How to fix a mirrored OBS Virtual Camera image in Discord

The short answer

If your OBS Virtual Camera looks mirrored in Discord, the first thing to establish is who is seeing the reversed image. Video-call apps, including Discord, commonly show your own preview as a mirror image because that feels natural when you look at yourself. The people in your call may already be seeing the correct, unmirrored picture. If that is the case, nothing in OBS needs to change, and flipping the image there would actually reverse it for everyone else.

If the picture is genuinely reversed at the source, so that text also reads backwards inside OBS itself, fix it in OBS. Right-click the camera source, open Transform, and choose Flip Horizontal. The OBS Virtual Camera sends out what OBS produces, so a flip made there carries through to Discord and to everyone who receives your video.

Check one more detail first. "Mirrored" usually means reversed left to right, but some people use "flipped" to mean upside down. For an upside-down image, the fix in OBS is Flip Vertical, or a rotation, instead of Flip Horizontal.

Before you change anything: find out which image is reversed

You need a simple test object whose correct orientation is obvious. Printed or handwritten text on a piece of paper works best. You can also raise your right hand and note which side of the screen it appears on.

• 1. Open OBS and hold the text up to your camera. Look at the OBS preview window.
• 2. If the text reads correctly in OBS, your OBS output is not mirrored. Any reversal you see in Discord is happening in Discord's display of your own video.
• 3. If the text reads backwards in OBS, the image is reversed before it reaches Discord. The cause could be the camera, its companion software or driver, or a transform already applied in OBS. Fix it in OBS as described below.
• 4. Open Discord, go to User Settings, then Voice & Video. Confirm that OBS Virtual Camera is selected as the camera and that the virtual camera has been started in OBS. Then look at the preview with the same text held up.

This check shows what OBS is producing and what Discord shows you locally. It does not show what other participants receive. That needs a separate check, covered further down.

How to flip the image in OBS

Use these steps only when the image is reversed in OBS itself, or when another participant has confirmed they see you mirrored.

• 1. In OBS, select the scene you send to the virtual camera.
• 2. In the Sources list, right-click your camera source (usually a Video Capture Device source).
• 3. Choose Transform, then Flip Horizontal. If the image is upside down, choose Flip Vertical instead.
• 4. Hold your test text up again. It should now read correctly in the OBS preview.
• 5. If your camera appears in more than one scene, repeat the flip in each scene where you use it. A transform applies to that copy of the source in that scene.
• 6. Return to Discord and check your camera again. If the change does not appear, stop and restart the virtual camera in OBS, then reselect it in Discord's Voice & Video settings.

Success looks like this: text reads correctly in OBS, and someone else in the call confirms it reads correctly on their screen. Your own Discord preview may still look mirrored after this, which leads to the next section.

If only your own Discord preview looks reversed

When OBS shows the image the right way round but your Discord self-view shows it mirrored, the most likely explanation is that Discord is mirroring your preview for your benefit only. In that case, other people probably see you correctly and no fix is needed.

Discord changes its interface from time to time. Look in Voice & Video settings, and in the options on your own video tile during a call, for any setting related to mirroring your video. The supplied information does not confirm whether your version of Discord has such a setting, what it is called, or whether it affects only your view or what others receive. Test before relying on it.

Avoid flipping the image in OBS just to make your own preview look right. If Discord mirrors only your self-view, that flip would make you appear reversed to everyone else.

How to confirm what other people see

Your own screen cannot settle this question. Use one of these approaches:

• Ask a friend to join a call or voice channel with you, turn on your camera, hold up your test text, and ask whether it reads correctly.
• Join the same call from a second device, such as a phone or another computer signed in to a different Discord account, and look at your video tile there.
• If you join from a second device in the same room, mute that device or keep its volume down to avoid audio feedback.

This test confirms orientation only. It does not tell you about video quality, frame rate or how the stream holds up on a slower connection. Judge those separately during an actual call.

Other possible causes to rule out

If the image is still wrong after the steps above, these are possibilities worth checking, starting with the easiest to reverse:

• A flip applied twice: the camera's own software or driver may already mirror the image, and an OBS flip on top of it would cancel it out or reverse it back. Check the camera manufacturer's utility, if you have one installed, for a mirror or flip option, and keep the flip in only one place.
• The wrong scene or output: if OBS sends a different scene, or a specific source, to the virtual camera than the one you edited, your flip will not appear. Check which scene is active in OBS, and check the virtual camera's output settings if your OBS version offers them.
• The wrong camera in Discord: if Discord is using your physical webcam directly instead of OBS Virtual Camera, changes in OBS will have no effect. Reselect OBS Virtual Camera in Voice & Video settings.
• The browser version of Discord: if you use Discord in a web browser, the browser's camera permission and camera choice also matter. Make sure the browser is allowed to use the camera and is set to OBS Virtual Camera.
• A stale connection: after changes, fully quit and reopen Discord, then restart the virtual camera in OBS.

Retest, and when to look further

After each change, repeat the same check: text held up to the camera, viewed in OBS, in your Discord preview and, most importantly, from another participant's screen. If text reads correctly in OBS and for other participants, the problem is solved, even if your own preview still looks mirrored.

If OBS shows the image correctly but other participants still see it reversed after you have removed any extra flips, the cause is outside what these settings can control. At that point, check the current OBS and Discord help resources or community forums for issues specific to your versions and operating system. Note which OBS version, Discord version and operating system you use so others can help narrow it down.