OBS STUDIO: Full vs Partial Color Ranges EXPLAINED (Limited vs Legal) Streaming RGB Range StreamLabs

[@R3_dacted0]

I was wondering why all of my streams and recordings looked dark and crispy and blurry. I never really knew how to describe the visuals, so I didn't know what to look up for help. I just happened to google what the difference between color formats were and I stumbled on this... and now everything is super clear! I can't thank you enough!

[@xiilopez4709]

What settings are u using

[@OmegaDeez]

Stumbled across your channel while trying to decide on a capture card about a week ago and have found myself coming back everyday to learn more about this stuff lol. Very informative and easy to understand dude! 👍

[@honestview]

5:34 Is there a video out there which explains Video Formats: XRGB, NV12, YUV, YUY2, MJPEG etc.?

[@curtisjudd]

Super helpful - thanks!

[@ripthebrit]

Allow me to extend my sincere appreciation for this video. I've been searched a long time to resolve the washed out issues I was having on Xbox Series X. Finally, now I better understand the situation, I have rectified the problem. Many many thanks, Epox.

[@gabeminetti]

Man this is SUUUUPER useful, thank you. I had this issue a while back, and on obs official forums they told me to switch to partial, but I never understood why! Now I do

[@B3shr]

This video is just on spot !!!

[@clashclan9734]

Thank you so very much for this video. I've been trying to fix my dark gameplay videos for 3 days after a fresh OBS install. I followed the setup instructions, from what I thought was a reputable KZbinr, and the colors of all my videos got very dark. Tried several color corrections, but nothing truly worked. You saved me a lot of unnecessary work and frustration. Thanks for the clear instructions and excellent explanation. 👍

[@ZeludeRose]

clicked expecting one of the millions of badly made tutorials that take way too long to get to the point, but this was actually a very helpful video, thank you!

[@drainosaurus]

Dude, you're a legend! I recently put myself a dual pc setup for gaming/streaming with a Razer Ripsaw capture card and it looked soooooo washed out. Then i tried to follow some recommendations of different forums and all were saying the same "get full color range!". So, i went from so washed out to dirty and oversaturated colors, i even had to apply filters at OBS and it looked completely like garbage. I wish i had found your video much earlier because FINALLY i got the right configuration and it was super super easy. Thank you for your video, you explained it like a pro and it saved my ass!!!

[@MrPokeboy8]

I remember messing with YUV range, and conveniently my final solution for Switch recording lines up with what you've said here, I think. Switch is on full range to a Magewell feeding OBS still full range XRGB, then seeing how KZbin and Twitch mangles/mishandles full range, I set OBS's output to partial range.

[@RaccoonClan]

Before I had color range set to default in the device properties, my PlayStation color range set to Automatic and had the advanced set to limited. So just to clarify when recording in 444 I should have everything set to full?

[@Berfs1]

Thank you! I have found your videos very helpful on technical aspects that I did not understand, just wanted to let you know that I (and others) really appreciate it!

[@SLICKOMODE]

So crazy you release this the day after I've been researching this topic, thanks a lot!

[@geraldundone]

Great video, dude! 👍

[@EposVox]

Thanks, Gerald!

[@Cwahsawnt]

Holy shit man. I literally just found out about turning on the "full range" option like 2 days ago. What a difference. I was literally tweaking the "contrast" filter for every game. With full range everything looks so much better. (Edited for clarity).

[@skryabin5167]

This is very explicative for the limited/full dilemma. There's something else that bothers me in OBS, orangish reds in 4:2:0 (and color shift in general) versus 4:4:4 color accuracy. What I understand is that for local recordings you can go 4:4:4, nvenc has also a High 4:4:4 Predictive profile, but then good luck finding a video editor supporting that. For streaming (twitch), 4:2:0/NV12 seems mandatory for many reasons, but the color shift is so ugly: is there anything you can do to mitigate that? a LUT? a color grading trick? Maybe a video covering this topic could be an idea. Thx, @EposVox.

[@nathanjohnson5304]

You can manually set clips to Full or Partial in Resolve. It doesn't always detect the right range, especially if the footage was recorded on an external device.

[@itstapez2665]

Were do I do that ?

