How to stream PS4 with capture card

PS4 has a built-in streaming option called Remote Play that lets you directly broadcast your gameplay to platforms like Twitch and YouTube. But it has limitations. You can’t customize your stream like you can on PC with streaming clients like Streamlabs, OBS, etc. So, you might wonder, how to stream ps4 with OBS without remote play?

To stream from PS4 with OBS without using the remote play feature, you must have a capture card. Set up the card as required, set up the streaming client and you are all good to go. What you are doing here is letting the capture card capture the gameplay, send it to your computer, and use OBS to stream on the platform of your choice.

In this article, I will explain step by step how you can stream ps4 with OBS without remote play. So, keep reading till the end to learn more.

Why Streaming Through OBS is the Best Option

There are three ways you can stream from your PS4. You can stream directly from your PS4, you can use a capture card or you can use the Remote Play feature of PS4.

You can directly stream from your PS4 to twitch and YouTube. This feature is pretty convenient as you don’t need any high-end capture card or any other device. However, this limits customization and other options that you could use with third-party streaming software. Also, you can’t stream to Facebook anymore.

With remote play, the gameplay from your PS4 is relayed to your PC via cable or your home’s wireless network. There is usually a delay and deterioration of stream quality with this method.

Streaming through OBS using a capture card gives you the highest streaming performance. The delay is reduced, the resolution and FPS stay stable (depending on the quality of the card) and you can stream to any platform you want. You can customize your stream by using an overlay, interacting in the chat with the audience, etc. You can also use any streaming client you want.

All of this makes using OBS the most versatile method of streaming gameplay to streaming platforms from your PS4.

Streaming PS4 Games with OBS Without Remote Play

To stream PS4 games using OBS without using the remote play feature, you will need a capture card, two HDMI cables to connect the PS4 to the capture card and connect the monitor or the TV to the capture card. You will also require a USB cable to connect the capture card to your PC. The USB cable comes with the capture card so don’t worry.

Step 1: Set up Hardware

Connecting everything properly is very crucial. Connect the capture card with your PS4 and to the display via two HDMI cables. Use the proper HDMI ports. Looks for ‘HDMI in’ and ‘HDMI out’ written near both HDMI ports on the capture card. Then connect the card to your PC via USB cable.

You don’t have to connect the card to a separate power outlet. It gets power from the USB port. If you want to add commentary during your gameplay, this can be a bit tricky depending on the card you are using. If you are using Elgato cards, you will need to connect your headset to the DualShock 4 via a splitter.

I suggest using the AVerMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus for commentary-based streaming. Just connect your headset to the card and you are good to go.

Step 2: Download the Necessary Software

Download the corresponding software from the card manufacturer’s website. This is required for proper synchronization of the capture card with your PC.

Next, download OBS. Install it in a drive. Make sure the drive has enough space. If you can install it to your SSD, that’s even better.

Step 3: Set Up the PS4

There is one extremely important setting that you need to change in your PS4. Not many people know this and because of that, their fancy capture cards end up not picking up any signal from the PS4. Turn on your PS4 and go to Setting>System. Look for the ‘Enable HDCP’ option. This is enabled by default.

When it’s enabled, the capture card won’t be able to pick up any signal from the PS4. So just uncheck it and you’re all good.

Next, you can tweak the resolution of your PS4. If your card can stream at 1080p and 60FPS, that’s good. Otherwise, I recommend you scale down the resolution to 720p for a 60FPS stream.

Step 4: Set Up the Stream Client

Now for the main part. There are a plethora of settings that you can tweak on the OBS, but not all of them are important. Besides selecting the stream source, there are three important settings that you need to get your hands on. They are video bitrate, encoder, and audio bitrate.

Video Bitrate: Video bitrate determines the quality of your stream. It’s also related to your upload speed and the resolution you have selected on your PS4. From 720p 30FPS to 1080p 60FPS streaming, the ideal bitrate is around 5000kbps. Remember that your upload speed should be at least 10Mbps or 10000kbs which is double the video bitrate.

One important thing to know is that even if you have the best internet connection and high upload speed, you shouldn’t choose too much bitrate. It might cause problems on the viewers’ end.

Encoder: In the encoder, there are only two options. Software and hardware encoding. Software encoding harnesses the power of your CPU while the hardware encoding utilizes your graphics card. This setting is more important when streaming from your PC. As your PS4 is doing all the tasks, you can choose CPU encoding for a smoother performance.

Audio Bitrate: There isn’t much here. For high-quality audio, select 256kbps.

As for selecting the source, click on the ‘plus’ icon below the ‘Sources’ section. There are tons of options, but select ‘Game Capture’ as it’s the most efficient and the safest one. Name it whatever you like. From the dialogue box that appears next, select the capture card and click ok. Now your capture card is selected as the source of streaming.

Step 5: Set up The Audio Mixer

This is fairly important as this setting lets you select which audios go to your stream audiences. In the ‘Audio Mixer’ section, click on the ‘Gear’ icon. Look for the capture device and click on the dropdown below ‘Audio Monitoring’. The ‘Monitor Only’ option lets you hear the sounds, not the audience. So, select ‘Monitor and Output’ to let your audience the game sounds.

Step 6: Connect to Your Stream Platform

After you have set up everything correctly, connect to your streaming service. Go to Settings>Stream and select the platform from the service. Then you can either use a stream key or connect your OBS account to the streaming account.

That’s it! You are all good to go. Fire up your PS4 and click on ‘Start Streaming’ in the bottom right corner. The stream should start without causing any problem.

Conclusion

Streaming with remote play is a low-budget option. Although it does the job, if you can afford a capture card you should always go for it. Not only it will be convenient for you, but your audiences will experience superior and crisp quality streaming.

As you are reading this article, you have made the right choice. I have explicitly explained how to stream PS4 with OBS without Remote Play. I have mentioned all the hardware you need, how to set up those Hardware as well as the streaming client. Once you’ve read this full article, streaming your PS4 games with OBS without using remote play should be a cakewalk.

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