The latest games on Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox and PC look incredible, and even better when played and captured in HDR. High Dynamic Range adds to the immersion by providing expanded colors and dynamic range, providing for more realism and artistic expression.
Recording and streaming HDR isn't as turnkey due to the fundamental differences in how the technology works, so this guide is for you.
For this guide, we're going to assume a couple things:
There's quite a few steps so we'll break them up.
First, configure OBS Studio to work in HDR mode.
Open OBS Studio and head into the settings, then the Advanced settings. You'll want to look for the Video settings, specifically and apply the following settings:
Now click on Apply. OBS Studio is now internally operating in HDR mode, so to speak.
Now lets configure your capture device.
Add your video capture device as a source and then open the properties. Apply the following settings:
Now you're ready to start recording. However, there are some more settings you can tweak.
OBS does not support previewing HDR video. All HDR content will be tonemapped from HDR to SDR using a tonemapping algorithm. This algorithm takes the expanded colors of 10-bit HDR and brightness information and converts it to standard dynamic range (SDR) while trying to preserve the look and detail of the original video.
You can change how the tonemapping looks in two places. This does not have an effect on the recorded video, which is always recorded in HDR.
OBS Studio will tonemap the preview and any sources using the SDR White Level, which you configured earlier, and defaults to 300 nits. If you find the preview is too dark, decrease the nit value. If the preview is still over exposed, try increasing the value (Note: The maximum value is 480).
If you'd like more control over the tonemapping on a per-source level and choose the algorithm, OBS Studio lets you do that as well.
Head back to your capture card source and right-click, then select filters. Under Effect Filters add a HDR Tone mapping (Override) filter.
You can choose from three different tone transform options:
Now you can tweak the tonemapping to your liking.
The last step is setting up your encoder. We wont dive too deep into all the settings, just those that you need to record HDR video. You may be used to using H264 for live streaming and recording however H264 is not compatible with HDR. To record HDR video you need to use more modern codecs, either HEVC and the even more modern and efficient AV1.
Head back into the OBS Studio settings, then the Output tab. Set the output mode at the top to Advanced.
Now, head down to the Video Encoder dropdown. The options you'll see for encoder will vary depending on what graphics card you have in your system. Here are some examples:
Select the available encoder for your system that is either HEVC or AV1.
Next, an additional setting is needed to ensure video is recorded in 10-bit.
Configure other options like the recording format, bit rate and more, and you can start recording beautifully rich and vibrant HDR content. You can verify the file is being correctly recorded in HDR by viewing it on an HDR-compatible device or display, or using a tool such as MediaInfo to inspect detailed information about the file.
Note: To view HDR video on Windows you'll need to enable HDR in the display settings and use a an HDR-compatible media player.
Live streaming in HDR is also possible with OBS Studio though its not supported by many platforms. The main platform is YouTube. This article wont go into live streaming to YouTube in HDR. If you want to do that, check out this guide by Youtube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10265272?hl=en#zippy=%2Cobs
If certain settings are not working or the output isnt as expected, the OBS Studio community can help either in the official OBS Studio forums or via OBS Studio Discord.
In short, successful HDR capture with OBS and an Elgato card comes down to five checkpoints: enable HDR mode in OBS with P010 10‑bit and Rec 2100 PQ, set the Elgato source to the same format, adjust SDR preview tonemapping for monitoring, and encode with Main 10‑profile HEVC or AV1. Run a quick test recording to verify that the file carries HDR metadata and displays correctly; if it doesn’t, revisit those five settings in order. Nail each step once, and every future session will deliver consistent, full‑fidelity HDR footage ready for editing or upload.