OBS Studio is a free, open-source application for video recording and live streaming. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and has become a go-to tool for gamers, educators, and professional broadcasters alike.
At its core, OBS captures and mixes video and audio in real time. You can build custom scenes from multiple sources—screen captures, webcams, images, text overlays, browser windows, even capture cards. Switch between scenes seamlessly with transitions, and tweak every detail with filters like colour correction or chroma key (green screen).
The audio mixer gives you per-source control with noise suppression, noise gates, and gain adjustments. You can stream directly to platforms like Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook, or record locally in high quality. And because it's open source, there's no watermark, no subscription fee, and no limitation on commercial use.
It's not the simplest tool out there—there's a learning curve. But once you get the hang of it, OBS gives you more control than most paid alternatives. The plugin ecosystem is active, the community is helpful, and the software keeps getting better with regular updates. For anyone serious about streaming or recording, it's hard to beat.
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