OBS Studio

OBS Studio launched an overhauled audio mixer on April 3, 2026, featuring a new layout and enhanced functionality, marking a significant update for users. This patch also introduced WebRTC simulcast support and partial support for Canvases to obs-websocket, expanding the software's capabilities.

• Major Bug Fixes: This update addressed multiple critical issues, including:
  • Fixed a problem that could prevent OBS from changing profiles or video settings.
  • Resolved crashes on macOS during application shutdown when YouTube docks were active.
  • Fixed a crash on Linux when changing profiles or during application shutdown.

• Security Improvements: Enhanced security measures were implemented for browser sources using local files, ensuring a safer streaming experience.

• Audio Mixer Enhancements: The audio mixer received several improvements, such as:
  • Corrected colors and minimum width issues.
  • Resolved problems with disabled sources appearing and missing tooltips.

• Gameplay Adjustments: Various changes were made to improve user experience, including:
  • Default bitrates were updated to 6000 kbps.
  • The media source playback slider's update rate was increased.
  • The plugin manager was enhanced to allow enabling/disabling missing plugins.

OBS Studio introduced a significant basic plugin manager and Hybrid MOV support on September 24, 2025, enhancing the functionality and compatibility of the software. This update also included new features like a chair removal option for NVIDIA RTX Background Removal and Voice Activity Detection (VAD) for improved audio performance.

• New Features:
  • Added Multitrack Video Support for macOS and Linux, enabling advanced video handling capabilities.
  • Introduced new UI appearance options, allowing users to customize font size and density.
  • Included experimental Metal renderer for Apple Silicon Macs, enhancing performance on newer hardware.
  • Enabled opt-in automatic crash log upload for Windows and macOS, improving troubleshooting.

• Performance Improvements:
  • Improved Preview Draw Performance on July 8, 2025, enhancing the user experience when working with multiple sources.

• Changes and Adjustments:
  • Changed Hybrid MP4/MOV to be the default output format for new profiles, streamlining the user experience.
  • Updated default bitrate from 2500 to 6000 Kbps, enhancing streaming quality.
  • Adjusted hotkeys on macOS to require Input Monitoring permission, improving security and functionality.

OBS Studio introduced significant updates during this period, including the NVIDIA Blur Filter and Background Blur, which launched on December 7, 2024. Other notable highlights included the Hybrid MP4 Output Format and Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting Support, both released on July 13, 2024.

• New Features:
  • NVIDIA Blur Filter and Background Blur: Enhanced video quality with background effects.
  • Hybrid MP4 Output Format: Improved crash resiliency and added chapter marker support.
  • Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting Support: Multitrack video streaming support on Twitch for specific GPU models.
  • Amazon IVS Service Integration: Added support for Amazon's Interactive Video Service.
  • Composable Themes System: A new theming system for easier customization.
• Quality of Life Improvements:
  • Opt-in for Beta Testing: Users could now opt into the beta version for early access to new features.
  • Instructions for Switching to Beta: Provided guidance on updating the regular OBS Studio Steam install to beta.

• Balance Changes:
  • NVENC Custom Options Restriction: Changed NVENC to disallow invalid custom options.
  • IPv4/IPv6 Address Selection Adjustment: Made address selection stricter for improved stability.

• System Updates:
  • NVIDIA Kepler GPU Support Removal: Support for older NVIDIA GPUs was dropped.
  • Code Signing Certificate Update: The updated certificate may have impacted game capture compatibility with some anti-cheat solutions.

OBS Studio 30.0 Beta launched on August 17, 2023, introducing a variety of new features and enhancements. This period also saw the addition of AV1 Live Streaming Support for streaming AV1/HEVC over Enhanced RTMP, further enhancing the platform's capabilities. Additionally, several new source types and options were added in the March 12, 2024 update.

• New Features:
  • AV1 Live Streaming Support for YouTube.
  • Video Capture Device (PipeWire) Source Type added.
  • Multi-Track Audio Support for mpegts enabled.
  • Capture Card Device Source Type added on macOS.
  • Enhanced GPU Rescaling Options for streaming and recording outputs.

• Quality of Life Improvements:
  • Users could now opt into the OBS Studio Beta through Steam's properties, simplifying access to new features.

• System Changes:
  • The nightly branch was disabled during infrastructure revamps, affecting beta testing dynamics.

• Changes and Updates:
  • Python 3.11 support was added for macOS, and the obs-websocket was updated to version 5.4.2.
  • Default recording format changed to fMP4/fMOV for stable releases, enhancing compatibility.

Native Apple Silicon Support and HDR Support launched on September 1, 2022, marking significant advancements for OBS Studio in its first year. This period also saw the introduction of a range of new encoders, including support for Intel HEVC and AMD AV1, enhancing the software's capabilities for content creators.

• New Features:
  • ScreenCaptureKit for macOS: Improved capturing individual windows and displays on macOS 12.5+.
  • NVIDIA Background Removal: Added for RTX GPUs, allowing for background removal without a greenscreen on Windows.
  • obs-websocket as First-Party Plugin: Simplified integration with external tools.
  • Virtual Camera Source Selection: Users can now select specific sources for the Virtual Camera.

• Performance Improvements:
  • AMD Encoder Implementation: Enhanced efficiency and performance on Windows.
  • Improved Capture Performance: Significant improvements for macOS users with ScreenCaptureKit support.
  • Automatic Audio Capture: Fixed audio capture for most capture card brands on Windows.

• Balance Changes:
  • NVENC Preset Updates: Introduced new quality settings and improved compatibility and performance.
  • Replay Buffer Memory Limit Adjusted: Set to 75% of installed system RAM for better resource management.

• UI/UX Enhancements:
  • Upgrade to Qt6: All platforms upgraded to use this new UI framework.
  • New Default Theme: Yami introduced as the new default theme across all platforms.

• Quality of Life Updates:
  • Automatic Background Updates: Enabled for users on Steam.
  • Application-Specific Audio Capture: New feature added for Windows users to capture audio from specific applications.