Solved OBS stream recording – recording settings

Hello,
I have an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics card and an Intel Core i5-14400F processor.
What exact settings should I use in OBS under the "Recording" tab to ensure that stream recordings (e.g., Netflix) are smooth and don't put a heavy load on the computer? Which encoder and rate control mode (CBR, CQP, etc.) would work best with this setup?
Thanks in advance for your help!

First you have to make sure the video compressor is NVEnc AVC or NVEnc HEVC, so it uses nVidia CUDA hardware acceleration. Then use a high bitrate to eliminate artifacts. You can later edit the video in a suitable application and save the edited video with a lower bitrate. I use NVEnc HEVC with at least 10000Kbps for 1080p video. I have set the frame rate to 25fps (I leave in Greece, EU) so I don't have to convert it later. For USA you can use 29.97fps. If you are recording a game set it to 60fps. Also I compress the audio as AC3 (aka Dolby Digital) Stereo 192Kbps. This is equivalent to MP3 192Kbps which is very good, since even 128Kbps is considered CD quality. Anything higher will not make any perceivable difference. Have in mind that Netflix might give you a black screen if you have it on a second monitor and try to record it. You must have Netflix on the primary monitor and the connection must be either HDMI or Display Port. For best image quality use the dedicated Netflix application, not any browser. Only the Netflix application and Microsoft Edge can show 1080p or higher. The other browsers are limited to 720p.

For smooth recording with your RTX 4060, select NVIDIA NVENC AV1 or HEVC in OBS with CQP mode at a CQP level around 18 to 20. If you still encounter a black screen while recording DRM content like Netflix, try disabling hardware acceleration in your web browser settings.

I have confirmed that while other browsers gave me a black screen on Netflix and Disney Plus, Mozilla Firefox game me picture, but it was limited to 720p. Fortunately latest versions of the dedicated Netflix and Disney Plus apps give picture too, this time at the maximum resolution, 1080p in my case, I don't have a 4K monitor yet. However, the app must display on a single screen (if you have dual screen setup you must temporarily disable the other screen) and of course via HDMI or Display Port. Good old analog VGA cable is out of the question, you need Firefox for that.

koudraclae said:

For smooth recording with your RTX 4060, select NVIDIA NVENC AV1 or HEVC in OBS with CQP mode at a CQP level around 18 to 20. If you still encounter a black screen while recording DRM content like Netflix, try disabling hardware acceleration in your web browser settings.

Click to expand...

Can I use NVIDIA NVENC H.264?
There is no CQP—so where is it? It only appears further down.

Constant Bitrate
Constant QP
Variable Bitrate
onstrained Quality Variable Bitrate
Lossless

Should I set it to 18, 19, or 20?

Will it be smooth, like it is from a TV or set-top box?

wojtekmazgaj said:

Can I use NVIDIA NVENC H.264?
There is no CQP—so where is it? It only appears further down.

Constant Bitrate
Constant QP
Variable Bitrate
onstrained Quality Variable Bitrate
Lossless

Should I set it to 18, 19, or 20?

Will it be smooth, like it is from a TV or set-top box?

Click to expand...

Yes, you can set constant quality if you don't care about the final file size. If you want to fit the video in a specific size, such as a 4480MB blank DVD-R disc, you need variable bitrate. Even then NVEnc H264 is not very accurate, so you can capture at a much higher bitrate or constant quality to create a perfect master video and then edit it and save the final video at a lower bitrate.