What Is OBS Virtual Camera?

OBS Virtual Camera in plain English

OBS Virtual Camera is a software feature of OBS Studio, the free, open-source recording and streaming program. When you start it, OBS presents its finished video output to your computer as if it were a webcam. Video calling apps, browsers and other programs that accept a camera input can then select it from their camera list, just as they would a physical webcam.

It is not a physical device and it is not a microphone. It is a software camera driver that passes along whatever OBS is showing: a single camera, a screen capture, overlays, or a feed pulled in from another source such as a network camera.

For anyone thinking about webcam audio, the key point is simple. OBS Virtual Camera carries picture only. Choosing it as your camera in a meeting app does not send any OBS audio to that app.

Why the virtual camera carries no sound

Operating systems and conferencing apps treat cameras and microphones as separate input types. A meeting app asks for one video device and one audio input device, and each choice is independent. A physical webcam with a built-in microphone usually appears twice: once in the camera list and once in the microphone list.

OBS Virtual Camera registers only in the camera list. Your OBS audio mixer may show levels for your microphone, desktop audio or a media source, but none of that is included in the virtual camera's output. This is the most common source of confusion. People see their audio meters moving in OBS while the other people on the call hear nothing from OBS.

Part of the path | Carries video | Carries audio

OBS scene and sources | Yes | Yes, inside OBS

OBS Virtual Camera output | Yes | No

Meeting app camera setting | Yes | No

Meeting app microphone setting | No | Yes

Getting audio into the call alongside the virtual camera

Because the virtual camera handles only video, you choose audio through one of two general approaches.

• Select your microphone directly in the meeting app. This is the simplest option. The conferencing app takes audio straight from your USB microphone, headset or webcam microphone, while OBS supplies only the picture.
• Route OBS's audio through a virtual audio device. Install a third-party virtual audio cable or similar tool. In OBS's advanced audio properties, set the sources you want to send to be monitored, then set OBS's audio monitoring device to that virtual device. In the meeting app, choose the virtual device as the microphone. Use this approach when you need the call to hear OBS-processed audio, such as filtered microphone sound, music or a media clip.

Each approach has trade-offs that affect what listeners hear:

• Sync: video and audio travel separate paths, so they can drift slightly apart. Routing audio through OBS monitoring may add delay that differs from the video delay. How much depends on the system and settings.
• Double processing: meeting apps usually apply their own noise suppression, echo cancellation and automatic gain to whatever microphone you select. If OBS has already filtered the audio, the two layers can interact and change the sound. Some apps let you reduce their processing, but the available options vary by app.
• Echo and duplicates: if you monitor OBS audio through speakers, or if the meeting app hears both the virtual audio device and your real microphone, listeners may hear echo or doubled voices. Headphones and a single selected input help avoid this.

Using OBS Virtual Camera to turn an IP camera into a webcam

IP cameras, such as many security and network cameras, send video over the network rather than through a USB connection. Most meeting apps can't open a network stream directly as a camera. OBS can act as a bridge. You add the IP camera's stream to a scene, usually through a Media Source with the local file option turned off and the camera's stream address entered, or through a VLC-based source. You then start the virtual camera. The meeting app sees an ordinary webcam showing the IP camera's picture.

Audio works the same way here as elsewhere. If the IP camera has a microphone and its stream includes an audio track, OBS can play and meter that audio. The virtual camera still won't pass it to the meeting app. To use the IP camera's microphone in a call, you would need to route OBS audio through a virtual audio device as described above. Otherwise, use a local microphone instead.

Several factors affect how this setup sounds in practice:

• Network streams are buffered, which adds delay. Pairing a delayed IP camera picture with a local microphone that has no network delay can make lip movements and speech fall out of step. OBS's audio sync offset setting can shift audio timing to compensate.
• An IP camera's built-in microphone is often mounted far from the person speaking. It may pick up more room sound than a nearby microphone would, but actual quality depends on the camera model.
• Whether a given camera's stream includes audio, and in what format, depends on the model and its settings. Check the camera's own configuration and documentation.

Other things to know

• The virtual camera outputs whatever OBS is showing, so its resolution and frame rate follow your OBS video settings. Meeting apps may still scale or compress the image.
• Some meeting apps mirror your self-view. This usually affects only what you see, not what others see, but behavior depends on the app.
• Installation and permissions differ by operating system and OBS version. Linux, for example, typically relies on a kernel module for virtual camera devices. macOS may ask you to approve a system extension.
• If the virtual camera does not appear in an app's camera list, the app may need restarting after the virtual camera starts. Some apps or browsers may also restrict which camera drivers they accept.

Gaps in this explanation

No specific measurements, test results, version details or compatibility lists were available for this entry. Statements about delay, sync and sound quality describe general behavior rather than tested figures. Exact menu names, supported operating systems and app compatibility can change between OBS releases, so check them against the version you have installed.