Installing OBS Studio

You probably already have this one. OBS Studio is the free streaming software most people use for Twitch and YouTube, and if you stream at all it's likely already on your machine.

The part worth two minutes of your attention is your version number, not the install.

What BobbleHub uses it for#

Two things:

Streaming the show. BobbleHub builds the picture; OBS sends it to Twitch, YouTube, or wherever you broadcast. You keep your existing scenes, overlays, alerts and stream key — BobbleHub becomes one more source in a setup you already know.
Carrying the sound. Your table's voices are in Discord, and OBS is what captures them into the broadcast.

Check your version first#

You need OBS 31 or newer. This isn't BobbleHub being fussy — the NDI add-on you'll install next simply refuses to load on anything older, and it does it quietly. Getting this right now saves a confusing ten minutes later.

In OBS: Help → About. The version is at the top.

obs-versionthe OBS Help/About dialog with the version number visible

If you're on 31 or newer, you're done here. Move on to installing DistroAV.

Installing or updating#

Go to obsproject.com/download.
Download the Windows installer and run it.
If you already have OBS, installing over the top keeps your scenes, settings and stream keys. You don't need to remove the old version.
Accept the defaults.

If OBS offers you its auto-configuration wizard on first launch, you can run it or skip it — it doesn't affect anything BobbleHub does.

How to check it worked#

Open BobbleHub and click Setup in the top bar. OBS should show a tick.

If BobbleHub can't find it but you know it's installed, that's fine — it looks in the usual place and you may have installed somewhere else. Nothing is broken and nothing will stop working.

Troubleshooting#

OBS says my version is older than 31#

Install the current version over the top. Your scenes and settings carry over.

I installed OBS somewhere unusual and BobbleHub doesn't see it#

BobbleHub checks the standard install location. A custom location means it can't confirm OBS is there, but it doesn't stop anything — the check is a convenience, not a requirement.

I don't want to use OBS#

For now you'll need it. BobbleHub hands its finished picture to other software rather than streaming directly, and OBS is the path we've built and tested. Other NDI-capable software may work, but we haven't verified it.