Thursday, February 28th 2019
NVIDIA Partners with OBS for GeForce Optimization and RTX Encoder
We saw a glimpse of this at the NVIDIA suite during CES 2019, with a beta version coming out shortly after. NVIDIA and OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) have since brought out the full release of a new OBS Studio, version 23.0.1, that adds improved support for NVIDIA GeForce cards. In particular, their latest and greatest RTX lineup, including the new desktop RTX 2060 as well as the mobile and Max-Q variants, will see an FPS impact drop by as much as 66% according to NVIDIA's internal testing. Some example results are seen below, with games such as Fortnite, PUBG, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Blackout, and Apex Legends seeing a frame rate boost by up to 48% compared to x264 Fast, and 27% compared to x264 Very Fast.
Given this is a result of NVENC, NVIDIA's hardware encoder, in place, older GeForce GPUs (GTX 600-series and newer that support NVENC) will also see some benefits. GeForce RTX GPUs just get to enjoy a bit more- up to 15% more, in fact, in efficiency as far as bitrate consumption for the same graphical fidelity. NVIDIA effectively says that "GeForce RTX GPUs can stream with superior image quality compared to x264 Fast, and on par with x264 Medium", thus putting in a strong case for single-PC gaming and streaming, as opposed to having a dedicated streaming PC. They have even put out a video to go over the enhancements, which will no doubt interest game streamers on the PC platform.
Source:
NVIDIA
Given this is a result of NVENC, NVIDIA's hardware encoder, in place, older GeForce GPUs (GTX 600-series and newer that support NVENC) will also see some benefits. GeForce RTX GPUs just get to enjoy a bit more- up to 15% more, in fact, in efficiency as far as bitrate consumption for the same graphical fidelity. NVIDIA effectively says that "GeForce RTX GPUs can stream with superior image quality compared to x264 Fast, and on par with x264 Medium", thus putting in a strong case for single-PC gaming and streaming, as opposed to having a dedicated streaming PC. They have even put out a video to go over the enhancements, which will no doubt interest game streamers on the PC platform.
17 Comments on NVIDIA Partners with OBS for GeForce Optimization and RTX Encoder
For streaming with limited bitrate, NVENC as well as AMD's HEVC are inferior if someone wants to stream in any real capacity. Casually? Sure, go for it if you don't have a CPU capable of 6k x264 fast, but don't expect the stream to look as good as someone using x264, it won't.
What NVEC & HEVC as well, will continue to be good at is high bit-rate game recording, as you truly see limited gains when at about, 30k bitrate NVEC/HVEC, but limited performance degradation.
At the same time, I wonder whether image quality is really that important for streamers? I mean, sure, you don't want your streaming to gobble up all your bandwidth and your watchers probably don't expect 480p quality. But pixel peeping differences probably don't matter.
Also, Open Broadcasting and NVENC don't jive all that well in my head ;)
*The role of me will actually be played by a stuffed animal ferret as I'd rather watch fish sleep then someone playing a video game.
southpark.fandom.com/wiki/REHASH
Personally I'm neutral towards streaming but I can't deny a quick recording of exciting gameplay wouldn't be possible without Shadowplay and Relive. Many people use the instant replay feature for example.
At least facebook is good for sleuthing. You can just immediately ignore people and move on when you see their profile.