[@nathanjohnson5304]

Right click on the clip(s) in the Media panel and select Attributes @@itstapez2665

[@MistaGrant]

Literally the video i knew i needed but wasn't sure how to ask for.

[@agothman]

In the past it was a pain to get my color depth looking good but I ended up having it set to full and was happy with it, I matched your limited settings for my output and capture cards and it helped! My stream looks noticeably clearer when turning quickly now. Guessing the full color depth hogged a lot of my streams bitrate. I might even test going back to 60 or 48fps tomorrow. Thanks!

[@TechSupportDave]

Yes! I love that I found out about this. I know I'm replying to an old comment, but this really is huge in my opinion. Twitch already restricts bitrate quite much, finding this video is an absolute blessing! I had it set to full because... well, "full" sounds like the better option. Clearly not!

[@brezdisdat]

what about the settings in nvidia control panel... on option "video - adjust video color settings - with the nvidia settings - advanced - dynamic range : full or limited?? should I be on limited?

[@artexjay]

doesnt matter, full is fine, OBS will handle making it limited for online platforms

[@RobbyHuang]

Do you know what 16-255 is for? Sony cameras in some picture profiles shoot in 16-255 (note that this isn't 16-235) and it makes things too bright and clips highlights. That part with the G7 and 16-255, I don't think that's actually supposed to be limited range, it's something else, but I can't seem to figure out why anyone would use 16-255. It just seems to make your computer think that it's a limited range video, and then clips everything above 235

[@imanny99]

Great video EposVox. It's like you're reading my mind with this video and the previous one about dual PC streaming

[@Kougeru]

Streaming you can set console and capture card both to Full RGB with no issue. OBS will convert them 100% correctly to partial for Twitch/YT. Automatic doesn't work properly on Switch, it ALWAYS sets to partial even on PC monitors

[@InvisageWeddingFilms]

This was super helpful! I had issues with our GH5s cameras looking great in camera but terrible in OBS (over contrast and saturated). Turns out I had to set the GH5s luminance level to 64-940 instead of 0-1023 when shooting 10-bit colour. Fixed it right away - Had a "Full range" coming in and OBS was only sending a Partial range (legal). Thanks for the video!

[@monkgaming651]

i'm streaming stalker shadow of chernobyl and when i move my brightness slider in game the viewers tell me the brightness on stream doesn't change at all. why does this happen and how to fix it?

[@PoizenJam]

Only part in the chain I'm confused about is the Elgato 4K Game Capture Utility settings. I have an A5100 running into an HD60s+, going to OBS. In the capture card settings I have the color setting options of 'Bypass (same as source)', 'Expand', or 'Shrink'. Best results seem to come from using Bypass and then downsampling to Partial in OBS though.

[@imgreen4233]

Noooo! Notis are not working :( Love Your Reviews And Helping Videos! Thank You For Putting Out Enjoyable Content To Watch During These Times! Have A Great Day My Dude!

[@xreadyaimmissx]

I wish I saw this sooner. I literally bought that Overlay like 2 days ago. Lmao Thanks for the explanation. I didn't understand before, why I would see people mention putting everything on limited or partial.

[@picchioknossus8096]

Hi I'm trying to record with obs on the same pc. Setting the color range to full or partial does not affect windows but there is indeed a difference in games. Problem is that the recorded game is darker anyway. Its's better with partial range but still darker than what It should be. How can i fix it? I've also tried to put the nvidia output to RGB, YCbCr444, YCbCr 422 with no difference in the recording.

[@nmdpeaceout]

I love the dark and punchy look. I play xbox 360 on dlp projector, when i turn the projector to "limited range", the game looks sooooo good, a real vibrancy and sense of atmosphere, you can really 'feel' the picture.

[@peterpelle]

which version of streamlabs are you using? i don't see the "Renderer"settings 3:29

[@EposVox]

Normal OBS studio not streamlabs OBS.

