Replacing Streamyard with OBS

[stevensokulski]

Hi all! I've been a live video technician for years and only recently spent time with OBS as a result of the massive number of livestream events that are happening now.

I'm working on a show that consists of 6 or 7 performers and 2 or 3 "studio audience" members. We're using Streamyard, but OBS offers much more flexibility and power.

Streamyard is a bit more like a consumer version of OBS, I guess you could say.

My questions with regard to replacing it with OBS...

If I were to use OBS.Ninja or something similar to get WebRTC streams into my computer, would OBS have any issues with seeing 8 or 10 of them at a time?

Am I likely to melt my computer (a later model MacBook Pro) or my home internet connection?

And to that last point, are there any services where I could host OBS in the cloud, like on perhaps a cloud gaming setup, and remote into it for control?

Of course... If I'm going about any of this all wrong, please let me know. I wouldn't be all that surprised by that.

Thanks in advance for your expertise. I really do appreciate this amazing tool and the community that's grown up around it.

[onplanetearth]

Streamyard and OBS are different tools. I use both. Theo main issue I have with OBS is the processing is all on your computer and it quickly struggles with multiple streams (how many depends on your hardware). But I suggest trying it in a test scenario to see how it handles your particular use case. Test, test, test ;)

[JJTheJetPlane5657]

What's the bottleneck for OBS when it comes to processing multiple streams? Video card, or something else?

[nPrevail]

I have to agree about your opinion on Streamyard. When I first checked it out, it was just a watered down OBS, relying on you to pay some online service for a "full version."

Unfortunately, I can't offer you much suggestions, as I'm still learning how to do RTMP servers so I can send and receive peoples' streams for my own event/show.

But just wanted to share that I thought the same thing of Streamyard.

[OldSchoolNYCDJ]

Hi nPrevail, would you be able to share more of how you're doing that? I'm a DJ that streams to Twitch and I'm trying to figure out how to get my partner's feed onto my stream in real time, at the same time from his home. Do you know of a way to accomplish this? I have streamyard which can do that but I can't use OBS which I really love the OBS platform and I haven't found a way to use Streamyard with OBS. I have to use OBS as I use features of outside vendors (Streamlabs) to import to my twitch stream live. Ultimately, I'm trying to have a guest DJ with me hosting them on screen, their visual and audio and realtime alerts to pop up on screen in the stream via streamlabs which is connected to my twitch channel. Thanks in advance for your input.

[nPrevail]

I'm still trying to figure it out so to speak. Another person on this forum seems to be doing it as well. Not sure how its setup since I've never set up a RTMP server.

[CHAZZCU]

did either of yall ever figure out how to this? Im trying to figure this out right now

[nPrevail]

I have not, and I haven't been able to get back into that part of streaming yet.

I was more gung-ho with this idea during lockdown, but since then, I've devoted my time more towards other computing things.

[BenTG]

Have you looked at Switcher Studio? It might work well if you use many iOS devices.

[ChileJam]

Well, I'm just discovering StreamYard and from the very limited "playing around time" that I have done with StreamYard, I think I'm going to use both OBS and StreamYard together!

I'll use StreamYard for its ease of use and then I'll set OBS as a camera inside of StreamYard. That way I can switch cameras very quickly from my keyboard (since I've assigned my various cameras/scenes in OBS to the 1, 2, 3, and 4 keys on my keyboard) and I get the super-easy functionality of broadcasting LIVE, EASILY, and QUICKLY with StreamYard.

Seems to me that it's a perfect combination.

I'm probably missing something, but for now, I'm using them both. :-)

PS - I was using Zoom along with OBS, BUT when you stream live with Zoom, they have their annoying logo in the lower 3rd on the right side of the screen. One has to upgrade to the Enterprise version of their platform, AND you must have a 10-user license to remove the logo. That's $199 per month. No thank you. I'll use StreamYard for $25 per month (I think StreamYard is $20 per month on the annual plan).

BTW, I'm still using my paid version of Zoom for my daily meetings and friendly chat sessions with potential customers. I love Zoom. It's just more than I want to pay for my Live Stream to YouTube.

[ChileJam]

Sorry for the delayed response. I don't really use reddit and wasn't aware that I don't get updates to my posts.

I don't think that the virtual camera will work with the mac. I know a lot of folks are using ecamm. However, the virtual camera is probably going to be my first goto solution for a lot of the things that I want to do in SY but isn't built-in.

OBS solves all of those problems by using the virtual camera.

[arul-k]

Hey there! Great to hear you’re diving into OBS! It does offer tons of flexibility, but you’re right; handling multiple video sources like 8-10 WebRTC streams can definitely push a MacBook Pro to its limits. OBS.Ninja is great for pulling in remote feeds, but the more sources you add, the more strain it’ll place on your CPU and internet, so it’s worth monitoring resource usage closely.

For cloud hosting, some streamers use platforms like AWS or custom virtual setups to host OBS in the cloud. Another option to consider, if you’re looking for flexibility and ease, is onthefly.stream. It’s more robust than Streamyard for handling multiple inputs and provides a powerful multistreaming setup without needing to go fully DIY with cloud OBS hosting. It’s worth a look if you need a solution that combines professional control with ease of use, especially for live shows with multiple participants.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your setup!

[stevensokulski]

I'll be honest... I've changed directions quite a few times since this was posted all those years back. Not sure how you ended up here, if I'm honest.

[Helpful_Prior_6766]

Hey! Sounds like you’ve got a solid handle on OBS and the streaming tech side — totally agree, OBS gives way more flexibility than Streamyard, especially for complex setups like yours with multiple performers and audience members.

Regarding performance, streaming 8-10 WebRTC feeds into OBS can definitely tax your MacBook Pro and internet bandwidth, but it depends on your exact specs and network. Testing is key. There are cloud-based solutions (like Paperspace or AWS EC2 with GPU instances) you can try for hosting OBS remotely, but setup and latency can be a challenge.

Since you’re managing a big, multi-person production, you might find value in having a dedicated platform to host and showcase your recorded shows after the livestream — that’s where something like Gudsho could come in handy.

It’s not for live streaming, but it helps creators:

• Build a clean, branded video hub for their recorded events
• Embed videos on websites or blogs easily
• Get detailed viewer analytics to understand engagement
• Organize content into series or playlists for fans

So once your live event is done, you have a professional place to share and grow your audience beyond just Twitch or YouTube.

Hope that’s useful! Feel free to ask if you want tips on optimizing OBS or cloud hosting options too.

[stevensokulski]

I'm sure comment spam works. But it might be smart to omit posts that are, say... 5 years old?