How to Set Up an OBS Profile for Recording

Setting up a secondary profile in OBS Studio allows you to easily switch from your streaming setup to a high-bitrate local recording configuration without overriding your daily settings. This guide will walk you through creating a dedicated recording profile, selecting the best video encoders, and adjusting bitrate and rate control settings specifically optimized for capturing high-quality local footage.

Step 1: Create a New Profile in OBS Studio

OBS Studio uses “Profiles” to save settings related to output, encoding, and resolutions, while “Scene Collections” save your actual sources and overlays.

  1. Open OBS Studio.
  2. Click on Profile in the top menu bar.
  3. Select New from the dropdown menu.
  4. Name the profile something clear, such as High-Bitrate Recording, and click OK.
  5. If the Auto-Configuration Wizard pops up, click Cancel, as you will configure these settings manually.

Step 2: Configure Output Settings for High Quality

To optimize your secondary profile for local recording rather than streaming, you must adjust the output settings to prioritize visual quality over bandwidth efficiency.

  1. Click on Settings in the bottom-right corner of OBS, then select the Output tab.
  2. Change the Output Mode dropdown at the top from Simple to Advanced.
  3. Click on the Recording tab.
  4. Set Type to Standard.
  5. Choose your Recording Path to select where your high-quality video files will be saved. Ensure this drive has plenty of free space.
  6. Set the Recording Format to mkv or fragmented mp4. These formats prevent file corruption if OBS or your computer crashes mid-record.

Step 3: Select and Optimize the Video Encoder

For local recording, you want to use hardware encoding to reduce CPU strain.

  1. Locate the Video Encoder dropdown.
  2. Select your hardware encoder:
    • NVIDIA NVENC H.264 / AV1 (if you have an NVIDIA RTX card).
    • AMD HW H.264 / AV1 (if you have a modern AMD card).
    • x264 (use only if you have an extremely powerful CPU and no dedicated GPU).
  3. Under the encoder settings, change the Rate Control from CBR (Constant Bitrate, which is used for streaming) to CQP (Constant QP) or CRF (Constant Rate Factor).
  4. Set the CQ Level or CRF value.
    • A value of 18 to 20 is the sweet spot for visually lossless, high-bitrate local recordings.
    • Lowering the number (e.g., 14) increases quality and file size significantly. Raising the number (e.g., 24) lowers quality and file size.
  5. Set the Keyframe Interval to 2 s.
  6. Set the Preset to Quality (or P5/P6 if using newer NVIDIA NVENC encoders).
  7. Set Profile to high.

Step 4: Adjust Video Resolution and Framerate

Ensure your recording resolution matches your monitor’s native display to prevent blurry scaling.

  1. Go to the Video tab in the Settings window.
  2. Set the Base (Canvas) Resolution to match your monitor (e.g., 1920x1080 or 2560x1440).
  3. Set the Output (Scaled) Resolution to match the Base Resolution to avoid any quality loss from downscaling.
  4. Set the Common FPS Values to 60 for smooth gameplay and motion capture.

Step 5: How to Switch Profiles Quickly

Now that your recording profile is configured, switching between streaming and recording takes only two clicks.

  1. To stream: Click Profile in the top menu and select your original streaming profile.
  2. To record high-quality gameplay: Click Profile and select your High-Bitrate Recording profile.