[@peterpelle]

@@EposVox Oh can i export my settings from streamlabs and use obs again with my szenes? I need more options to fix my stream having a weird game capturing when i play rocket league i don't see the game correctly no menu everything is black you can see it here www.reddit.com/r/RocketLeagueMods/comments/hqiu4q/streamlabsobs_game_capture_bug/

[@eeftyfpv]

I recently purchased 2 cheap capture card (i have it reviewed on my channel). One is blue colored with an aluminium build. I noticed that in my gameplay (God of War) in some scene it failed to process the color/reflection and leads to artifact(i don't know if this is the correct terms). If i put capture hdmi out from my camera it works perfectly fine. Do you think its the settings or the card that I got is basically a dud?

[@redhotsonic]

EDIT: Ah, you explained why at 8:45, although the XRGB Video format crushes the colour again. Leaving it at YUY2. I've always used partial in OBS otherwise the colours get darker in the finish file as you've mentioned. BUT here is a bizarre thing with my retro gaming setup. Any of my consoles (partial), I hook to my framemeister (partial), then to an HDMI splitter to my TV (partial) or OBS (partial). However, the video source scene in OBS, I HAVE to have that on Full (where as you have it as Full at 5:38). Having that on Partial makes the colours get crushed. It's as if the video scene selector is the wrong way round. And yes, I have my capture card settings set to partial. And it plays on my anxiety as it's the only option set to full lol. Using the AverMedia Live Gamer 4K - GC573. Setting everything to Full in the chain still doesn't look right.

[@taurusdark7656]

My English is awful, I record completely, but I don't notice a difference in 720 and srgb. That is, it is not clear to me, is there a difference between these?

[@cococamper]

Thanka for explanation. I have no regret getting a magewell card. This card is waay better for super technical stuff like this. No lousy MJPEG compression, and the color is always spot on using any camera and any source

[@Novskyy621]

So you covered pretty much everything except color settings in OBS. I know that NV12, rec 709 and limited are the default settings. I want to record in OBS with my Nvidia 40 series card (no capture card), i use AV1 encoding and rgb full in the nvidia settings. Is there a difference now between rec 709 vs sRGB color space and limited vs full and changing the color format to 4:4:4? I want the best possible raw recordings to upload 4k60 videos later on. I just made two short test recordings with full vs limited color range and i see nearly no difference watching it in youtube

[@epicnerdhype]

yo. thank you so freaking much! took my visuals to the next level!

[@johnpoo1662]

so why when using the OBS virtual camera in Chrome (chrome-based video conferencing), the blacks are crushed. Compared to good quality video in OBS?

[@haruyukiar1ta]

Quick question, I'm running a dual pc stream set up, my main PC is set to "full" and my elgato hd60x to "expand", but when I come to OBS(streaming PC) and set my elgato properties to "full" it becomes washed out, setting it to either "limited" or "full" in the advanced tab seems to do nothing. What do you think is happening in my set up?

[@AnickYT]

I want to have the "washed out color look" but don't know how to force it. The "washed out" or rather flat color makes things easier to edit in video editing later so If I can force it, It would be great. How would I go on and do that? I'm using H265 by the way.

[@NOOBandBRO]

Finally!!! Capture cards make this impossible to sort out...

[@williamr1088]

Does this same method work with Shadowplay? Also does this method work with Capture videos or just Streams? Every time I capture a video to upload to youtube it always playsback washed out same with screenshots my screenshots are washed out.

[@S33MZ]

thank you so much for the code!!! was gonna buy this last night at full price. sometimes procrastination help!!!!!

[@rootznirvana]

I’m having trouble with my OBS not actually recording the colors that I set my monitor too with nvidia….like I’ll record it then upload to KZbin and it’s as if the KZbin recording is being shown as what the monitor was set too when I got it……

[@DrunkTalk]

Tracking down a rgb mismatch is like tracking down an audio frequency mismatch after a windows update.

[@EposVox]

Yes!

[@blanked3]

That's actually very relatable, my audio had this high frequency constantly after a Windows update, and it wasn't till I went to my audio drivers to turn it off and get my clear audio back

[@LoadingMeerkat]

I have a problem where I want the stream to look Partial so there's no mismatch but I also want my gaming PC monitor to display Full range. I've set the OBS Video Device to Partial and OBS Advanced Settings to Partial on my Streaming PC but when I change the color to either Standard or Expanded in Elgato Game Capture software it changes my Gaming PC's display also. So if I set that to Standard then my gaming monitor will only receive Limited color which will look odd if my monitor is set to Full. If I set to Expanded then my gaming monitor will receive Full but then my streams or recordings look washed out because color mismatch. Any ideas or do I just have to set everything to Limited and put up with it? Edit: I think I solved it. I opened Elgato device properties in OBS > Clicked Configure Video > Set Color Range to Bypass. Make sure you set Color Range in OBS device properties to Partial though otherwise you'll get washed out colors on Stream.

