Since the inception of videography, the common concept is that a video is a series of still images. Consistently playing these images creates the illusion of a moving picture. This concept is still valid. A frequently happening issue while doing live streaming or video recording is "frame dropping”. Being an OBS user, you must have faced this problem.
As soon as the OBS frame drops, your audience will likely feel that the video playback is less professional and smooth. Do you often experience "OBS dropping frames" problems? Want to get out of this trouble? This guide presents 8 different ways to deal with these challenges efficiently. Let's get into the detailed specifics.
Part 1: What Causes OBS Dropping Frame?
Before going into the details of the major reasons behind why “OBS frame drops” happens, let’s understand what precisely a dropping frame is.
A segment of a video that is discarded is commonly known as a dropping frame. Frame dropping results in stuttering objects, and your recording no longer remains smooth and professional. These objects can move to make you feel like a video is jerky. You will see these effects more clearly if you play games having high frame rates for rendering. Hopefully, you are now familiar with what a dropping frame is. Now, let's look at the common reasons behind OBS dropping frames.
Top 5 Reasons Why You Experience OBS Dropping Frames:
1. Stuttering will become more regular and prominent if the rendering framerate is higher than the encoding framerate. As a result, frames start dropping.
2. Setting a higher bitrate is another major reason behind frame dropping.
3. Slow internet and faulty router may also result in this issue.
4. Antivirus or firewall can block different ports, e.g., RTMP. It also causes dropped frames.
5. If your encoder's value is set to default, the CPU usage will become high, and frames will start dropping.
Part 2: Fix "OBS Dropping Frames" with 7 Common Fixes
Now, you have a clear understanding of why you experience dropping frames. The next step should be how to get rid of this issue. This section presents the top 7 efficient ways to fix OBS frame drops and Streamlabs dropped frames. Let’s have a look at how every method does the job.
1. Check Network Connection
If your internet is not stable, you will not be able to enjoy smooth recording, streaming, or gaming. So, focusing on fixing your internet connection can be a quick and easy solution. Don’t know how to make your internet stable? No worries. All you need to do is to follow the below instructions.
Step 1: First of all, check the speed of your internet connection.
A lot of online websites provide these services. If the connection speed is low, try turning off and switching on your router again to check if it works. If the problem is still the same, do nothing but ask your Internet Service Provider to resolve this issue.
Step 2: Contact your service provider, and don't forget to tell them which hours you face major stream problems in.
2. Update OBS and Run it as an Administrator
If you have a 64-bit system or laptop, don't forget to ensure you are using the newest version of 64-bit OBS or Streamlabs. Are you running an NVIDIA GPU? Want to use an encoder for streaming? If yes, try running your OBS as an admin. For this, you need to follow a few steps listed below.
Step 1: Go to your computer’s search bar and type “OBS Studio" there.
Step 2: Once you find OBS, press right-click and choose “Run as an administrator”.
Step 3: You will see a new window on your screen asking whether you are willing to allow the application to make changes to your computer.
Step 4: Press the “Yes" button, and OBS will be opened as an administrator.
3. Reduce the Resolution of Your Streams
Many newbie streamers make resolution-related mistakes. They usually start streaming at a high video resolution with a 720p monitor. As a result, the OBS frame drops. For instance, if you use a 1080p resolution monitor, your resolution should be set to 1280p x 720p. That is because a low video resolution has proved effective in fixing dropped frames challenges, so you need OBS limit capture framerate. The steps to set your video resolution are:
Step 1: Launch your OBS Studio and go to its “Settings”.
Step 2: Tap on the “Video” option, set the resolution to 1280p x 720p from “Base (Canvas) Resolution”, then choose the same resolution quality for “Output (Scaled) Resolution”.
Step 3: Tap on the “Apply” button and press “OK”. You’re all set.
4. Set Proper Bitrate
Many streamers set high values of bitrate to get better video quality. However, if your OBS cannot manage it, you will face dropping frames and stuttering issues. Therefore, keeping in mind your connection speed, you should set a proper bitrate. A step-by-step guide to setting the bitrate is given below.
Step 1: Go to any online site to test your connection speed, launch your OBS and go to its “Settings”.
Step 2: Tap on the “Output” option. You will find it in the left menu.
Step 3: Go to the “Bitrate" box and reduce it if it's increased to somewhere 6,000.
Step 4: After following the above 4 steps, tap on the “Apply” button and press “OK”.
5. Change OBS Process Priority
Changing OBS process priority means allowing to produce better results by taking more power. It is equally beneficial to deal with Streamlabs dropped frames and OBS frame drops. If you don't know how to change this setting, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Open your OBS or Streamlabs and go to the “Settings”.
Step 2: Tap on the “Advanced” option, Open the dropdown menu in front of "Process Priority” and choose “Above Normal” as shown below.
Step 3: Then hit the “Apply” button and press “OK”.
6. Update Network Driver
Using old network drivers is another major reason you face OBS dropping frames or Streamlabs dropping frames. To update your network drivers, follow the below-listed steps.
Step 1: Go to your system’s search bar and type “Device Manager”.
Step 2: Right-click to open "Device Manager".
Step 3: Expand the menu, “Network adapters”.
Step 4: Tap on the "Update driver” option to update your LAN and WiFi drivers.
Step 5: Wait for some time until the drivers get updated.
Important Note: Don't forget to ensure that there is no app running in the background. Closing all unwanted apps will help your CPU consume less space. As a result, you can get video streaming free from frame dropping.
7. Check Firewall and Antivirus
Sometimes, an antivirus tool installed in your system or firewall interferes with your OBS operation and causes OBS frame drops. If this is something you are experiencing now, follow the below steps to disable these applications.
Step 1: Go to the search bar and type “Windows Defender Firewall”.
Step 2: Open the Windows Defender Firewall and tap on the option “Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off”.
Step 3: Click on “Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended)" under private and Public network settings.
Once you follow the above steps, please ensure that the problem is fixed. If the issue is resolved, make an exception for obs64.exe/obs32.exe in your firewall or antivirus software. Doing this will help these applications work flawlessly.
Part 3: Fix Frame Dropping Video with Video Repair Tool (for Corrupted Video)
If you find the downloaded videos has a problem of frame dropping, using a third-party tool to get rid of OBS frame drops is often an excellent method. A top-grade software designed to help you in such circumstances is provided below.
Repairit - Video Repair is a professional video repair software to fix damaged video with all levels of corruption, such as frame drops, stuttering, lagging, etc. Repairit also supports all popular video formats, and its advanced repairing feature lets you fix the worst-damaged videos due to system crashes, power outages, etc. One of the distinct abilities of Video Repair is to fix unlimited videos simultaneously at a blazing-fast speed. You can repair longer videos within several clicks.
Step 1: Download, install and launch Repairit on your computer.
Click on the "Add” button to upload the videos with dropping frame you want to repair.
Step 2: After you upload video(s), press the “Repair” button.
After the videos are uploaded, you will see the relevant information of each video on the screen. Then start the repair process by clicking the “Repair” button.
Step 3: Preview the repaired videos.
After the video repair process completes, you can preview the repaired video to ensure it is fixed appropriately by clicking the “Preview” button. If you are satisfied with the result, click on the “Save” button and save it on your device.
If you're not satisfied with the result, try the "Advanced Repair" feature to make a more professional video repair process. See a more detailed guide here.
