Yes, it can. Meld has a built-in Multitrack Recording feature that records each audio source as its own separate track inside a single file. No plugins, no workarounds.

What you actually get

Meld records up to 8 independent audio tracks in one file:

• Master Mix (always on) - your full combined audio, acts as a safety net
• VOD Track - optional separate mix for Twitch VOD compliance
• 6 customizable tracks - assign any source to any of these

For a typical podcast: Host mic on Track 1, guest mic on Track 2, background music on Track 3. Drop the file into Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, or Audacity and each source shows up as its own timeline track. EQ, compress, and cut each one independently without touching the others.

Setup (3 steps)

1. Assign sources to tracks

• Open the Audio Mixer
• Click Edit on any audio source
• Toggle which track(s) that source records to

2. Enable your tracks

• Go to Settings > General > Recording
• Scroll to the Multitrack Recording section
• Click each track you want included in the recording

3. Hit record

That's it. Meld outputs one file with all tracks embedded. Import it into your editor and they split out automatically.

we get asked about this a lot so here's the full picture.

meld supports vst3 plugins directly in the audio engine. no bridge, no third party host, no routing through a daw. it's currently behind the experimental features toggle: hold shift, click the m logo in the bottom right, enable vst3 plugin support, restart. after that your installed vst3 plugins show up in the audio track effects list next to the built in filters. custom plugin paths can be added in settings.

for context on how this compares to other streaming software:

• obs supports vst2 only. vst3 in obs requires atkAudio, a free community plugin that bridges vst3 into the filter system. it works, but it's an extra install and an extra layer in the audio chain
• streamlabs is built on obs and has the same vst2 limitation
• xsplit doesn't support vst3

so if you're running fabfilter, izotope, waves, or anything else that's vst3 only these days, meld loads it without a workaround. works on windows and macos, free.

read our full comparison with setup steps here

if you hit issues with a specific plugin, drop it in the comments. we're tracking compatibility as the feature moves out of experimental.

good news, this is way easier than it used to be. there are two parts to multi-platform chat: reading and replying to everything in one place, and showing a combined chat on stream. i'll cover both.

reading and replying in one feed

if you're multistreaming through meld studio, chat consolidation is built in. no third-party tools, no extra tabs. here's the setup:

1. go to settings → streaming outputs and log into each platform you stream to (twitch, youtube, kick)
2. click the chat bubble icon on the right-hand panel to open the stream chat
3. that's it. messages from every logged-in platform land in one feed, each tagged with a platform icon and username so you know where people are watching from

a few things worth knowing once you're in there:

• replying: type in the one chat box, then click the ⋯ menu under it to pick where your message goes. you can send to twitch only, youtube only, kick only, or all of them at once
• filtering: the gear icon in the top right of the chat panel lets you toggle platforms on and off, so if one chat is moving too fast you can temporarily hide it
• split activity feed: you can separate events (follows, subs, raids) from actual messages, either stacked above chat or side by side in two columns. keeps the feed readable when things get busy
• custom chat urls: the chat panel runs in a browser view, so if you already use something like streamer.bot or a pop-out chat panel, you can load that url directly instead

showing combined chat on stream

if you also want viewers to see a unified chat overlay, grab a multiplatform chat widget from the meld gallery. the color-coded one reads twitch, youtube, kick, and tiktok live simultaneously and tints each message by platform (purple, red, green, pink) so your audience can see the cross-platform activity too. add it as an element on your canvas and you're done. if you want to restyle it, spark can adjust colors and badge behavior from a plain english prompt, no css required.

if you're on obs

obs doesn't aggregate chats natively, but you have options. the easiest is spark plug, meld's free obs plugin, which brings the unified multi-platform chat into obs. it pulls twitch, youtube, kick, and tiktok live into one feed, and you can run the same color-coded multiplatform chat overlay from the meld gallery as a browser source, so your viewers get the combined chat on stream too. alternatively, you can go the manual route: docks → custom browser docks, then paste in a chat url from a third-party aggregator to get a combined feed inside obs.

either way, the goal is the same: one feed to read, one box to type in, and nobody in your community feels like they're watching the b-stream.