[@SwitchAzlain]

Hi can someone help me with steamlabs obs i am having issues with color issues during game streams we're its too bright i have been trying to mess with color correction but it driving me nuts most of my games look bright i would like a decent color in most of my games i don't know if it is my HDR messing with my games but i had turned it off still no change i am not understanding why it not fixing the issue i really need help.

[@Colidace]

Finally someone explained it professionally. Thanx EposVox! Can you analyze "Windows 10 Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling" added in last Nvidia drivers?

[@RDelacroix]

Is that a Lewitt LCT 440 Pure? Do you have a separate review or are you in the process of a review? Saw Booth Junkie's review and was thinking of picking one up along with a GoXLR to replace my Blue Snowball iCE.

[@EposVox]

In the process! You are correct!

[@RDelacroix]

@@EposVox Thanks. I'll be looking out for the review.

[@TRCGamePlay]

Great video! If I understand correctly, it is only indicated to use Color Range Complete if the capture card supports 444 rgb or XRGB correct? Otherwise what is indicated is to use the correct partial? Sorry for my English

[@Metzy_Tv]

Does this still hold in 2022?

[@EposVox]

Yes

[@AhmedThahir2002]

Should I make sure to use the "video"data levels setting (16-235) exporting in davinci resolve too?

[@DefCantGame]

off topic but i want to know if replay buffer can record gameplay only and not the stream overlay/webcam?

[@EposVox]

Not currently no

[@DefCantGame]

@@EposVox Damn definitely something that would be useful cause i know shadow play/instant replay does it but yeah maybe one of these days

[@nerf5852]

do my webcam need to be Partial too ??? but in full looks better (c9220) ??? help

[@C0d0ps]

What's the tldr settings for c920 with slobs and new nvenc 6k bit rate streaming? I have 3070 gpu and i7 7700k

[@beanie5896]

you said that one can turn on full RGB range in NVIDIA settings on a PC monitor becaues the capture card will code it back to partial. what if i dont use a capture card at all though? can i turn on full RBG (in NVIDIA settings) and then my recordings (with my GPU and OBS) will still be encoded properly (partial)?

[@EposVox]

Yeah obs will handle that fine on a single pc setup

[@NarvinCheeWood]

This was an extremely helpful video! I've always wondered about the Partial and Full options so thank you for the awesome help! ❤

[@ifohancroft]

What if you want to just do a recording in OBS that is for watching later on a computer (via software video player), in that case do we put the OBS Advanced Tab to Full?

[@EposVox]

I’d still do partial; many media players don’t handle full well still

[@ifohancroft]

@@EposVox Makes sense. Thank you!

[@watermelongaming8658]

What's the best color Format? What's the difference between them?

[@Boibetterknow1983]

capcard properties wont let me select xrgb unless downgrade sourse (xbox) settings from 1440p to 1080p

[@Viichii_Hanma_BeatsTv]

thank you so much for this video! it was a big help keep up the good work

[@BenjiDWJ]

An awesome video as per usual, Adam. 😁 👍 👍 Although I've not begun streaming as of yet this information is still super helpful, insightful and useful to know. 😄 👌 Cheers to you, my man! 🍻

[@Grid21]

Eposvox: "This video is going to be Super technical" Me: *Big smile on my face* "Yes, I LIKE Super technical! Bring it on!"

[@morninggloryvisuals]

Does anyone know if you are recording and streaming with content full range? Very noticeable in the recording, but will it hurt the stream way too much? DJs(&chaos) Resolume --> spout --> OBS work flow.

[@AudioCraZ]

Thank you for this. I had gotten my Blackmagic card happy, but it is great to understand why. I am also using a USB camera that uses MJPEG, so now I need to go and play with it a bit more.

