Roland Switchers: How to Customize Live Streams With OBS
This guide covers live stream setups using Roland streaming hardware with OBS Studio, which is free software with a lot of options for customization.
- Roland also has free software for Windows that simplifies your live streaming workflow:
Roland Live Streamer: How to Set Up and Use this Free Software to Stream
OBS Studio has a step by step menu within the software to help you set up your hardware, but if you want to set it up yourself to take advantage of the software's advanced features, use this guide.
Compatible Roland Products:
AeroCaster and SR-20HD are not compatible, they only have direct streaming and do not need streaming software.
When setting up streams in the past, you may have seen the option to stream directly through a web browser. Note that Facebook and YouTube may not stream at full quality if you do this.
Paid platforms like Streamyard and Restream do not seem to have this issue, but OBS uses "RTMP" to stream.
What is RTMP? Ever notice how a website link starts with the letters HTTP? RTMP is like the streaming version of that. Both OBS Studio and Roland Live Streamer support RTMP streaming.
This guide is divided into chapters, below is a table of contents to jump to a section.
- Streaming platforms periodically change their user interface on their website, so some of the images in this guide for Facebook, YouTube, and Restream.io may appear slightly different, but all the key steps are here to guide you through setup.
If this is your first time setting up OBS manually, read all the chapters in order. It should take about 30-60 minutes to set up and test your stream for the first time.
- Before you begin, set up a wired internet connection for the computer running OBS. Wi-Fi connections are less consistent and not recommended for streaming.
- If Wi-Fi is your only option, a router with wireless AC or faster is recommended, as well as a computer that supports wireless AC.
Table of Contents:
IntroductionGetting StartedAdjusting QualityAdding Sources
Audio Mixer Setup |
Stream SettingsConnect to FacebookConnect to YouTubeConnect to Restream.ioMore Information |
Introduction
Roland streaming hardware has a USB 3.0 Type B or Type C port that carries audio and video. You need to connect a compatible USB cable between your product and computer.
- V, VC, and VR series products do not include a USB cable:
Your USB video output resolution is the size of the video image, 1080P is the most common. And its frame rate is how smooth it appears, 29.97 frames per second is also common.
The recommended settings depend on how fast your computer is, especially if you want to stream and record at the same time. Most computers handle 1080P 29.97 video without issue. This provides you a high resolution image with reasonably smooth motion.
Fast computers with a 6 or 8 core processer and a dedicated graphics card can handle 1080P 59.94 without issue. If streaming and recording at the same time and you have a dedicated graphics, it's recommended to have the CPU stream and GPU record, more on that later.
Roland switchers support multiple USB video output formats, they will convert the resolution and frame rate in the hardware.
Some video formats require software to adjust the resolution and frame rate. Computers today easily handle the conversion.
|
480P 29.97, 30 59.94, 60 |
576P 25, 50 |
720P 25 29.97, 30 |
720P 50 59.94, 60 |
1080P 25 29.97, 30 |
1080P |
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| UVC-01 |
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| UVC-02 | ||||||
| V-02HD MK II | ||||||
| V-160HD | ||||||
| VC-100UHD | ||||||
| VR-1HD | ||||||
| VR-4HD | ||||||
| VR-6HD | ||||||
| VR-50HD VR-50HD MK II |
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| VR-120HD | ||||||
| VR-400UHD |
Can set in hardware or software
Can only set with software
Not supported
The VR-400UHD also handles the following formats:
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1440P |
2160P |
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| VR-400UHD |
Getting Started
To start, download and install OBS Studio on your computer.
- OBS Studio (Win & Mac): obsproject.com
- Note that version 28 has minor changes to the design and interface. Some screenshots may reflect version 27.
Once you open the software, you will see this interface:
In the top-right section under Controls, click on Settings.
In the window that pops up, choose Video from the choices along the left sidebar.
This is where you setup your resolution (video size) and frame rate (smoothness). If your Roland Streaming Hardware's USB output video format is set to:
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1080P 29.97
- Set the Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1920x1080
- Set the Common FPS Values to 29.97
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1080P 59.94
- Set the Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1920x1080
- Set the Common FPS Values to 59.94
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720P 29.97
- Set the Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1280x720
- Set the Common FPS Values to 29.97
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720P 59.94
- Set the Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution to 1280x720
- Set the Common FPS Values to 59.94
You can change the Output (Scaled) Resolution setting to scale the video to a different resolution for your streams and recordings, but it will require additional processing power from your computer.
But it's generally recommended that the Common FPS value matches the output of your AV Mixer.
If you are not sure which settings to choose, start with 1080P 29.97. 1080P 59.94 video requires a fast computer or dedicated hardware encoding. If you need 59.94 FPS on an older computer, try 720P 59.94.