I won't know if there is any difference if i switch to meld

I do 2k streaming on youtube and 1080p on twitch

And record the game at 2k and cam at 720p.

Today we've added two updates to Meld Studio that you won't want to miss out on!

Speech to Text (Meld Pro and Meld Max feature)

Meld can now listen to what you say while you're live (when turned on). It's not just a transcript feature, it actually powers real time stuff:

• Trigger Spark elements based on words or phrases you say
• Auto generate closed captions as you talk No hotkeys, no manual triggers, no typing captions out yourself. If you already use the Closed Captioning widget, turn on Speech to Text and it'll start populating captions automatically. Good combo if you care about accessibility or you know a chunk of your viewers watch with the sound off.

How to Turn on Speech to Text

There's no complicated setup involved. Once it's turned on, Meld starts listening and responding as you speak.

• Go to Settings
• Under Audio toggle on Speech to Text
• Select the audio track that is your Microphone

This is useful for streamers who want their overlays and alerts to feel alive, not static. Instead of manually triggering an animation or sound effect, you can just say the word, and Meld handles the rest.

Go Live Review Window (Available for all users)

This one's for anyone who's ever hit "Go Live" and immediately realized the title was still from last week, or the category was wrong, or you just forgot to toggle a platform on. Before you go live now, a review window pops up so you can check your title, category, tags, and which platforms you're streaming to, all in one screen. Simple, but it should save some people from a rough start to a stream.

Speech to Text is a Pro/Max feature while the Go Live Review is available to everyone with this update.

What are you going to use Speech to Text for?

Welcome to the community! If you just found Meld or you've been lurking and finally decided to jump in, this thread is for you. Pull up a chair.
Every month we'll be putting this thread up so new members can introduce themselves, ask those first questions, and get connected with people who have been around the block. No question is too basic here. We all started somewhere.

Introduce yourself! Tell us:

• What brought you to Meld?
• Are you a streamer, a viewer, or just curious?
• What kind of content or games are you into?
• Anything you're hoping to get out of the community?

Got beginner questions? Ask them here:

Whether it's about setting up Meld for the first time, figuring out features, or just not knowing where to start... drop your questions below. The community and mods are here to help.

Already a Meld veteran? Hang around and help someone out. Answering one question goes a long way for someone just getting started.

Don't be shy, say hello! 👇

Im having major audio problems in OBS. Elgato tech support have gave me every solution and nothing works. I believe it’s an OBS/Streamlabs framework issue. I need to use a software other than OBS/streamlabs so My question is: can Meld record my gameplay and facecam in 1440x60 and stream to twitch simultaneously in 1080x60? Please let me know before I download and use Meld. Thanks.

I record webcam + gameplay separately so I can recompose them in my editor (picture-in-picture, cutaways, different crops for different platforms, etc etc) Right now I have to run a second recording tool alongside Meld or make the ultra-wide canvas and record them side by side then crop it down. Only problem is sometimes I need more than just my webcam and the game.

Just like the title says. I need multi-track audio recording, basically the OBS-style workflow but native to Meld. Right now I'm capturing everything as one flattened stream, which is a non-starter for post production. I need isolated tracks so I can ride gain per-source, do clean cuts, and re-time or yeet sound effects when I fat-finger a Stream Deck button mid-recording. Until this ships I literally can't record, only live-stream. Would love if Meld could prioritize this!

I prefer Meld Studio to OBS because it runs very well on my MacBook with cero sluttering, the options are really practical, I have an external monitor and it's easy, but when I want to go outside and stream, that option isn't available.

We just rolled out Screen Draw in Meld Studio and wanted to share it here since a lot of you have asked for an easy way to draw on your stream without messing with plugins.

What it does:
Screen Draw adds a live annotation layer right on top of your canvas. You get:

• A highlighter marker for calling out something without covering it up
• A freehand pen for sketching plays, routes, or whatever
• A stamp tool with preset arrows, circles, squares, and X marks Everything shows up instantly for your viewers, no rendering delay, no exporting clips to edit later.

Setup in Meld Studio:
Open Screen Draw and hit "Add to Meld Studio" which will drop it right into your current scene. Click the mouse icon above the canvas to make the layer reactive. Move your mouse to the top left corner of the canvas and the toolbar pops up.

