OBS Studio for MacOS

[Brian K. Mitchell]

I am curious if anyone has any has an experience with an open source stream-casting & streaming application called Open Broadcaster Software or OBS for short?  There is a version of Macs with Intel CPUs and another for Macs with Silicon CPUs.

[Lawrence]

@Brian K. Mitchell

I'm not sure about Mac-specific usage, but it's widely used and quite good on PCs.

During the pandemic lockdowns of recent years, it became popular as a way to combine multiple video and audio streams for broadcast through (e.g.) Zoom.

It's still used today in hybrid services today where people can attend in person as well as on Zoom.

 

 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Lawrence

[Brian K. Mitchell]

 

@Lawrence

Thank you for the feedback!

I am looking for a good screen recording software for MacOS and OBS is seems really great!

 

 

[mbcvida]

OBS is a great software for broadcasting. If you are looking for a powerful screen recording software, I have used Screenflow and really liked it.

[EricC]

I looked into OBS for church streaming, but did not use it.

 

For screencasting to report, e.g., bugs to software suppliers, I used to use ScreenFlow, which is very good. However, I'd need a new license for my current Mac, so I now use the cheaper Capto.

[Tony Lawrence]

We went with Ecamm Live. It is paid software but exceptionally good. It also has short training videos that can have you up and running quickly. I recommend giving it a look. 
 

https://www.ecamm.com

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I've had OBS on my machines in the past, but I haven't used it enough to be proficient with it.

 

If you want the best screen recording app for Mac, look no further than ScreenFlow. I've tried them all, ScreenFlow can't be beat.

 

All of my Accordance screencasts are done in ScreenFlow.

 

If you need to share screen recording projects with Windows users or edit screen recording projects on Mac or Windows, then Camtasia is the best option. I still keep it around in case I need to create a screencast that someone with Windows needs to edit (without throwing the MP4 into a third party app).

[Brian K. Mitchell]

18 hours ago, mbcvida said:

OBS is a great software for broadcasting. If you are looking for a powerful screen recording software, I have used Screenflow and really liked it.

@mbcvida thank you for your suggestion! I hadn't heard of Screenflow before but I will take a look at it, now.

 

18 hours ago, EricC said:

I now use the cheaper Capto.

@EricC Thank you for sharing! I may try Capto out.

 

18 hours ago, Tony Lawrence said:

We went with Ecamm Live. It is paid software but exceptionally good.

@Tony Lawrence thank you for your suggestion and the link!

 

15 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

If you want the best screen recording app for Mac, look no further than ScreenFlow. I've tried them all, ScreenFlow can't be beat.

@Nathan Parker Wow, Screenflow has been mentioned by a number of posters on this thread. I guess it ScreenFlow must be well received. I will take a look at it. 

[Brian K. Mitchell]

18 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

If you need to share screen recording projects with Windows users or edit screen recording projects on Mac or Windows, then Camtasia is the best option.

@Nathan Parker In some of the videos you made for Accordance I noticed that there is a snagit icon on the apple toolbar/doc. I think Snagit is also made by the same company that makes Camtasia. 

[dandennison]

I use and prefer Telestream's Wirecast Pro for live broadcast purposes. Telestream ScreenFlow was also made by Wirecast prior to the Telestream acquisition of Wirecast. It is an amazing product made by the same amazing people.

 

I've used Wirecast Pro since 2006 when scbc.cc first went online with livestreaming.

 

The only caution I would give is that software-based video switching is really I/O intensive. To avoid dropping frames, consider the use of a hardware switcher or just buy a machine with tons of I/O bandwidth (think Threadripper or Xeon).

Edited November 4, 2023 by dandennison

[Brian K. Mitchell]

@dandennison Thank you for the detailed feedback! I am mostly in making pre-recorded video tutorials that I would upload to a service like Youtube or Vimeo.

[JonathanHuber]

On 11/3/2023 at 1:08 AM, Brian K. Mitchell said:

I am curious if anyone has any has an experience with an open source stream-casting & streaming application called Open Broadcaster Software or OBS for short?  There is a version of Macs with Intel CPUs and another for Macs with Silicon CPUs.

I've used it personally for screen recordings because Quicktime doesn't record internal audio, but I'm running it on an M2 MacBook Air and I get a lot of errors. I think an Air is struggling to keep up with the resource demands. If you don't need audio capture, the Quicktime screen recording works really well. (And Quicktime never gives me any errors; works every time.)

 

My church uses OBS to record the sermons and that computer is more powerful, so it works just fine. OBS is far superior to Quicktime in that scenario since we're also running a zoom stream and have to capture specific video and audio feeds. 

