OBS 30.2 RC1 enables up to five concurrent streams on GeForce GPUs

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is a popular, free, and open-source software for video streaming to various platforms. It is supported by all major GPU vendors, including AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA. OBS also supports various graphics architectures, including the latest NVIDIA RTX 40 series, which features improved encoding capabilities.

Last month, the developers released a new Release Candidate of version 30.2. This version introduces support for Twitch Enhanced Broadcasting , a feature that allows gamers and streamers to encode concurrent streams for viewers. This means that video encoding will be primarily handled by the user’s GPU, and the newer the GPU, the faster and more efficient the encoding will be.

The multi-streaming capability is even possible with NVIDIA Maxwell-based GeForce GTX 900 series GPUs. NVIDIA has been increasing the concurrent encoding session number on its consumer-grade hardware, and nearly all cards listed on the official encoding matri x currently support up to eight simultaneous streams. Encoding support varies depending on the architecture, with some featuring up to two NVENC encoders. Additionally, those who want to encode in AV1, the royalty-free format superior to H264, will need an RTX 40 series model.

Worth noting, by choosing the option to use concurrent streams, users will be sending additional data to Twitch servers. This is necessary to ensure that the encoding hardware and receiving servers have optimal settings. The following data will be sent:

• OBS config info (canvas width and height, frame rate, encoder width and height, VOD Audio Track setting, OBS version)
• CPU info (name, speed, core counts)
• GPU info (model, memory, driver version, device ID, vendor ID)
• Memory info (free, total)
• OS info (name, version, arch, emulation)
  • Windows info (gaming feature status: Game Bar, Game DVR, Game Mode, Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling)
• Multitrack Video settings (maximum streaming bandwidth, maximum video tracks)

The RC1 released on June 13 (nearly a month ago) is an official build already available for download. This is not the full release yet, and it may have bugs. Another thing to note is that although OBS and Twitch support multiple encoding, access to this feature is still under beta and requires users to submit an application to Twitch. Additionally, Twitch is now only focusing on H.264/AVC encoding with a maximum resolution of 1080p60. In other words, current efforts are not focusing on HEVC and AV1, so keep that in mind when submitting your application.

OBS and Twitch are planning to support other GPU vendors in the future, but no direct plans were shared.

Source: Jacob Freeman , OBS , Twitch