You can monitor CPU usage using the stats in the bottom-right corner of the main window. This will increase once you start streaming and recording.
Next, click on the Output section of the Settings menu.
Before you adjust the settings, click on the Output Mode drop-down menu at the top, and change the setting from Simple to Advanced.
Just below that, you will see tabs for Streaming output, and Recording output.
Click on the Streaming tab, if it is not already selected.
You will see a list of options to adjust the quality of your stream.
Adjusting Quality
Under the Streaming Output settings, you will see a section for Encoder Settings. OBS also supports recording to your hard drive, even while streaming. You can access these settings by clicking on the Record tab. You will see settings similar to the Streaming tab.
The following setting is only in the Record tab:
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Recording Format: MP4 - This file type is widely compatible with media players and editing software, but if OBS crashes while recording, you may lose the entire recording.
- But it's still recommended because it eliminates the extra step of converting the recording with software.
Review and change the remaining settings for both streaming and recording:
STREAMING/RECORDING SETTINGS
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Audio Track: 1 - Keep this as 1. This counts as a stereo audio output. You can only stream one of your OBS Tracks at a time, but you can record multiple Tracks.
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This can be confusing. Tracks in OBS are stereo audio outputs that have one or more audio Sources mixed and routed to them, similar to audio buses.
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Encoder: x264 - For most computers, use the default x264 encoder. Only change this setting if your computer has a hardware encoder, which will reduce CPU usage by using dedicated hardware encoding. They all have different settings than x264, which are covered near the end of this section.
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Intel QuickSync: Many Intel i-series processors support this.
- Apple VT H264: Use this if you have a M1 Mac.
- NVENC: For computers with a NVIDIA graphics card.
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Rescale Output: Off - Leave this turned off unless you want to stream and record at different resolutions.
ENCODER SETTINGS
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Rate Control: CBR - Do not select VBR, it may lead to quality issues, depending on your content.
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Bitrate: Varies - The most important setting for your stream quality. The higher the number, the better the quality. But if your internet upload speed is not fast enough, OBS will drop video frames, your stream will skip, and you may lose audio sync.
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Recommended Bit-Rates:
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Twitch: 3000-6000 Kbps
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If your internet upload speed is not fast enough, try a lower value.
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You can also adjust this setting during your stream. The status bar in the lower-right corner of OBS adds information while streaming: Dropped Frames, a Green/Yellow/Red stream health icon, and the current combined audio and video bit-rate in Kbps.
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Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds - Both YouTube and Facebook recommend this, but you can go as high as 4 seconds.
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CPU Usage: Fast - If you have a powerful computer, you can choose a slower speed to improve encode quality, but it's unlikely to make a noticeable difference.
- This comparison video shows the minimal difference in quality.
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Profile: High - Recommended over Main Profile.
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Tune: None - You can choose Film, which is optimized for cameras and general use, but the difference may not be noticeable. There is also Zerolatency, which may help with audience interaction during streaming, but it can negatively impact the video quality.
Next, click on the Audio tab, and adjust the audio bit-rate for track 1.
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You can leave it at the default setting of 160 kbps, but if you are streaming music in stereo, consider increasing the bit-rate to 192 or 256.
Earlier, we mentioned 3 common hardware encoders. These are recommended settings for each of them:
Intel QuickSync: Many Intel i-series processors support this.
- Target Usage: Fast
- Profile: High
- Keyframe Interval: 4 seconds
- Rate Control: CBR
- Bitrate: Varies
- Latency: Normal
- B-Frames: 0
- Subjective Video Enchancements: Off
Apple VT H264: Use this if you have a M1 Mac.
- Rate Control: CBR
- Bitrate: Varies
- Keyframe Interval: 4 seconds
- Use B-Frames: Off
NVENC: For computers with a NVIDIA graphics card.
- Rate Control: CBR
- Bitrate: Varies
- Keyframe Interval: 4 seconds
- Preset: Quality
- Profile: High
- Look-ahead: Off
- Psycho Visual Tuning: Off
- GPU: 0
- Max B-Frames: 0
More About Bit-Rates:
- Kbps is Kilobits per second, and not KBps or Kilobytes.
- Mbps is Megabits per second, and not MBps or Megabytes.
- 8 kilobits make a kilobyte, and a megabyte is 1000 kilobytes, or 8000 kilobits.
- This is an important difference. You may hear people say they have an upload speed of 12 Megabytes on their internet connection, but they actually mean Megabits.
- If you stream for 60 minutes at 4 Megabits per second, you will upload roughly 1.8 Gigabytes.
- If you plan to stream with a bit-rate of 4000 kbps, you should have a 10 Megabit or higher upload speed on a dedicated network to be safe.
