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OBS Mini-Review

Free video capture software

Updated 10/05/2024

DISCOVERY
When it comes to video capture software, there tere aren't all that many choices in this category. Everyone seems to use OBS (which stand for Open Broadcaster Softare) or an ElGato capture card (which is hardware).

INSTALLATION
The OBS software is available for Windows, Linux and Mac. The Linux version is available as a package within various Linux distros and as a Flatpack. Installation is one click, it downloads and your ready to go. The Windows version is available from the OBS website. I have not looked at the Mac version as I do not own any Apple products. However, It is my understanding that all 3 are quite similar.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I have just begun to work with this software so my thoughts are far from comprehensive. The first task is to determine your inputs such as screen capture, cameras & audio. After a few minutes I was able to create some simple game captures without too much trouble. I did some experimenting with capturing the webcam so I could see myself in the corner (using the picture in picture mode). Please keep in mind that the OBS software will need to run along with whatever application your trying to capture. This could be an issue on slower computers. Better results are acheived on faster hardware. Dual monitors are strongly recommended.

SAMPLE VIDEOS
This is a link to view one of the game capture videos I shared on YouTube (#3). It's simply game play with no commentary. This came out well.

sample video link

This is a link to view one of the game capture videos I shared on YouTube (#4). This video has picture in picture illustrating how you can use a webcam in cunjunction with the video capture. NOTE: I do not own a keylight - Sorry for the dark image! The camera kept auto adjusting. As you can see I need to get better with the camera as well as the OBS software!

sample video link

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