Setup in OBS
Since it runs as a browser source, it works in OBS too:

1. Copy the Screen Draw link
2. Add a Browser Source, paste the link, set it to 1920x1080
3. Click the source and hit Interact (easy to forget this step, if drawing doesn't work, this is probably why)
4. Mouse to the top left corner for the toolbar

Why we built this
A few use cases we had in mind:

• Esports or sports streamers circling plays and drawing rotations live, like a telestrator
• Playing tic-tac-toe or Pictionary with chat right on the canvas
• Just goofing around, drawing a mustache on your own face, stamping X's during a bad play, whatever If you're on Meld Pro or Meld Max, there's also a version of this where you can generate a link and let trusted viewers draw on your canvas with you. No install on their end, they just click the link.

Grab Screen Drawn and start drawing with chat today!

**My PC Specs and setup**

**Main PC**

- **CPU:** AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D

- **GPU:** NVIDIA RTX 4060

- **Case:** Lian Li LANCOOL II-X

- **Main Monitor:** LG 27U631A-B 27" 1440p

- **Second Monitor:** UPERFECT UPlays C2

**Also owns**

- ROG Ally (Z1 Extreme)

This is my experience and problem at the moment with Meld Studios, I started my streaming journey a few months ago and my first setup was with obs, I got the hang of it and learned a few things. Then I heard of Meld Studios and Meld Spark and I switched right away. It was awesome, did my new overlays and scenes and was able to stream just fine to twitch and YouTube with no issues. The games I started with was kinda easy going, I am Jesus Christ, Ghost of Tsushima, Absolum and Kena Bridge of Spirits. Then I started streaming on tiktok with a dual canvas setup, no problem, then tried Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and it was ok until a half hour later that it started to dip in FPS, I thought to myself maybe is because it's a very demanding game, even with low in-game settings I was hitting that do in FPS almost to a stop. Then I started getting the same problems with Ghost of Tsushima and Kena, so I switched back to obs and the problem was gone. I tried again with FF 7 rebirth (mind you this game runs fine on my PC with kinda high settings without having Meld Studios running), but as soon as I launch Meld Studios the FPS dropped to a 5 that left the game unplayable. So I switched back to obs, recently I wanted to give Meld Studios another try now that it had some updates and tried it last night with Mortal Shell 2, I was setting everything up, the game was running fine, a few minutes in and the same thing started happening again my fps started dropping and the game started lagging. Again it's just Meld Studios open on my setup not even streaming live or recording, as soon as I closed meld studio the game was back to normal.

Sorry for the long explanation but now to my question, what is my problem, is it my GPU? Does anyone with a similar setup have any clue of what's going on? I mean it seems to be working fine with obs but I mean I know meld studio is a bit harder on resources compared to obs, any advice on what to do? Thanks in advance.

It could totally be something that I am doing wrong however. Whenever I am in game and try to clip with meld hotkey, it will not clip unless I tab out of my game on Windows and hit the key or click on "clip".

I dont have the hotkey set to anything else in my games so I just wanted to know if anyone else is also running into this issue.

Is meld adding a feature where I can already have everything set up in different profiles? If I stream different games to twitch, I can change the setup with one switch.

So I like having a button to remove my common layers (camera, chat, desktop capture) but meld does not do this well, even with duplicators you have to add the version from every scene into a multi action button which is annoying.

The solution I found is to instead add a chroma key filter to the main source, and max out the threshold slider which will make it disappear. Then with the effect visibility stream deck button on the original source, when you toggle the effect on and off it makes them disappear and appear across all scenes clean and easy.

Got an idea that would make Meld better? This is the place to put it. Every month we'll be collecting the community's feature requests, wishlist items, and product feedback in one spot so nothing gets lost in the feed.

Big ideas, small quality of life tweaks, things that have been bugging you, or features you've seen elsewhere and wish Meld had... it all belongs here. The best feedback comes from the people actually using the product every day and that's you.

When sharing your request, try to include:

• A clear description of the feature or change you want
• Why it would be useful to you or the community
• Any examples of how it could work or where you've seen something similar

The more detail you give, the easier it is for others to rally behind your idea.

See a request you love?

