The latest OBS feature in version 26!

It’s been another year, and the OBS developers including Hugh “Jim” Bailey, DDRBoxman, cg2121, remjay, jpark37, khng300, Codex-, and Bennik2000 among others have made significant contributions to the project. The StremaGeeks are proud supporters of the OBS Project on both Patreon and Open Collective where we receive updates about the latest versions of OBS.

What are the latest features in OBS?

Well it’s worth reviewing the latest features from OBS 24 and 25 to get up to speed before we dig into the new features of OBS 26.

What’s new with OBS 24? 

• Controllable browser source audio
• Custom Browser Panels
• Dynamic Bitrate
• Hardware decoding for media sources

OBS 24 was a major update to the software because it brought us dynamic bitrate encoding. This allowed users to have OBS adapt the bitrate (quality of the live stream) to fluctuate with the available bandwidth. Another awesome feature included hardware decoding for media sources which allows users to take advantage of their graphics cards and save processing power on their CPUs.

By the time OBS 24 was out, the team had already made the OBS interface more attractive by allowing for themes. Since OBS 20, users have been able to choose “Studio Mode” which allows users to have both a preview and output window similar to vMix and Wirecast. Since then, the developers have added great features that allow users to move around “modules” inside of the interface. A modulized dashboard along with new dockable web-browser panels, have made OBS a totally different piece of software. The picture above shows OBS in studio mode with a dockable panel on the right-hand side.

What’s new with OBS 25? 

• SRT Support
•  T-Bar Support
• Browser Source improvements
• New Layouts
• Drag and Drop Overlays

OBS 25 brought us new layouts, drag and drop overlays, and T-Bar support. The continued focus on OBS’s user interface is much appreciated and it’s practically un-recognizable once it’s customized in many cases. For example, many people are able to add customized HTML layouts that can trigger options inside of live streams that are used as overlays. StreamLabs and StreamElements are great examples of that.

Other features that are lesser-known, include T-Bar support, and SRT support. But let’s get into the great brand new features from OBS 26.

New features for OBS 26

It’s important to note that the current version of OBS 26 is a “release candidate.” This means that it is a BETA that is not recommended for production use. So the new features may come with some bugs and you may want to wait until the official release is available. With that being said, the new features are listed below.

• Built-in Virtual Camera Button (Windows)
• New Source Tool Bar
• New Noise Suppression Method (RNNoise) 
  • An AI-based noise suppression which is significantly better than previous
• New Screenshot Hotkeys
• New sRGB Color Support (more accurate)

The most exciting new feature is a built-in virtual camera output. This new feature is available with a super simple button in the main control area. A virtual camera can be used to send the video content from your OBS production into another application that uses webcams. A perfect example would be sending your OBS video into Zoom or Skype. The simple start and stop “Virtual Camera” button is available right under “Start Streaming” and “Start Recording.”

Another great feature includes a UI improvement. OBS 26 now features a new source tool that uncovers easy to use buttons for customizing OBS sources. This toolbar is located directly above the “Scenes” and “Sources” area with a little bar that highlights your selected source. Here you can adjust the properties of a source, add filters and more. Some sources such as titles for example, open up specific options to adjust parameters like color.

A new Noise Suppression filter has also been added to enhance the audio inside of your OBS productions. The new filter is called RNNoise and it uses an AI-based noise suppression which is significantly better than the previous version. Noise suppression is great for removing unwanted noise from audio inputs. Because RNNoise is completely automated with artificial intelligence there are no parameters to adjust. This is great for beginners and the OBS developers say it performs better than the old Speex option

Conclusion:

New OBS 26 features from Paul Richards

There is a long list of feature updates available for OBS 26 which are outlined in this forum thread. Just a few of the exciting updates include a percentage toggle checkbox for audio, an improved performance for Intel GPU units (think Intel NUCs), an improved interface for transitions, and increased level meters. All of this and OBS 26 makes a huge leap forward.

Check out our other articles about Open Broadcaster Software below:

• Updated - How to connect OBS and Zoom with VoiceMeeter and Headphone Monitoring - here.
• Learn how to use OBS for remote production here.
• How to connect OBS with Zoom, here
• OBS vs vMix a complete review here.
• How to use Zoom for Church Meetings and Worship here.
• Here are the top 10 OBS features you need to know about
• Getting dropped frames in OBS. Here are some new feature to help with that. 
• Take a look at OBS 24 and all the new feature here. 
• Increase your productivity with OBS and learn how to use hotkeys here
• Learn how to setup animated stinger transitions in OBS here
• Learn how to install the NDI plugin for OBS (and why you should) here
• Learn more about the latest OBS user interface (UPDATED for 2019) here
• Make your audio in OBS sound great with these VST 2 plugins here
• Learn how to fix the most common OBS issues! Audio and Video Sync! here
• Learn how to use OBS 20+ here
• Learn how to use NDI Cameras with OBS here
• Learn how to use the OBS Multiview here
• Learn OBS quickly with our ZERO to SIXTY tutorial video here
• Learn more about OBS settings and optimizing your settings for live streaming here 
• Learn how to record videos using OBS here
• New OBS 24 feature allows broadcasters the ability to pause and restart video recordings. Learn more here.
• Learn how to add live annotations over your OBS productions here
• Learn how to add a webcam and set up a picture in picture scene inside OBS here
• Learn how to crop and rotate inputs inside OBS here
• Learn how to use color correction tools and LUTs here
• Learn the best way to connect OBS and Zoom here
• Learn how to connect OBS and Teams here
• Learn how to use countdown timers in Teams here
• Learn where OBS recordings are saved here
• Learn how to live stream to YouTube and Facebook with OBS for free here
• Learn about OBS 27's new features here
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