OBS Studio 18.0

Though its minimalist interface may lead you to believe that you are checking yet another screen capture tool, that feature is but one of the many additions that OBS Studio offers to those looking for a free, full-featured video recording and live streaming app. It does take screenshots and creates video files of your desktop activity, but those are but features to help you create high-quality mixes from various sources and push them live.

You don’t need to be an expert in live video recording or video editing to enjoy OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) Studio, but it’ll take you a bit of practice, a lot of feature browsing, and maybe the help of some tutorial to make the most of its extensive functionality. User guidance is probably this app’s weakest point, both in terms of help pages and interface feedback, but once you get past its learning curve you’ll be highly compensated. Do not panic if you find yourself a bit lost at first – its somehow blank interface and the lack of guidance may look a bit intimidating, but things get smoother with practice. Try to discover and check all possibilities before going live – the wide variety of effects and transitions may take some time to master, but you’ll be amply compensated by its rewarding results. To make things a bit easier, the program allows you to assign hotkeys to nearly every single one of its commands.

OBS Studio is a versatile mixing desk for all your video and audio sources. Of course, you can always make a linear recording with a single audio track and share it straightaway without further editing, but the beauty of this app is that it allows you to mix between sources and use the program’s smooth transitions and video filters and effects to live stream a more pro-looking video. The program’s Studio Mode will let you preview your mix before pushing it live, which will allow you to try different options, correct minor mistakes, and polish your broadcast before you share it with your viewers.

OBS Studio supports YouTube, Twitch, DailyMotion, Facebook Live, hitbox.tv, and various others, thus covering all the most popular streaming services.

Francisco Martínez

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