Users have been quite outspoken about the need for one particular functionality since the debut of OBS. The option to split audio sources in OBS seems to be accessible by default.
The program makes it seem as though this functionality is virtually at your fingertips, but we’ll have to jump through some hoops to get our OBS configured for isolated audio.
The Problem: Audio in OBS is on a mixed channel
By default, all of your audio sources in Windows will be combined into one channel. In general, we don’t think twice about it, but if you do any recording or streaming with OBS, this may be an issue.
Consider recording a gameplay video while listening to music in the background. You don’t want music in your video, but since the audio channels are mixed, how can you separate the audio sources?
Previously, we needed sophisticated and, to be honest, unreliable applications such as VoiceMeter. Fortunately, we can now do this using a simple and easy-to-install plugin.
The Workaround: Use the win-capture-audio OBS Plugin
In OBS, we’ll use a plugin named “win-capture-audio” to isolate our audio sources.
This plugin will add a new source to our OBS, allowing us to choose audio from a certain show. Let’s go through the installation steps.
Download the win-capture-audio plugin
Click on the most current release of win-capture-audio from the releases page.
Download the.zip file.
You may also download and install the.exe version, but we suggest avoiding third-party installers wherever possible.
The safest way is to unzip files straight into your OBS installation directory.
Extract the .zip files
Copy the .zip files to your OBS Installation location
Unzip the data and obs-plugins folders. These directories must be copied into the OBS installation folder.
This folder is often located at C: Program Files (x86) obs-studio, although your placement may change.
Open OBS
Disable all of your Global Audio Devices
Disable each of the global audio devices in OBS by going to File->Settings->Audio. This will provide us with a clean slate to work with and ensure that no unnecessary audio is captured in our films.
6. Launch your Audio Source
Start your game or any software you want to record sounds from. In this example, we will capture No Man’s Sky game footage and audio. It could be a Chrome window, Discord, Spotify, VLC, or any other software that makes audio.
7. Add An Application Audio Output Capture Source
Under Sources, click the plus button and choose Application Audio Output Capture.
Name your new Source
Under Window, choose your program
That’s all! In the audio mixer, your new audio source should now be displayed. This source will be totally separated from the rest of your computer’s audio output. You may include as many sources as you like.
For example, if you want to include your Discord audio conversation in your movie, just add another Discord Application Audio Output Capture source. You may also adjust the level for each individual source using the audio mixer.
I’m Having Issues with the win-capture-audio Plugin
If you’re experiencing difficulties getting the win-capture-audio plugin to operate, Windows may need to be updated.
This plugin is dependent on dependencies that are only accessible via Windows updates. For assistance with the upgrade process, see our Windows 10 upgrade guide.
We hope you find this advice useful and simple to follow. This page will be updated if the method changes or if a better option becomes available in the future.
Hopefully, OBS will include this capability natively at some point, but in the meantime, we are appreciative to the win-capture-audio plugin creators for providing us with a solution.