OBS Webcam Background Removal: How to Remove Your Background and Send It to a Call

The short answer

OBS Studio can remove a webcam background in two main ways. The first is the built-in Chroma Key filter, which requires a physical green or blue screen behind you. The second is a background removal filter that uses software to detect your outline without a green screen; this generally comes from a third-party plugin or a hardware vendor's effect rather than from OBS itself. Once the background is removed, you place your own image or video behind yourself in the OBS scene. You then start OBS Virtual Camera and choose it as the camera in your video-call app, so the call receives the edited picture instead of the raw webcam feed.

The choice depends on your setup. If you have a green screen, use Chroma Key; it is already in OBS and usually gives the cleanest edges. If you don't, you need a removal plugin, and its results depend on your lighting, your computer's performance and the plugin's compatibility with your OBS version.

Which kind of background change you are making

Three different things are often called background removal. A physical background is what actually stands behind you, such as a wall, a curtain or a green screen. A virtual effect replaces or blurs that background live, in software, while the camera is running; this is what OBS does here. An edited photo background is changed afterwards in an image editor and only applies to still pictures. This guide covers the live effect in OBS. A green screen is still a physical background, but OBS uses it to make the virtual replacement accurate.

Method comparison

Method | What you need | Main strength | Main limitation

Chroma Key filter | A green or blue screen and even lighting | Built into OBS; precise edges when lit well | Needs the physical screen; uneven light or green clothing causes holes or fringes

Background removal plugin | A compatible plugin installed in OBS | No green screen required | Edge quality and system load vary; must match your OBS version and operating system

GPU vendor effect | Supported graphics hardware and the vendor's effects software | Processing runs on the graphics card | Only available on specific hardware

Step 1: Add your webcam to OBS

• 1. Close any other app that is using the camera, such as a call app or the system camera app. Many systems let only one program use a webcam at a time.
• 2. In OBS, in the Sources panel, click the plus button and choose Video Capture Device. On Linux it may be labeled with V4L2.
• 3. Name the source, then pick your webcam from the Device list and confirm.
• 4. Check that your image appears in the OBS preview. If the source is added but stays black, OBS has the device but is not receiving video. Check the operating system's camera permission for OBS and make sure no other app still holds the camera.

Step 2a: Remove the background with a green screen (Chroma Key)

• 1. Right-click the webcam source and choose Filters.
• 2. Under Effect Filters, click the plus button and add Chroma Key.
• 3. Set Key Color Type to match your screen, usually Green.
• 4. Raise Similarity slowly until the screen disappears but your face and hair stay solid. Use Smoothness to soften the transition, and use Key Color Spill Reduction to remove the green tint that reflects onto your skin and edges.
• 5. Close the filter window and look at the preview. You should see the OBS canvas, or whatever source sits below the camera, where the screen used to be.

Chroma Key works by making one color transparent, so anything you wear in a similar shade will vanish too. Light the screen evenly and keep some distance between you and it to reduce shadows. Shadows and wrinkles create darker patches that the filter may not remove.

Step 2b: Remove the background without a green screen (plugin)

• 1. Install a background removal plugin that states support for your OBS version and operating system. Use the plugin's own installation instructions, and restart OBS afterwards.
• 2. Right-click the webcam source, choose Filters, and add the new background removal filter from the Effect Filters list. If it isn't listed, the plugin did not load. Recheck version compatibility.
• 3. Choose whether the filter should make the background transparent or blur it, if the plugin offers both options.
• 4. Adjust any threshold or smoothing settings the plugin provides until the edges around your head, shoulders and hands look stable.

Some Windows systems with supported NVIDIA graphics cards can also show an NVIDIA background removal filter in OBS, but only after NVIDIA's video effects software is installed. If you don't see it, your hardware or installation probably doesn't support it. Use a plugin or Chroma Key instead.

No specific plugin versions, hardware requirements or performance figures were available for this guide. Before relying on any of these options, check the developer's compatibility notes and test the result on your own machine.

Step 3: Put a new background behind you

• 1. In Sources, click the plus button and add an Image source for a still background, or a Media Source for a video background.
• 2. Select your file and resize it to fill the canvas.
• 3. Drag the background source below the webcam source in the Sources list. OBS draws sources higher in the list on top, so the camera must stay above the background.
• 4. Resize or reposition the webcam source if you want yourself framed differently against the new background.

If you only want a blurred background, you can skip this step when your plugin offers a blur mode.

Step 4: Route the result through OBS Virtual Camera

• 1. In the Controls panel, click Start Virtual Camera. OBS will now present its output as a camera other apps can select.
• 2. Open your video-call app and go to its video or camera settings.
• 3. Choose OBS Virtual Camera as the camera, not your physical webcam.
• 4. Turn off the call app's own background blur or replacement. Stacking it on top of the OBS effect can cause flickering edges or a doubled effect.
• 5. Leave OBS running for the whole call. If you close OBS or stop the virtual camera, the call loses the feed.

If OBS Virtual Camera doesn't appear in the call app's list, restart the call app after starting the virtual camera. In a web browser, also confirm the site has camera permission and that OBS Virtual Camera is the device selected in the browser's camera choice for that site.

Step 5: Check that it actually works

Check three stages separately. Camera access means OBS can open the webcam. Successful capture means the processed image shows correctly in OBS and arrives in the call app. Call quality means the other participants see a smooth, clear picture. A problem at one stage doesn't tell you the next stage is fine.

• In the OBS preview: move your head, raise a hand and turn sideways. Watch for edges flickering, parts of you disappearing or patches of the old background showing.
• In the call app's self-view: confirm it shows the OBS scene with your new background, not the raw webcam. Some apps mirror your self-view, so text in the background may look reversed to you but appear correctly to others.
• Under load: open the Stats panel from the View menu in OBS and watch for skipped or dropped frames while the effect runs. If frames are being skipped, a software removal filter may be too demanding. Try lowering the OBS output resolution or frame rate, or switch to Chroma Key.
• With another person: run a short test call and ask whether your outline looks stable and the video is smooth. Your own preview can't show you how network conditions affect what they receive.

Common problems and fixes

• Background still visible: the background image is above the camera in Sources, or the removal filter is turned off. Check the order and the eye icon next to the filter.
• Holes in your face or clothing with Chroma Key: Similarity is too high, or you are wearing a color close to the screen. Lower Similarity or change clothing.
• Green fringe around your outline: increase Key Color Spill Reduction and improve lighting on the screen.
• Ragged edges with a plugin: add more light on your face, use a plainer real background, and adjust the plugin's threshold or smoothing settings.
• Call app shows a black screen: the virtual camera is not started, or the call app was opened before it started. Start it, then restart the call app.