[0:00] In this video I’ll be showing you the best OBS 
Settings for Streaming in 2026. I’ll be covering  
[0:05] settings for Twitch and YouTube.
Start by heading to the side,  
[0:08] then open the Settings.
Go across and select Stream from the side menu. 
[0:12] Select Service from the top, then 
choose the platform you want to  
[0:16] stream to. I’ll be selecting Twitch.
Click the Connect Account button,  
[0:20] then sign in to the account you will be streaming 
on. If you don’t have the option to connect  
[0:24] account then you’ll need to use a stream key.
Once connected head down to the Multitrack Video  
[0:29] options and uncheck the Enable 
Enhanced Broadcasting setting. 
[0:33] Head down to the Advanced options and check 
the box to Ignore streaming service setting  
[0:37] recommendations. This will allow your 
stream to be higher quality when possible. 
[0:41] Click the Apply button, then 
go to the Output settings. 
[0:44] Expand the Output Mode menu, then select Advanced.
Make sure you’re on the streaming tab,  
[0:49] then set Audio Track to the track you 
want to use for streaming. I recommend  
[0:53] using track 1 for simplicity.
Set Audio Encoder to FFmpeg AAC. 
[0:58] If you are streaming to Twitch then you can enable 
the Twitch VOD Track option and select the audio  
[1:04] track you want to use. This allows you to 
use a different audio track for your VOD,  
[1:08] and can be used to remove music or specific 
audio from your past broadcasts. Again,  
[1:13] I’ll be selecting track 2 for simplicity.
Set the Video Encoder to NVIDIA NVENC H.264  
[1:20] or AMD HW H.264. If you have the option to 
stream with NVIDIA NVENC HEVC or AMD HW H.265  
[1:30] then you can use that instead. If you don’t 
have any of the NVIDIA or AMD options then  
[1:34] you’ll need to use the x264 option.
Make sure Rescale Output is Disabled,  
[1:40] then go down to the Encoder Settings.
Set Rate Control to Constant Bitrate or CBR,  
[1:45] then set the bitrate to 8000 if you’re 
streaming on Twitch, or 10000 if you’re  
[1:50] streaming on YouTube. Although Twitch only 
has a maximum bitrate of 6000 your stream  
[1:54] can occasionally get a boost in quality when 
using 8000, provided you enabled the ignore  
[2:00] streaming service settings recommendations option 
earlier. Additionally, Twitch partners will almost  
[2:05] always benefit from setting the bitrate to 8000.
The bitrate you can use also varies depending on  
[2:11] your upload speed. If your upload speed is above 
12mbps then you can use 8000. However, if your  
[2:17] upload speed is between 10mbps and 12mbps then 
use 6000. If your upload speed is below 10mbps  
[2:26] then set the bitrate to 4000. To stream to YouTube 
with your bitrate set to 10000 you’ll want your  
[2:32] upload speed to be around 14mbps or higher. If you 
are dropping frames or having connectivity issues  
[2:38] then you can try lowering your bitrate slightly.
Set Keyframe Interval to 2s, and Preset to P6:  
[2:45] Slower (Better Quality). If you have a dedicated 
streaming PC then you can use P7: Slowest (Best  
[2:51] Quality), and if you experience any lag then 
you can drop it down to P5: Slow, or P4: Medium. 
[2:57] Set Tuning to High Quality, and Multipass 
Mode to Two Passes (Quarter Resolution). If  
[3:02] you are streaming on a low end PC then 
you can use Single Pass if necessary. 
[3:06] Set Profile to High, then uncheck 
Look-ahead, and enable Adaptive Quantization. 
[3:12] Set B-Frames to 2 and make sure 
Custom Encoder Options is blank. 
[3:16] Click the Apply button, then go 
up and switch to the Audio tab. 
[3:19] Find your stream audio track, then select the 
Audio Bitrate menu and set your bitrate to  
[3:24] 160. You can use 320 for the best audio 
but you typically won’t be able to tell  
[3:29] a difference. If you have any audio issues 
then you can try using 128 to fix the issue. 
[3:34] Set the same bitrate for your 
VOD track if you enabled one,  
[3:38] then go down and click the Apply button.
Go to the side, then open the Audio settings. 
[3:43] Set the Sample Rate to 48 kHz, and 
make sure Channels is set to Stereo. 
[3:47] Go down to the Global Audio Devices, then 
set the Desktop Audio to the device you use  
[3:53] to listen to your computer or gaming 
audio. Typically, this will be your  
[3:57] headset. If you are using audio software, 
like SteelSeries Sonar or Elgato Wave Link,  
[4:02] then make sure you select the correct output.
