Installing OBS Virtual Camera and the VirtualCam Plugin

The short answer

Current releases of OBS Studio include Virtual Camera as a built-in feature, so you no longer need a separate download. Install or update OBS Studio from its official website, then click Start Virtual Camera in the Controls panel. The older third-party obs-virtualcam plugin was created before this feature existed and was only needed for older versions of OBS.

There is one important limitation for anyone capturing speech. The OBS virtual camera sends video only. Your microphone audio does not travel through it, so you have to handle audio separately in your meeting or streaming app.

Built-in Virtual Camera vs. the legacy obs-virtualcam plugin

Aspect | Built-in OBS Virtual Camera | Legacy obs-virtualcam plugin

Source | Part of OBS Studio itself | Separate third-party add-on

Installation | Installed with OBS; no extra driver package on Windows or macOS | Separate installer that also registered its own virtual device

Relevance today | The supported route in current OBS releases | Intended for older OBS versions that lacked a native virtual camera

Audio | Video only | Video focus; any audio features depended on the specific plugin build

If you see sites offering an "OBS virtual camera driver" or the "latest version" of the VirtualCam plugin, keep this in mind. With an up-to-date OBS Studio, the plugin is redundant. Installing it alongside the built-in feature can leave two similarly named camera devices in your conferencing app's list. The material supplied for this guide doesn't confirm the plugin's current maintenance status, its last release, or which OBS versions it works with. Check the project's own page before you rely on it.

How to set up the built-in virtual camera

• 1. Download and install OBS Studio from the official OBS project website, or update your existing installation.
• 2. In OBS, add your webcam as a Video Capture Device source in a scene.
• 3. In the Controls panel, click Start Virtual Camera.
• 4. In your conferencing app's video settings, choose OBS Virtual Camera as the camera.
• 5. Click Stop Virtual Camera in OBS when you are finished.

Each platform has its own requirements. On Linux, the virtual camera depends on the v4l2loopback kernel module, which you may need to install through your distribution's package manager. On recent macOS versions, you may be asked to approve a system extension the first time you use it. The exact prompts and steps vary by OS and OBS version, and the supplied evidence doesn't document them in detail.

What this means for your webcam microphone

The virtual camera carries no audio, so you need a separate path for your voice. Choose the option that fits your setup:

• Use the microphone directly: in the conferencing app's audio settings, select the webcam's built-in microphone, or whichever mic you use, as the input device. This is the simplest approach and keeps OBS out of the audio chain.
• Send processed audio from OBS: if you want the meeting to hear audio that OBS has processed (for example with noise suppression or a gain filter), you need a virtual audio device. A virtual audio device is a software input that other apps can select like a microphone. OBS does not provide one as part of the virtual camera feature, so this requires additional software.

Using the microphone directly is usually the safer choice for sync and simplicity. Sending audio through OBS gives you more control over the sound. Watch for one side effect: if OBS adds delay to the video but the audio goes straight to the meeting app, lips and voice can drift out of sync. No measurements of this offset were supplied, so test with a short recorded call before an important meeting.

Also check whether both OBS and the meeting app are capturing the same microphone. If OBS is also outputting or monitoring that mic, participants may hear your voice doubled or echoed. Mute or remove the mic source in OBS if the meeting app is already capturing it directly.

Evidence gaps

No confirmed specifications, version numbers, release dates or app-by-app compatibility results were available for this guide. Statements about latency, voice quality or how specific conferencing platforms handle OBS Virtual Camera are general guidance, not test results. Your OBS release notes and your conferencing app's device settings are the authoritative references for your setup.