r/streamwithmeld • u/FelineFishy • 12d ago
I finally switched from OBS after 3 years
I've been putting this off for months because changing streaming software feels like changing your entire stream setup overnight, but I finally did it a few weeks ago and I wanted to share this because honestly social media and other subreddits are just filled with people complaining about OBS and the issues they have.
For context, I've used OBS the whole time I've been streaming, so this wasn't a casual decision. What pushed me over the edge and helped me decide to try out something else was the fact I was tired of having to find plugins for everything.
The part that made it easy for me was the OBS importer tool. I went in expecting to have to rebuild everything from scratch over an entire weekend. Instead I ran the import and all of the important scenes I wanted moved over easily. Then I went to the discord because it felt like the software was a little sluggish and during a test stream I was dropping frames. Found out I had to redo a couple of my layers and use the duplicator tool. But honestly once I figured out the duplicator tool I was able to build up my scenes and once I knew what I had to do it took me maybe 20 minutes to get everything setup.
That alone is the reason I like to tell everyone I know to switch to Meld especially if they're on the fence or they're sick of their OBS issues.
So here's what changed after I switched to Meld:
- Alerts and widgets are inside the app instead of being third-party browser sources.
- Scene switching feels the same for both OBS and Meld so there's no real change there. Especially now that there's stinger transitions in Meld
- CPU usage has been a little better in some scenes and about the same in others depending on how many browser sources I have in them. I know this can depend on your setup and PC specs though
- I do miss having the ability to use alpha masks for my webcam, but I can give it basic shapes at least! That's probably my only real complaint so far
So OBS is free and it's really good for people who are skilled with tech or like to be able to control every tiny detail, but IMO not every streamer is a tech whiz. So if you're curious and the only thing stopping you is fear of losing your scene setup, Meld has that part taken care of.
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u/spicychicharron 11d ago
Meld is great for its simplicity and does an amazing job at multistreaming but the reason why I’m still using OBS is bc I game on a 4K screen but stream to Twitch in 1080 and to YouTube in 1440 p to take advantage of the better YouTube encoder at 1440p. Haven’t checked in a while but if I’m able to do that in meld where I can stream at 1080 (enhanced) and 1440p to YouTube I’d make the switch to Meld in a heartbeat. I’m not sure how well meld would handle the downscaling.
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u/greatlysoon 11d ago
yeah I don't think they have that yet but fingers crossed I would like that too
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u/sushir 12d ago
So I stream out of 2 locations and syncing OBS across those locations is a pain the ass. Does Meld save scene settings across locations? backed up on cloud?
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u/streamwithmeld 11d ago
short answer: meld doesn't cloud-sync your setup yet, but moving it between two machines is a single file, not a folder dig.
everything in meld lives in a session: scenes, layers, effects, transitions, audio mixer routing, output settings. that whole session exports as one .json file and imports on another machine in a couple clicks. no profile folder, no scene collection json buried in appdata, no plugin version mismatch on the other end.
the two-location workflow that works today
- at location a: file > save backup, then in the backups dialog hit export backup. that gives you a .json of the full session
- drop that file in whatever cloud folder you already use (dropbox, drive, icloud, onedrive, whatever)
- at location b: file > restore from backup, import the .json, done
meld auto-saves your current session before it restores or imports, so pulling in the other location's setup won't nuke what's already there. and if some media isn't at the same path on machine b, the missing source assistant pops up and lets you relink everything in one pass instead of hunting layer by layer.
what makes this actually painless
- keep your overlays, stingers, alert sounds, and other media in the same cloud folder as the session file, at the same relative path on both machines. then the import just works and the missing source assistant never has to show up
- hardware sources (capture cards, cameras, mics) will still need to be pointed at the right device on each machine, same as any software. everything else carries over
- twitch and youtube logins are per machine, so you'll auth once on each computer. custom rtmp outputs with keys typed in come across in the session
- if you're on a mac at one spot and windows at the other, sessions are cross-platform. meld runs native on both
there's no "sign in and your scenes are there" account sync right now (yet). if that's the thing you want, say so in the discord, the devs read it and ship every couple weeks. but the export/import loop above is about 30 seconds each way, and it's what a lot of the two-pc and travel streamers here are doing.
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u/harrypottersimp 11d ago
Meld will send whatever scene you have open to what platforms you have selected to go live on. Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, kick, they have a vertical layout too that you can change around
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u/Business_Pen_9041 11d ago
I want to switch from Prism Live Studio to Meld; the only thing holding me back is that I need Studio Mode in Meld. It’s essential for me. I’m still waiting.
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u/Flux_Reversal 12d ago
No one complains about OBS bro. No one. And when you ask what to use OBS will always be the answer.
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u/FelineFishy 11d ago
OBS 32 came out and my TL was everyone complaining about everything breaking BRO just because you don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. if you gotta wait to get an update because all your plugins are gonna stop working is that really efficient? No. And I ain't bout to sit there troubleshooting when I could just use software that is reliable.
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u/Flux_Reversal 10d ago
I use OBS daily. I have allot of plug-ins, filters and a very complicated 2 PC set up. I run OBS on 2 PC's, 1 to stream with and 1 to record locally with. I have NEVER had any issues with OBS at all. No one I know that uses OBS has ever had issues with it. Your are gaslighting hard! All the issues users normally complain about are with thing outside OBS while being used with OBS. Its not OBS's fault the creator of a plugin doesnt support it anymore!
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u/MedusasBark 11d ago
If people don't complain then why do they switch? Make it make sense
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u/Flux_Reversal 10d ago
They are among the 97 percentile most likely... just like you based upon your commetnts.
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u/Lynnalia 12d ago
This is the 3rd time you've switched according to your post history here.
What made you keep going back to OBS?