[@tristengrant]

Thank you for making this! Very helpful and informative as always.

[@Layarion]

Epos, do you have a thread or video explaining the N12v and 709 stuff? like what is "HD", 720p? I'm less of a streamer and more of a edit before uploading to YT person.

[@MichaelW.1980]

Your documentation on capture cards made me want to have a 4K LiveGamer... it pretty much sounds like all I possibly could want in a capture card

[@savagex9000]

@EposVox how about capture card easycap284? Ive been using this to stream and record videos using my old laptop lenovo G40-70 and this is what I noticed the stream and recording are not as good as what I see on my TV and I am thinking maybe I need to upgrade my capture card to elgato or something but that means I need to upgrade my laptop very sad ultimate sad

[@RGN]

Thank you, this video was extremely helpful!

[@_shogun_gaming_]

Now that AV1 is getting out there and based on your lastest vid abut it, you still recommend doing limited when streaming? what about obs recordings?

[@EposVox]

Limited is still necessary, yes

[@_shogun_gaming_]

@@EposVox and if you want the best possible quality recordings, not worried to much about size, you old vids still applies?

[@SCEmissary]

3:10 I spy with my little eye a cat in the background. :) Nice helpful video by the way.

[@bahadryenerol8124]

I have asus tuf capture card. For example, in god of war game, in obs program, white colors are reflected like green or pink. what color setting should i use?

[@firstname8707]

So with the elgato 4k should anything get changed in the Nvidia control panel or the 4k capture utility program in terms of color range or video color?

[@firstname8707]

For PC streaming

[@nicolasparada]

This is great. Good explanation. I was wondering why to all of this.

[@omgsharks]

@eposvox Hey have you noticed any color difference when you have hardware acceleration enabled vs disabled in your browser? when on full range the video is pretty much useless in dark areas (with Hardware acceleration on) but the same video with hardware acceleration off looks bright and nice. Any idea why this is?

[@EposVox]

Not sure why specifically, but Full not working in browsers is one of the big reasons you shouldn't be streaming it. Mobile and TV, etc will have similar issues

[@omgsharks]

@@EposVox Yeah ive gone to partial now and the issue is gone. just wierd that with and without hardware accelaration was so different. Myself having disabled it did not notice until i was experiencing som wierd lag with it off on twitch and with it on its silky smooth. Anyways thanks for you'r reply. You Rock!

[@YayDanMan]

Well I have learned something today, and I should correct my settings before streaming next

[@Ranmza]

It's weird. I'm using the RTX Nvenc to stream. My PC is set to FULL, my OBS is set to PARTIAL. On the OBS Preview the colors look good, but in my stream it looks washedout, maybe with NVenc I need to set it to FULL?

[@EposVox]

Nope you always want OBS set to partial for streaming

[@spunky113]

Do you have Color Range recommendations when using NDI and and a dedicated streaming PC? Should both the source and target be set to 709 partial?

[@tsoruu]

Ah hello, I'm a bit worried about setting the obs color range to partial. Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I hear from your explaination, the obs color range is set to limited/partial for the best streaming footage, right? Does this in any way affect the quality in recording?

[@EposVox]

It doesn’t. Every non-PC display runs on limited, consoles run best on it, movies use it. As long as they’re configured properly, there’s zero noticeable difference. In fact, Partial/Limited used to be called “legal range” because it’s all that was allowed to be broadcast in the first place

[@tsoruu]

@@EposVox thank you soo much for blazing fast reply... Will keep that in mind and let my friends and clients know to set it that way

[@emberjaxx585]

If you’re using the G7 with an legato HD60 card, do you set your Nvidia dynamic range to full, or leave it on limited? I have a really pixelated output but all my settings look good, and I can’t get it to improve.

[@cosminjebe]

Thank you! you really saved me :) the colors looked way too vivid and i had bad contrast at "full range". I am using an Elgato to capture gameplay from my mobile phone.

[@nnjn20jdbk98]

Guys please help when I record it’s normal when I watch the green colour go to black and a phew another colour is black too please help me!

[@SleepyTheGeek]

awesome vid man! so helpful!!