- Run a speed test online and divide your resulting upload speed by 2, this should be your bit-rate in OBS.
- For example, if you have a 20 Mbps upload speed, you can safely set the bit-rate to 10,000 Kbps.
Adding Sources
First, create a Scene. Click the "+"button in the Scenes section, and give it a name.
Scenes contain your video, audio, and media Sources. You can later create different combinations or configurations of Scenes, and switch between them.
Next, add Sources. Click the + button in the Sources section, and a list will appear.
If using MacOS, you need to create a Video Capture Device first, followed by an Audio Input Capture, to see and hear the output of your AV Mixer.
If using Windows, you can either create separate Sources, or combine the audio and video in a single Video Capture Device source; more on that below.
This connection basically turns your VR Series Mixer into "One Big Webcam": the audio and video from the same hardware source is divided into separate software sources in OBS, VR Capture, or even when streaming directly to Facebook or YouTube via your web browser.
MacOS SOURCE SETUP
Add a Video Capture Device Source, give it a name, and a Properties window will appear.
Click on Device, and select your VR Series Mixer from the drop-down list.
You should see a video preview within a few seconds.
Next, change the Preset setting to High if working in 1080P, the default may be set to 720P.
Once configured, you can click OK.
- If you do not see the video, make sure your VR Series Mixer is outputting video via HDMI.
Leave the other settings at their defaults, you can access advanced settings by un-checking the Use Preset box, but it is not necessary for this guide.
Next, add an Audio Input Capture Source, give it a name, and a Properties window will appear.
Click on Device, and select your VR Series Mixer's Audio from the drop-down list, and click OK.
There may be an issue with OBS Studio on M1 Macs. If your video freezes after a few seconds, change this setting:
- Settings > Advanced > Video > uncheck "Disable macOS V-Sync"
- This should prevent the video signal from freezing
- Video Capture Device Source Properties > check "Use Buffering"
- This may give you smoother video performance
This issue was confirmed with a 2021 Macbook Pro running Monterey 12.6.3 and OBS 29.0.2.
WINDOWS 10 & 11 SOURCE SETUP
Add a Video Capture Device Source, give it a name, and a Properties window will appear.
Click on Device, and select your VR Series Mixer from the drop-down list.
You should see a video preview within a few seconds.
- If you do not see the video, make sure your VR Series Mixer is outputting video via HDMI.
Leave the settings at their defaults, and scroll to the bottom.
Check the "Use custom audio device" button, and confirm the Audio Device is your VR Series Mixer.
Once confirmed, click OK.
- That concludes separate instructions for Windows and MacOS, the remaining sections cover both operating systems.
AUDIO MIXER SETUP
Next, setup the Audio Mixer. Mute the channels that you don’t need by clicking on the white Speaker icon. It will change into a red Speaker.
In most cases, you only want your Audio Input Capture source un-muted, as this is the audio from the AV Mixer.
If you click on any of the Gear icons in the Audio Mixer window, and select Advanced Audio Properties, it opens a window where you can add audio delay and mix-down the Audio Input Capture source to mono, if needed.
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Facebook now supports stereo audio, so you no longer need to mixdown to mono.
You can add audio delay to synchronize with video by entering a positive value in the Sync Offset box for that channel.
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You can also set the audio delay in your VR Series AV Mixer. Typically, you can add 500 ms of delay to each input and output, for a total of 1000 ms.
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When testing your stream, clap your hands in front of a mic, and adjust the Sync Offset accordingly. Start with 200 ms of delay, and see if that fixes the sync.
- It can be nearly impossible to measure this by eye, so you can import a recording into editing software, or use an app like Catchin' Sync, which can record a clip using your phone's high speed camera, and help you measure the sync offset.
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If you are recording in OBS, you can also set which audio sources go to which Tracks. Note if you are only streaming, you can only stream one of the Tracks, so you can leave this setting alone.
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This can be confusing. Tracks in OBS are stereo audio outputs that have one or more audio Sources mixed and routed to them.
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Stream Settings
Go back into the OBS Settings, and this time, choose Stream.
OBS simplifies RTMP streaming by providing presets that automatically point your stream to the correct Server URL for supported platforms.
Next, open your web browser and go to the streaming service’s Control Panel, copy the Stream Key, and paste it into this field.
The next two sections walk you through setting up YouTube Live and Facebook Live for RTMP streaming.
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Note that OBS supports RTMPS, which is required by most streaming platforms, it is a version of RTMP with better data security.
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That said, do not share your Stream Key, it will allow others to take over your streaming channel until you create a new Stream Key in the platform's settings.
Connect to Facebook
Go to the Facebook website, and click on the Live Video button underneath the “What’s on your mind” text box.
This will take you to the Live Producer dashboard. If using a laptop with a webcam, you will probably see yourself on the screen.