[dandennison]

1 hour ago, JonathanHuber said:

Quicktime doesn't record internal audio

 

You just need an audio router. Examples abound. I have used these:

• https://github.com/mattingalls/Soundflower (doesn't work on M[123] Macs)
• https://jackaudio.org/downloads/ (Jack Router for macOS)

I have not used these:

• https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/
• https://existential.audio/blackhole/
• https://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/ (this one is very popular)

 

Good luck,

 

Dan

[Brian K. Mitchell]

3 hours ago, JonathanHuber said:

I've used it personally for screen recordings because Quicktime doesn't record internal audio ....

@JonathanHuber thank you for the feedback I appreciate the input!

 

1 hour ago, dandennison said:

You just need an audio router. Examples abound.

@dandennison this is a helpful tip! Thank you for sharing!

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

WireCast is great for live streaming but probably more than what you need in this case. I'd go with ScreenFlow for your needs. For live streaming, I probably wouldn't use anything else but WireCast unless I was on a Windows machine. I might use XSPLIT.

 

I do own Snagit (it is made by the same makers of Camtasia). I use it daily for static screenshots (if I need to take a pic of my screen, I prefer it to Apple's tools).

 

I have used it for quick screen recordings I don't need to edit, but very infrequently there.

 

QuickTime Player can record your screen as well, but ScreenFlow is a world of different better.

[JonathanHuber]

Yeah, I looked into audio routers. Loopback works brilliantly (I downloaded the trial version), but it costs $100. Audio Hijack can’t create the virtual mic needed for QuickTime. Blackhole kinda works but it’s much more complicated both to install and to get working correctly. In terms of other software, I’m just resistant to spending much on what’s merely one part of a side part of a hobby. (To illustrate just how non-important this is… I’ve defaulted to using QuickTime with the built-in mic and I just turn up the laptop volume high enough for the mic to pick up.)

[Brian K. Mitchell]

5 hours ago, JonathanHuber said:

I’m just resistant to spending much on what’s merely one part of a side part of a hobby.

I feel the same way about this!

The attraction of OBS is that it is free, the only thing I have to spend on OBS is the time to learn how to use it. The national currency where I live is much weaker  than the US dollar currently ( 1 USD = 149.37 JPY) so any software I buy from the states turns out to be (or at least feel like it is) more than twice the price. 

 

[Brian K. Mitchell]

15 hours ago, Nathan Parker said:

I do own Snagit (it is made by the same makers of Camtasia). I use it daily for static screenshots (if I need to take a pic of my screen, I prefer it to Apple's tools).

@Nathan Parker if you do not mind I am curious as to why you prefer Snagit? 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Early on, it could annotate files and share screenshots with other services better than Apple's tools could. Apple's tools have improved in this area, but I've already invested so much time in learning Snagit, that going back to Apple's tools would still be a step back for me. Plus it also runs on Windows if I need it and have a consistent workflow across both devices.

 

With that said, I don't upgrade every year or have a maintenance agreement anymore. I keep my current versions until they break and only upgrade then.

[Brian K. Mitchell]

@Nathan Parker Again, thank you so much for your explanation. 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Anytime! I've used most of these tools out there. :-)

[Diatheke76]

On 11/5/2023 at 2:21 PM, Dr. Nathan Parker said:

Early on, it could annotate files and share screenshots with other services better than Apple's tools could. Apple's tools have improved in this area, but I've already invested so much time in learning Snagit, that going back to Apple's tools would still be a step back for me. Plus it also runs on Windows if I need it and have a consistent workflow across both devices.

 

With that said, I don't upgrade every year or have a maintenance agreement anymore. I keep my current versions until they break and only upgrade then.

Hi, Nathan! I’m new to Mac.  What do you mean by Apple’s tools!

I have Snag it and can annotate my screen, though I liked Camtasia better even though they removed Screen Draw.

Does Apple tools annotate screens? Or are you referring to something specific?  Thanks!

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Apple has a built in Screenshot app in your Utilities folder. It can also be accessed via Command+Shift+3 as a keystroke. See:

 

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102646

 

Apple finally added the ability to annotate screenshots in their built-in app a while back (I thought around Catalina or Mojave?). For years though all it could do was take screenshots. However, I was already using Snagit since I needed annotations before Apple got around to using them, plus I was working across Windows and Mac. I got so used to Snagit I never did go back to Apple's built-in stuff. :-)

[Diatheke76]

Thanks 🙏 

[Brian K. Mitchell]

13 hours ago, Diatheke76 said:

What do you mean by Apple’s tools!

In addition to MacOS built in ScreeShot app, you can also acess Screen through the QuickTime Player 

https://support.apple.com/guide/quicktime-player/record-your-screen-qtp97b08e666/mac#:~:text=In the QuickTime Player app on your Mac%2C choose File,clicks in the screen recording.