Beginner10 min read

OBS Studio Setup Guide

Learn how to configure OBS Studio to receive your IRL stream from a relay endpoint. This guide covers both basic setup for beginners and advanced NOALBS configuration for automatic scene switching.

Prerequisites

  • OBS Studio installed (version 28.0 or later recommended)
  • An IRLServer account with an active endpoint (get one at irl.ac)
  • Your stream URL from the dashboard (RTMP or SRT/SRTLA)

Choose Your Setup

Simplified Setup

Just one LIVE scene. Best for beginners who want to get started quickly without automatic scene switching.

Recommended for beginners

Advanced Setup (NOALBS)

Multiple scenes (LIVE, LOW, BRB, REFRESH) with automatic switching when your connection drops or has low bitrate.

Recommended for regular streamers

Step-by-Step Setup

1

Launch OBS Studio

Open OBS Studio on your computer. If this is your first time, complete the auto-configuration wizard or click Cancel to set up manually.

2

Create Your Scenes

For simplified setup, create one scene:

  • LIVE - Your main streaming scene

For NOALBS setup, create these scenes:

  • LIVE - Main stream view
  • LOW - Low bitrate warning scene
  • BRB - Disconnected/be right back scene
  • REFRESH - Connection refresh scene
Right-click in the Scenes panel → Add Scene. Use EXACT names (case sensitive) for NOALBS compatibility.
3

Add Media Source

In your LIVE scene, add a Media Source:

  1. Right-click in Sources panel → Add → Media Source
  2. Name it something like "IRL Feed" or "Stream Input"
  3. Uncheck "Local File"
  4. Check "Show nothing when playback ends"
  5. Check "Restart playback when source becomes active"
  6. Check "Close file when inactive"
4

Configure Your Stream URL

In the Media Source properties, paste your stream URL from the IRLServer dashboard.

For RTMP endpoints:

rtmp://rtmp.region.irl.ac/publish/YOUR_KEY

For SRT/SRTLA endpoints:

srt://srt.region.irl.ac:5000?streamid=play/live/YOUR_KEY&latency=2000000
Your actual stream URLs are available in your dashboard at irl.ac/dashboard/stream-settings
5

Set Network Buffering

Configure network buffering for stable playback. In the Media Source properties:

  • Network Buffering: 1 MB (recommended) or higher for unstable connections
  • Reconnect Delay: 3 seconds
Higher buffer = more stable but more delay. Start with 1 MB and increase if you see stuttering.
6

Stretch to Screen

Make the media source fill your canvas:

  1. Right-click on the media source in the preview
  2. Transform → Stretch to Screen

Or press Ctrl+F with the source selected to fit to screen.

7

Copy to Other Scenes (NOALBS)

If using NOALBS, copy your media source to other scenes:

  1. Right-click your media source → Copy
  2. Go to LOW scene → Right-click → Paste (Reference)
  3. Repeat for REFRESH scene
Using "Paste (Reference)" ensures all scenes use the same source. Changes to one will apply to all.
8

Test Your Setup

Start streaming from your encoder (Belabox, Moblin, etc.) to your IRLServer endpoint. You should see your stream appear in OBS within a few seconds.

If the stream doesn't appear, check that your encoder is connected and streaming to the correct URL. You can verify connection status in your IRLServer dashboard.

Next Steps

Setup NOALBS

Automatic scene switching

NOALBS Config Generator

Generate config.json

Resources

OBS WikiIRLServer Discord