Recording Video from Multiple Screens on Windows with OBS Studio

OBS Studio is a popular tool for video recording and streaming, offering a wide range of features for professional and high-quality screen capture. If you use multiple monitors, OBS allows you to capture video from each one, creating a flexible setup for various scenarios. In this guide, we’ll walk you through configuring OBS Studio to record from multiple screens on Windows.

Step 1: Installing OBS Studio

First, make sure OBS Studio is installed on your computer. You can download it from the official OBS website. The installation is straightforward: just download the setup file and follow the instructions. Once installed, open the program to begin configuration.

Step 2: Setting Up Scenes and Sources for Multiple Monitors

OBS Studio uses scenes and sources to manage what’s displayed in your recording. To record from multiple screens, you’ll need to create a scene and add sources for each monitor.

  1. In the main OBS Studio window, find the Scenes section and click + to add a new scene. Give it a name, like "Dual Monitor Recording."
  2. Select the new scene. Then, in the Sources section, click + and choose either Display Capture or Window Capture.
  3. In the pop-up window, select the monitor you want to capture. For example, if you have two monitors, start by selecting the first one, and then repeat the process to add a second monitor by choosing "Display Capture" again and selecting the second monitor.

You should now have two display capture sources within one scene. You can resize and arrange them on the canvas to set up the layout you need for your recording.

Step 3: Configuring Recording Settings

After adding your monitors to the scene, it’s time to adjust the recording settings for optimal video quality. Go to Settings in the bottom-right corner of OBS Studio, then open the Output tab.

  • Encoder: Choose an appropriate encoder, such as x264 or NVIDIA NVENC if you have a compatible GPU.
  • Recording Quality: Set the quality to "High" or "Lossless" for the best results, depending on your computer’s capabilities.
  • Recording Format: MP4 or MKV is recommended for better compatibility and quality.

On the Video tab, you can also adjust the resolution and frame rate. When recording from multiple monitors, it’s ideal to match the resolution of each screen to avoid distortions.

Step 4: Start Recording

Once everything is set up, you’re ready to start recording. Click Start Recording in the bottom-right corner, and OBS will begin capturing video from both monitors. Ensure that everything displays correctly.

To stop the recording, click Stop Recording, and the file will automatically save to the designated folder in your settings.