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How To Capture Internal Audio in OBS Recording Software

OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) is a popular open-source software for video recording and live streaming. It’s free and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

A key feature of OBS is its ability to capture desktop audio – the sounds playing on your computer from applications, web browsers, games, media players, etc. This allows you to record audio from these programs along with your microphone/webcam when making videos.

Here is a step-by-step guide to setting up desktop audio capture in OBS:

Enabling Desktop Audio in OBS

  1. Launch OBS and go to Settings > Audio
  2. Under Desktop Audio Device, select the audio device your computer uses for playback (e.g. speakers or headphones).
  3. Click OK to save the settings.

This will tell OBS to capture all sounds playing through that audio device.

Adding Desktop Audio to Scenes

  1. In the Sources panel, click the + (Add) button and select Audio Output Capture
  2. Name the source (e.g. Desktop Audio)
  3. Select the audio device set in the audio settings
  4. Click OK

This adds the desktop audio as a source in OBS that can be added to scenes.

Adjusting Audio Levels

  1. Go to the Audio Mixer in OBS
  2. Locate the fader for the Desktop Audio source
  3. Adjust volume levels as needed by dragging the fader

Make sure desktop audio doesn’t overpower your microphone volume.

Recording Audio Only

To record just the desktop audio:

  1. Create a scene with only the Desktop Audio source
  2. Start recording
  3. Play audio on your computer to capture
  4. Stop recording when done

You’ll end up with a video file containing just the audio.

Separating Audio Sources

OBS allows splitting audio sources into separate tracks for advanced control:

  1. Enable advanced audio properties in Audio settings
  2. Right click on Desktop Audio source > Filters > Add > Audio Delay
  3. Set delay to e.g. -50 ms
  4. Repeat for other sources using different delays
  5. Enable audio track in Output settings

This will put each source in its own audio track in recordings.

Recording Specific Applications

With the audio capture feature in newer OBS versions, you can record audio from specific apps:

  1. Add an Application Audio Capture source
  2. Select the app to record from the dropdown
  3. Adjust audio levels as needed
  4. Start recording

This will only record audio from that application.

Tips for Best Quality

Here are some tips:

  • Use FLAC or WAV encoders for lossless audio
  • Sample rate: 48000 Hz
  • Channels: Stereo
  • Bitrate: 320 kbps for high quality

Also make sure other programs aren’t using the microphone or audio device while recording.

Common Issues

Echo: Desktop audio is being picked up by microphone. Mute mic source when capturing desktop audio only.

Out of sync: Add small audio delays or use timestamps to align sources.

No audio: Double check correct device is selected in audio settings.

Distorted audio: Lower desktop audio levels to avoid clipping.

Conclusion

And that’s it! With these steps you can capture high-quality desktop audio in OBS for your recordings and live streams. Let me know if you have any other questions!

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