**Download, install and open OBS.**
Create a Scene
In OBS, click on “+” in the Scenes section to create a Scene. A Scene is a combination of audio, video and images (like your mic, a screen capture of Ableton, a side camera, your webcam etc...). Note that there’s always at least one scene created by default in OBS.
Add Sources
Click on “+” in the Sources panel to add everything you want in that scene in terms of video and sound (cameras, screen captures, image layers, audio, mic etc.).
To add a webcam or camera, choose Video Capture Device.
- Choose “Create New” to create a new video source or “Add Existing” if you already created it in the previous steps.
- If you’re creating a new Video Capture Device :
-
choose the camera you want to use in the menu (in this example, the Logitech C920 Webcam HD Pro).
-
leave “use preset” checked ☑︎ .
-
choose a preset (usually the highest or “high” if available).
-
leave “use buffering” unchecked ☐.
-
<aside> 👉🏽 If you need help about how to use a smartphone as a webcam or connect a DSLR camera, read this. If you want recommendations about good cameras and accessories, read this.
</aside>
To share your screen (Mac only), choose MacOS Screen Capture.
Choose “Create new” and rename the capture as you like.
Choose the application you want to share.
<aside> ⚠️ On Mac OS, don’t forget to allow OBS to use screen-recording on your system by going to → System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Privacy → Screen Recording → Check ☑️ “OBS”
</aside>
<aside> 💾 If you have an old MacOS on your computer and can’t install a recent version of OBS offering the MacOS Screen Capture, you’ll need to do a Window or Display capture.
To add a Window Capture :
- Choose "Create New" to add a new Window Capture or "Add Existing" if already listed.
- Select the window you want to share (in this example we chose Ableton Live).
<aside> ⚠️ Be aware that if the app you want to capture is minimized, it won’t appear in the list even though the app is open.
</aside>
-
To adjust the window size to the OBS frame, right click on the image or on the Window Capture in Sources and go to Transform > Fit to screen.
-
Be aware that everytime you’re re-open OBS you’ll have to reassign the Window capture.
To add a Display Capture :
- Choose "Create New" to add a new Display Capture or "Add Existing" if already listed.
- Choose your display (screen). This is much better if you have 2 displays, one you share for your livestream and one that is only for you to control OBS, Echio etc.
- If you don’t have 2 displays, the best solution is to select “Crop : To Window” and select the Window that will define the area of your display that you’ll share for your Live Stream.
The yellow frame shows the Ableton Live window that is being shared during the Live Session, while the browser on the right side of the screen won’t be visible for fans watching the Session.
</aside>
To add an internal or USB mic, go to Settings > Audio and select the mic you want to use in Mic/Auxiliary Audio.
Then add an Audio Input Capture in the Sources window and choose "Add Existing / Mic/Aux".
To add audio (from your DAW or soundcard)
-
If you work in the box and/or all sounds are coming through your DAW, there are 2 methods depending on what you want to do.
If you want to share your screen + audio from an app, create a macOS Screen Capture source, just as described in point 5 above.
If you want to only share your audio and not your screen, create a macOS Audio Capture.
-
From your soundcard
-
Create an Audio Input Capture.
-
Choose your soundcard in the Device list.
-
Uncheck the “Enable Downmixing” box and choose which channels from your soundcard you want to use (if it has multiples audio inputs).
-
Create all the scenes you want for your live session with combinations of all your sources.
As an example your could have :
- scene 1 = your webcam full screen + audio from your DAW + your mic
- scene 2 = your DAW window capture + a small webcam embed + audio + mic
- scene 3 = a wide angle showing your studio
<aside> 💡 When you have multiple image/video sources in one scene, like a Window Capture combined with a Webcam, you can re-order them from front to back by moving (drag and drop) them up and down in the Sources window.
</aside>
Here's how Scene 2 (Ableton window capture + webcam) would look like :
Adjust OBS preferences for optimal performances.
Click on Settings in the lower right “controls” menu or Preferences from the nav bar top right OBS menu.
-
Stream : that’s where add connection info (RTMP Server Link and Stream Key) to send your stream to Echio. Check 6. Test your livestream and go Live for details about this step.
-
Output : Here you can adjust your Video Bitrate parameter depending on your internet speed and the Encoder Preset, depending on your computer speed.
-
Test your internet upload speed and check this chart to adjust the video and audio bitrates (video is the most important one).
| --- | --- | --- |
-
You can also adjust the Encoder Preset. Default value is Veryfast but if your computer is a bit old and has a hard time keeping up with OBS, choose a higher preset (SuperFast or UltraFast). This means OBS will take less GPU power but the quality of the video will suffer a bit. If you have a very fast computer, you can keep the Encore Preset lower and maximize video quality.
-
-
Audio : make sure your Sample Rate in OBS is the same as the one set in your DAW and adjust.
-
Video : adjust the livestream video resolution and FPS (Frames Per Second).