Depending on your headset or the audio software  
[4:07] you’re using you may have 2 separate outputs, 
one for gameplay and one for chat. If this is  
[4:12] the case then set Desktop Audio 2 to your 
chat output. Also make sure you have the  
[4:17] chat output selected in Discord or for any 
other voice chat application you’re using. 
[4:22] Expand the Mic/Auxiliary Audio 
menu, then select your microphone. 
[4:26] Make sure you don’t have any other microphone 
selected to prevent any echoing, then go down  
[4:31] and click the Apply button.
Head back to the side menu,  
[4:34] then switch to the Video Settings.
Set the Base (Canvas Resolution) to  
[4:38] your screen’s resolution or 1920x1080. This is the 
size of your OBS Canvas and preview. Typically,  
[4:45] stream graphics are designed based on a 1080p 
canvas so you may want to use 1920x1080. 
[4:52] To find your screen’s resolution right-click 
on your desktop then select Display settings. 
[4:57] Select the monitor that you’re streaming 
from, then scroll down and find the Display  
[5:01] resolution option.
Go to the side and  
[5:03] you will see the resolution here.
Set Output (Scaled) Resolution to  
[5:07] 1920x1080 for 1080p. I recommend this resolution 
as it makes repurposing and editing your clips  
[5:13] easier while using the resolution most 
people are used to for long form content. 
[5:18] If your Output resolution is lower than your Base 
resolution like mine is, then set the Downscale  
[5:24] Filter to Lanczos (Sharpened scaling, 36 samples).
Expand the FPS menu, then select Common FPS Values  
[5:31] and set the frame rate to 60. This is how many 
times the video image will be updated per second,  
[5:36] 60 is the standard for gaming and streaming. 
However, if your bitrate is set to 4000 then  
[5:41] you can set the FPS to 30 to improve 
the image quality of your stream. 
[5:46] Go down to the bottom and click Apply, then 
head back to the side and select Hotkeys. 
[5:50] Go up to the top and select the 
Filter box, then type in “Streaming”. 
[5:54] Click the box next to the Start Streaming option, 
then enter a keyboard shortcut that you want to  
[5:59] use to start your stream. You can use this to 
start your stream even when OBS is minimized. 
[6:05] Select the Stop Streaming box, then enter a 
shortcut you want to use to stop your stream.  
[6:10] You can use the same keyboard shortcut, which 
will make it work like a toggle or on/off switch. 
[6:15] Using a hotkey to start and stop your stream 
stops you from needing to open the OBS window  
[6:20] to start or end your stream. This is particularly 
useful if you’re streaming with only one screen. 
[6:25] Be sure to add your streaming hotkeys to your 
Elgato stream deck if you have one, or use the  
[6:30] Stream button to start and end your stream.
Apply your settings, then go back to the side  
[6:35] menu and open the Advanced options.
Go to the top and set the Process  
[6:39] Priority to Normal if it isn’t already.
Keep your video settings set to default,  
[6:43] if yours are different then you can pause the 
video and copy the settings I have. Alternatively,  
[6:48] you can set the Color Range to Full, but this 
is preference and doesn’t make much difference. 
[6:53] Go down to the Stream Delay heading and 
uncheck the Enable option if it isn’t already. 
[6:57] This will ensure there’s no added 
stream delay for a good chat experience. 
[7:01] Head to the bottom and click the 
Apply button, then click Ok to close. 
[7:05] Find the Audio Mixer dock and click the 
three dots next to any of the audio devices,  
[7:11] then select Advanced Audio Properties.
Here you will have your audio track  
[7:15] options. You will need to select what 
audio devices are heard on your stream  
[7:19] track and on your VOD track if you are using one.
Track 1 is my stream track, so I’ll be enabling  
[7:25] Desktop Audio 1, Desktop Audio 2, and Mic/Aux 
all to be heard on track 1. Meanwhile, track 2  
[7:32] is my VOD track so I’ll be enabling Desktop Audio 
1 and Mic/Aux to be heard in the VOD, but keeping  
[7:39] Desktop Audio 2 unchecked so it won’t be heard.
I’ll include a link in the description to my  
[7:44] tutorial on separating audio in case you need 
more help. You can use the guide to separate  
[7:49] your music and gameplay instead of having 
it all come from the same audio device. 
[7:54] Click the Close button when done, and you will 
now have the best stream settings for OBS. 
[7:59] Please consider leaving a like 
if you found the video helpful.