TikTok LIVE Studio is about one year old. In comparison, OBS was first launched in September 2012.
So it's no surprise that OBS has far more features. Luckily, with the OBS virtual cam, we can use many OBS features with LIVE Studio.
What Does It Do?
Put simply, the OBS virtual camera means you can show anything from your OBS in LIVE Studio.
Have you got a complicated scene or set of scenes in OBS that you don't want to set up again in LIVE Studio? No problem, you don't need to set it up again with the virtual cam.
Are you streaming on Twitch and TikTok at the same time? Want to make sure your Twitch and TikTok viewers get exactly the same experience? Just enable the virtual cam!
Let's explore how this is done.
Check Virtual Cam Settings
To begin, you must make sure you open OBS BEFORE you open LIVE Studio. This is so that OBS can access your camera.
Start by checking the FPS of OBS. Click Settings > Video and turn the FPS to 60 if your computer can handle it. Make sure you save this by clicking OK.
Start Virtual Camera
In the bottom right of OBS is the "Start Virtual Camera" button. Before you start, click the settings cog next to it and make sure Output Type is set to Internal and Output Selection is set to Program Output (Default).
Now, press the Start Virtual Camera button.
Get Personal Help
Need help setting up OBS or LIVE Studio? Want to chat about streaming strategy? Check out my Fiverr page: https://www.fiverr.com/wg_mojo
Add To LIVE Studio
Now open TikTok LIVE Studio.
On the left, click Add source and select Camera.
Find the OBS Virtual Camera from the list of cameras. Change the Camera Format to 60 FPS. Click add source.
LIVE Studio will often not add the camera as the correct size so click on it and make sure the Stretch to screen option is selected.
Congratulations, the virtual camera is now set up. Your LIVE Studio and OBS should look identical.
As a quick reminder, the virtual cam is video only. You will need to add your audio such as microphone and output audio to LIVE Studio.
Now let's look at some of the most common uses for the virtual cam.
Mirror Your TikTok/YouTube Stream
This one is super simple. Just go live on Twitch or YouTube from OBS and simply start the virtual cam using the steps above and as long as the cam is full screen on LIVE Studio, your TikTok viewers will see exactly the same thing.
Don't forget, you will still need to add your audio to LIVE Studio. The virtual cam is visual only.
Use Your Camera Twice
As you probably know, you can only use your camera with one application. So if OBS is already using your webcam or camera, you can't also use it with LIVE Studio.
The most common use for this is if you are streaming in landscape mode from OBS but streaming in vertical mode on TikTok. You can't just mirror the entire screen.
To do this, just follow the steps above to start the virtual camera then make sure your camera is open on OBS.
Then simply go to LIVE Studio and crop the parts of the virtual cam which aren't showing your camera. To crop, just hold alt on your keyboard and drag the white squares around the edge of the virtual cam.
Use OBS Filters
OBS has way more filters than LIVE Studio. So for example, you cannot scroll an image in LIVE Studio.
Instead, just add the image to OBS then right-click it and choose filters and add a scroll filter. As long as the virtual cam is enabled and added to LIVE Studio then the image will now be scrolling in LIVE Studio.
Capture Cards
Many people report issues with capture cards in LIVE Studio. Fix this by adding the capture card as a Video Capture Device in OBS instead. Follow the steps above to enable the virtual cam and your capture card is now fixed!
Unfortunately, you will still have to route the audio through LIVE Studio unless you have another method of doing it.
Your Imagination Is The Limit
Like I said earlier, anything you can visually do on OBS (no audio), you can show on LIVE Studio. So I've listed the main things but anything else is down to your creativity now!
Thanks for reading!
Harry