Adding Delay to OBS Preview: A Tech Support Guide

Adding a Delay to an OBS Preview: A Tech Support Guide

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is a popular open-source software for video recording and live streaming. One of its features is the ability to preview your scenes before going live. However, sometimes you may want to add a delay to the preview to better coordinate your actions. In this article, we will show you how to do just that.

Why Add a Delay to an OBS Preview?

Adding a delay to an OBS preview can be useful in several situations. For example, if you are streaming a live event, you may want to add a delay to the preview to give yourself time to react to what is happening on screen. This can help you avoid mistakes and ensure a smoother streaming experience for your viewers.

How to Add a Delay to an OBS Preview

To add a delay to an OBS preview, you can use a simple script that uses the ffmpeg command-line tool. Here's how to do it:

1. First, you need to install ffmpeg on your system. You can download it from the official website.
2. Next, create a new text file and paste the following script into it:
   #!/bin/bash # Set the delay time (in seconds) DELAY=5 # Set the input and output file paths INPUT="$(obs-studio --script-args output-mode=advanced:output-file=/tmp/obs-preview.mkv --pid-file=/tmp/obs-preview.pid --no-splash --minimize-to-tray --startstreaming)" OUTPUT="/tmp/obs-preview-delayed.mkv" # Add the delay ffmpeg -re -i "$INPUT" -vf "setpts=PTS+$DELAY/TB" -c copy "$OUTPUT"

   This script sets a delay time of 5 seconds, but you can change it to any value you want. It also sets the input and output file paths. The input file path is set to the output file path of OBS, and the output file path is set to a new file that will contain the delayed preview.

3. Save the file with a name like add-delay.sh and make it executable with the following command:
   chmod +x add-delay.sh
4. Now, you can run the script with the following command:
   ./add-delay.sh

   This will start OBS and add a delay to the preview. You can see the delayed preview in the file you specified in the script.

• Adding a delay to an OBS preview can be useful in several situations.
• You can use a simple script that uses the ffmpeg command-line tool to add a delay to an OBS preview.
• The script sets the delay time, input and output file paths, and adds the delay using the setpts filter.

References

• FFmpeg download page
• FFmpeg setpts filter documentation