUz6ccFUX1VEHSf
 
Narcogen

Narcogen

Active Member
08:00:07.876: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 320/950 (33.7%)

Nope, overloaded there, too. Significantly. If the card is working properly and there are no driver issues, this would just indicate that 1080p60 NVENC is not possible on that card.
 
T

Tolakram

New Member
Boyishdude said:
I also have to ask if there is anything else I should be worried about on my PC that could be causing problems. Cuz as far as I'm aware the primary problem with recording on Windows 10 is Game Mode interfering, but that's turned off.

__________________________________________________________________

Here's my log files (it may be comprised of multiple start and end recording things as I was trying to find out which settings worked and was getting encoding overloads):

Last Log File: https://obsproject.com/logs/YdXQz8uGQYT4UTJd

Current Log File: https://obsproject.com/logs/D3t0ZXXiUZKpLwjO
Click to expand...


Howdy,

I have a similar setup but I upgraded to an RTX 2080 and the problem got worse. Ha. So here's what I;ve found out by reading around this and other forums.

First, NVENC encoding is awesome, but it's not always the right answer, it depends on the game. If the game is using 100% of the GPU you will always get encoding overload. Many times, in these cases, it makes more sense to use CPU encoding rather than NVENC, especially if you notice you're getting encoding overload while the CPU is only using 50% or less resources.

Conversely, other games are CPU intensive and it makes sense to use NVENC to do the work.

All that said, there may be options on the new NVENC encoder that can help solve the GPU overload problem. First, if you are set to Max Quality then it's trying to do 2 pass encoding so lower this to quality. Second, turn off look-ahead (hidden by the dropdown) because it also adds to GPU overhead by using some of what's called the CUDA features on the graphics card.

Here's my settings for local recording. Note that 18 CQP is not super high quality but it works for the games I'm playing. I will occasionally get encoder overload with this on one game, but for the most part dropped frames is minimal.

vqhJN4D.png


If the above doesn't solve the problem then try the old version of NVENC or x264, the CPU encoder.

I'm not sure if this 'problem' will ever be solved but I believe it's on NVIDIA to solve it, not OBS. It would be nice if the video driver made sure a game could not use 100% of the GPU, leaving nothing for on board encoding. Apparently there are a few newer games that completely max out the GPU, making using NVENC near impossible.

Hope this helps, and for those who know more (because I'm echoing what I've read) please don't hesitate to correct anything I got wrong.

-Mark
 
Boyishdude

Boyishdude

New Member
Tolakram said:
Howdy,

I have a similar setup but I upgraded to an RTX 2080 and the problem got worse. Ha. So here's what I;ve found out by reading around this and other forums.

First, NVENC encoding is awesome, but it's not always the right answer, it depends on the game. If the game is using 100% of the GPU you will always get encoding overload. Many times, in these cases, it makes more sense to use CPU encoding rather than NVENC, especially if you notice you're getting encoding overload while the CPU is only using 50% or less resources.

Conversely, other games are CPU intensive and it makes sense to use NVENC to do the work.

All that said, there may be options on the new NVENC encoder that can help solve the GPU overload problem. First, if you are set to Max Quality then it's trying to do 2 pass encoding so lower this to quality. Second, turn off look-ahead (hidden by the dropdown) because it also adds to GPU overhead by using some of what's called the CUDA features on the graphics card.

Here's my settings for local recording. Note that 18 CQP is not super high quality but it works for the games I'm playing. I will occasionally get encoder overload with this on one game, but for the most part dropped frames is minimal.

vqhJN4D.png


If the above doesn't solve the problem then try the old version of NVENC or x264, the CPU encoder.

I'm not sure if this 'problem' will ever be solved but I believe it's on NVIDIA to solve it, not OBS. It would be nice if the video driver made sure a game could not use 100% of the GPU, leaving nothing for on board encoding. Apparently there are a few newer games that completely max out the GPU, making using NVENC near impossible.

Hope this helps, and for those who know more (because I'm echoing what I've read) please don't hesitate to correct anything I got wrong.

-Mark
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if it'll help (my recording settings are roughly identical to yours), but the thing is is that I also need to be told what settings would work with my CPU for the CPU encoder. Cuz I think a game like Subnautica would require the CPU encoder instead, but I have no idea what settings to use for that type of encoding.
 
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