[@Jodicus]

EposVox one question. You mentioned that PC set at full directed to a capture card on partial is fine. Why would this not be exceptable to a console set at full as well? Also I noticed from this in a lot of your videos the video format NV12 or YU are all over the place. Could you do a video like this talking about that?

[@EposVox]

Consoles still generally output best at Partial/Limited since they're designed for TVs, especially with HDR being a thing now - and if you're using them on a TV it's required.

[@Jodicus]

@@EposVox Thank you, makes sense. I play on a PC monitor. Was just curious if the same would be true in that case scenario.

[@eldritchhorror6304]

what about if you are recording videos for youtube upload.

[@metalgamer6667]

@EPoxVox for PC streamign WOW RPG's etc with i7 8700 gtx 1080...should i Stream with Nv12 , RGB, or 444?

[@Flaimbot]

great video! do you have an idea whether the c920 mjpeg is partial? i do see a difference, i just can't really nail it down due to my fairly bad lighting.

[@GAnimeRO]

Btw, thanks for all your explanations on how to set up OBS and stuff! Though, imo it's not all super beginner 0 clue friendly, it does help to get things right when streaming!

[@xWood4000]

I really wonder what algorithms camera manufacturers use for e.g. downscaling from 4k recording to hdmi 1080p. It would be awesome to control and maybe update

[@Boibetterknow1983]

xrgb is only avalible to chose if i downscale from 1440p to 1080p in cap card settings but then i lose my 1440p game screen (xbox) as it will go to 1080p i use a GC553

[@noahh.9151]

What's your recommendation of beat value capture card under $150 for someone trying to get max quality out of a Sony?

[@JoseAlmeida-zm7tk]

This is confusing, i am using an Avermedia live gamer ultra which supports the xrgb full at 1080p, i am streaming from an Xbox one X at 1080p (4k and HDR disabled) to a 4k PC monitor that supports RGB, full and 32bits 8bpc, if i understood the correct settings for my stream are: XBOX: PC RGB / 36 bits / unchecked the " allow 422 " Avermedia: XRGB / 709 / Full PC nvidia control panel: 32bits / 8bpc / RGB / Full Streamlabs OBS: using x264 fast preset / RGB / 709 / Partial Can someone give some advice about these settings? Thanks

[@Boibetterknow1983]

EposVox if im usein live game ultra 4k shell i set capcard to full xbox to full but streamlabs to partial in advanced , many thanks

[@KuJoe]

Thanks for this video! I've always known to use Partial because of your previous videos but now I know WHY I'm doing it. Great video delivering high level knowledge in a consumable format! This video got me playing around with the $16 CANTLink in OBS and for some reason Default, Partial, and Full all look different. Default is closer to Full but still a noticeable difference. Any ideas why that is? Is there an in between other than Partial and Full that OBS is using?

[@_shogun_gaming_]

I want all the colors, so i record in full on obs and use full when i render it out via vegas pro. im not using a capture card, just directly to the pc

[@EposVox]

Well at best it’s going to end up in Limited range when displayed to any viewer on any platform, and in many cases whatever you use the video with will not handle full range correctly and display wrong, as KZbin and Twitch are likely to do.

[@JoshKaufmanstuff]

Great Explanation! Here is another exception @eposVox : Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini switchers - They output 'Full' OBS on PC can cope with the setting you mention, HOWEVER OBS on Mac does not have this setting! Is there another solution for Mac OBS? (or without OBS?) I know it's not ideal, but does anyone have a LUT to make the conversion from FULL to Partial? Thanks!

[@RNGwhydoihavetoregis]

I also ran into this when making clips, the tools used in editors like virtualdub or staxrip might only operate in the YUV420 colorspace (points at avisynth/vapoursynth) looked at DR a month or so ago but all my OBS YUV444 recordings were showing up as black frames

[@exist3ntial242]

Love the info but on video colour format on an elgato hd60s+ in stream labs do i choose nv12 - l420 -l444 or RGB streaming 1080p/60 but passthrough 4k60 i'm so confused but i have just changed from full to partial so that may help

[@EposVox]

Hd60s+ use nv12

[@exist3ntial242]

@@EposVox Wow thanks that was fast - much appreciated thank you !

[@TECHNICKER_Cz]

This was really useful!