Click the down arrow button below it or scroll down until you see the Get Started options.
In the Get Started section, click on Use Stream Key.
If you want to use the same stream key every time, check the option “Use a persistent stream key”, otherwise, it will change for your next stream and not connect to OBS.
You will now see the Live Stream Setup window, and can copy your Stream Key to the clipboard, and paste it into OBS:
Normally, you would choose Camera if streaming directly to the browser using your AV Mixer, but this guide is focused on RTMP streaming. For steps on streaming directly, please use this guide:
Confirm your OBS Stream Settings are set to Facebook Live, and paste the Stream Key in the box:
Then, in the lower-right section of OBS, under Controls, click on Start Streaming, and the Facebook interface should show a video preview within 30 seconds:
Remember, if your internet upload speed is not fast enough, OBS will drop video frames, and your stream will skip a lot, and lose audio sync.
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You can adjust the OBS Bit-Rate setting live, so once you start streaming, you can reduce the value, if needed. You will notice the status bar in the lower-right corner of OBS adds information while streaming: Dropped Frames, a Green/Yellow/Red stream health icon, and the current combined audio and video bit-rate in Kbps.
Scroll back up to see your Video and Audio bit-rates below the preview video. If it appears paused, click on the video and it should play.
When ready, click the Go Live button in the bottom-left corner to start the stream. This will pause your video again in the preview, so you will need to play it again.
When you end the stream in Facebook, you need to separately end it in OBS as well, by clicking the Stop Streaming button in the lower-right corner.
Connect to YouTube
In the top-right, click on the "+ Camera"icon, followed by Go Live.
Along the top left of the screen, click on the Stream icon:
Normally, you would choose Webcam if streaming directly to the browser using your AV Mixer, but this guide is focused on RTMP streaming. For steps on streaming directly, please use this guide:
You will see all of your settings grouped into sections. Make sure that the Stream Settings tab is selected.
In the YouTube setup interface, click the Copy button for the Stream Name/Key, and paste it in OBS in the Stream Key field in that Stream Settings window:
You also have the option to create custom stream keys if you plan to reuse the same one each time you stream.
Confirm your OBS Stream Settings are set to Facebook Live, and paste the Stream Key in the box:
The next time you create a stream, if you Create From Previous, it will re-use the stream key from that previous stream. If you want to reuse those settings but have a new stream key, click Create New Stream Key in the interface.
If you instead create a New Stream with new settings, it will generate a new Stream Key you’ll have to copy and paste again into OBS.
If your stream interacts a lot with your audience, YouTube will let you bring down the average latency, at the expense of video quality. Once you set this and start streaming, it can’t be changed.
Then, in the lower-right section under Controls, click on Start Streaming, and the YouTube interface should show a video preview within 30 seconds.
Remember, if your internet upload speed is not fast enough, OBS will drop video frames, and your stream will skip a lot, and lose audio sync.
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You can adjust the OBS Bit-Rate setting live, so once you start streaming, you can reduce the value, if needed. You will notice the status bar in the lower-right corner of OBS adds information while streaming: Dropped Frames, a Green/Yellow/Red stream health icon, and the current combined audio and video bit-rate in Kbps.
Once you have the settings where you want them, click Go Live in the top-right corner, and your YouTube stream will start in a few seconds.
When you end the stream in YouTube, you need to separately end it in OBS as well, by clicking the Stop Streaming button in the lower-right corner.
Connect to Restream.io
Restream.io is a streaming distribution platform. You can connect to it via OBS like you did with Facebook Live or YouTube Live, but Restream.io can multi-stream your content to both platforms at the same time.
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The free version may include a watermark over your video in the top right corner, depending on the platforms that you multi-stream to.
- Alternatives to Restream.io: Castr.io, Switchboard.live, Loola.tv
Before you start streaming in OBS, you need to add a Channel in Restream.io for each platform you want to stream to.
In the Restream.io dashboard, click on the red Add Channel button, choose a platform from the list, and follow the on-screen instructions to link the account to Restream.io.
You can enable and disable individual channels for your multi-stream by using the toggle switches to the right of each channel.
To set your OBS Stream Settings to Restream.io, choose the server geographically closest to you, and then paste the Stream Key copied from the Restream.io website’s control panel.
Once you have everything configured and enabled, click the Start Streaming button in OBS, and it will proceed to push your RTMP stream to your enabled Restream.io Channels.
More Information
For more information on the Roland VR Series, OBS Studio, and Restream.io, as well as directly connecting to a streaming service as a webcam, please use the following links:
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Roland Professional A/V Video Product Resources
- Tutorials and quickstart guides for all products
- Tutorials and quickstart guides for all products
- OBS Studio Help Center
- Restream.io Help Center