Stream HDR in OBS Studio with SDR Preview

This guide explains how to configure OBS Studio to broadcast high-quality High Dynamic Range (HDR) gameplay to streaming platforms while ensuring your local OBS preview accurately tone-maps the image to Standard Dynamic Range (SDR). By adjusting your color space, encoder, and tone-mapping settings, you can deliver a vibrant HDR feed to your viewers without suffering from a washed-out or blindingly bright preview screen on your local monitor.

Step 1: Enable HDR in Windows

Before configuring OBS, ensure your operating system and game are outputting an HDR signal.

  1. Right-click your desktop and select Display settings.
  2. Select your HDR-capable monitor and toggle on Use HDR.
  3. Launch your game and ensure HDR is enabled in the in-game video settings.

Step 2: Configure OBS Color Settings

To process HDR metadata, OBS Studio must be configured to use a 10-bit color format and an HDR color space.

  1. Open OBS Studio and click Settings in the bottom-right corner.
  2. Navigate to the Advanced tab on the left menu.
  3. Under the Video section, change the following settings:
    • Color Format: Set to P010 (this enables 10-bit color).
    • Color Space: Set to Rec. 2100 (PQ).
    • Color Range: Set to Limited (the standard for HDR video streaming).

Step 3: Adjust SDR White Level for the Preview

Because your OBS canvas is now rendering in HDR, OBS must tone-map the local preview window down to SDR if your OBS interface is on an SDR monitor, or to keep UI overlays balanced.

  1. In the same Advanced settings tab, locate SDR White Level (nits).
  2. Adjust this value to calibrate the brightness of SDR sources (like webcams, text, and alerts) within your HDR scene.
  3. The default is 203 nits (the BT.2408 recommendation), which provides an accurate, balanced local preview. If your preview looks too dark, increase this value slightly (between 200 and 250 nits).
  4. Click Apply and OK.

Step 4: Capture the HDR Game Source

  1. In your OBS Scene, add a new source and select Game Capture (or Windows Graphics Capture via Display Capture).
  2. Ensure the source properties are set to capture your game.
  3. OBS will automatically detect the Rec. 2100 PQ color metadata from the game and display it correctly in the preview window, tone-mapping it to SDR color standards on your monitor so it does not look washed out.

Step 5: Configure Encoder Settings for HDR Streaming

Standard H.264 (AVC) encoding does not support HDR. You must use a modern encoder to stream HDR content to platforms like YouTube.

  1. Go to Settings > Output.
  2. Set the Output Mode to Advanced, then select the Streaming tab.
  3. Change your Video Encoder to one of the following:
    • HEVC (H.265): Highly compatible, available on NVIDIA (NVENC), AMD (AMF), and Intel (QuickSync).
    • AV1: The most efficient encoder for HDR, available on NVIDIA RTX 40-series, AMD RX 7000-series, and Intel Arc GPUs.
  4. Set your target bitrate (HDR streaming generally requires higher bitrates; 10,000 to 15,000 Kbps is recommended for 1440p/4K HDR).
  5. Click Apply and OK to save your settings. You are now ready to stream HDR gameplay while viewing a perfectly mapped SDR preview.