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How do I send room audio to SyncWords using OBS?

Learn how to configure OBS Studio to send live room audio to your SyncWords Service.

If you need to send room audio from a laptop or PC to SyncWords, OBS is a straightforward option. It is free, widely used in professional AV settings, and supports RTMP streaming.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • OBS Studio installed on the laptop or PC that will send the audio

  • A SyncWords Service configured 

  • Your Stream URL and Stream Key from your SyncWords Service

  • Room audio routed into your computer (see Step 1 below)

 

Step 1 - Get the Room Audio into Your Computer

You need an audio source connected to the computer running OBS.

Preferred: Take a line-level output from the room mixer via a USB audio interface. This provides a clean, direct feed with no room noise.

Alternative: A USB microphone or the AV system's audio output fed into the computer can work, but audio quality may be lower.

IMPORTANT: Avoid using the laptop's built-in microphone. It will pick up room noise and significantly reduce captioning accuracy.

 

Step 2 - Add the Audio Source in OBS

  1. In the Sources panel, click + and choose Audio Input Capture

  2. Select your USB audio interface or mixer output as the device

  3. Confirm the level meter is active in the Audio Mixer panel

  4. Mute any unnecessary sources, such as the laptop's built-in microphone

TIP: If the level meter is not moving, verify that your audio interface is selected as the correct device and that the mixer is sending signal to that output.

 

Step 3 - Configure the Streaming Endpoint

  1. Go to Settings, then Stream

  2. Set Service to Custom

  3. Server: Enter the Stream URL provided by your SyncWords Service

  4. Stream Key: Enter the Stream Key provided by your SyncWords Service

NOTE: Your Stream URL and Stream Key are found on the Service Overview page in SyncWords after the Service has been created.

 

Step 4 - Configure the Audio Output Settings

Go to Settings, then Output, then the Streaming tab.

Setting  Recommended Value
Audio encoder AAC
Bitrate 128 kbps
Sample rate 48 kHz
Channels Mono

NOTE: For captioning purposes, audio clarity and a clean, low-latency direct feed are more important than high bitrate. Mono is recommended for speech recognition, and 128 kbps is adequate for captioning.

 

Step 5 - Start the Stream

  1. Start your SyncWords Service from the Services page

  2. Click Start Streaming in OBS

  3. OBS will begin sending the audio feed to the SyncWords RTMP endpoint continuously

  4. Check the SyncWords interface to confirm the incoming audio is being received and captions are being generated

TIPS:

  • Run a 5 to 10 minute test before your event to verify audio levels, connectivity, and that SyncWords is receiving the stream correctly.

  • If the stream from OBS disconnects and does not automatically reconnect, or you see a connection failed error, restart your Service in SyncWords and then reconnect from OBS.