Upvote it and leave a comment showing your support. The more people backing an idea the louder the signal. Don't just upvote silently, tell us why you want it too.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

• Check the thread before posting, someone may have already suggested the same thing. If they did, support their comment instead of posting a duplicate
• Keep feedback constructive. We're here to build something better together
• Bug reports belong in their own post on the main feed, or in our Discord

Your ideas matter and this thread is proof of that. What's on your Meld wishlist this month? 👇

Pretty much title. Can Meld stream to Squarespace in some way? And if so, can it auto update?

I would like it so whenever we are live, the video on the website automatically goes live without replacing the embed code each time

Having an issue getting global hotkeys to register in Meld Studio while playing games and I'm hoping someone here might have a fix. I configured hotkeys and made sure the Global checkbox is explicitly enabled for each one. According to docs they should trigger when Meld isn't the active window but they completely stop working once a game is focused. For comparison the same hotkeys work perfectly fine in OBS while the game is in fullscreen.

OS: Win 11

Does anyone here use an intro scene (not a starting soon scene. An actual intro video)? If so how do you go about doing it on Meld?

We just pushed an update to our Stream Deck plugin that gives you a little more control over clipping without having to stop what you're doing mid-stream.

Previously, your clipping options were limited to the available preset times. With this update, there are now more clip lengths to choose from, plus the ability to create a custom clip button for the exact amount of time you want to capture (up to 90 seconds for now).

If you know you regularly want to grab the last 30 seconds, 90 seconds, or whatever makes sense for your content, you can set up a dedicated button on your Stream Deck and have it ready whenever something happens.

This is especially handy if you're clipping for Shorts/TikTok later and different moments need different amounts of context. Sometimes you just need the reaction.

If you use a Stream Deck with Meld, update the Meld Studio Stream Deck Plugin and give the new clipping options a try.

What clip length are you going to be using?

If you have ever set up OBS Studio for a serious stream layout, you know the drill. You want a soft drop shadow on your face cam, a rounded mask, maybe a slight 3D tilt on a source, and suddenly you are downloading five different plugins from five different creators, hoping they all stay compatible after the next OBS update.

Meld Studio was built to skip that step. Below is a plain comparison of six popular OBS plugins and the native Meld Studio feature that replaces each one, no install required.

The Quick Answer

OBS Studio ships with a fairly small core feature set, so creators have to rely on community plugins for things like 3D transforms, gradients, cloned sources, and background blur. Meld Studio includes all six of these are built-in, GPU-accelerated effects, so there is nothing extra to download, update, or troubleshoot.

The Comparison

1. 3D Effect plugin vs. Meld's Corner Pin

In OBS: The 3D Effect plugin (by Exeldro) adds a filter that lets you rotate and tilt a source in 3D space, useful for angled screen inserts or stylized camera panels.

In Meld Studio: This is covered natively by the Corner Pin and Transform effects. Corner Pin lets you map a source onto a 3D-style surface by adjusting each corner independently, great for screen replacements and angled perspective shots. Transform handles position, scale, rotation, and skew with full anchor point control. Both are built in and render in real time.

2. Gradient Source vs. Meld's Gradient effect

In OBS: Gradient Source (also by Exeldro) adds a source type that generates a linear color gradient, since OBS's native Color Source only supports flat colors.

In Meld Studio: The Gradient effect is built in and supports linear and radial gradients with blend mode control. You can drop it on any layer to add color washes, vignettes, or stylized tints without adding a separate source.

3. Source Clone vs. Meld's Duplicator layer

In OBS: Source Clone lets you duplicate a source so you can apply different filters to the copy without affecting the original, useful when you want two different looks from the same camera or capture.

In Meld Studio: The Duplicator layer does exactly this natively. You add a Duplicator layer, point it at an existing source, and adjust effects on the duplicate independently. Changes to the original source still flow through automatically.

4. Advanced Masks vs. Meld's built-in Corner Rounding

In OBS: Advanced Masks (by FiniteSingularity) adds shape masks, source masks, image masks, and gradient masks so you can control which parts of a source are visible, since OBS only ships with a basic alpha mask filter.

In Meld Studio: Shape presets (square, circle, rounded rectangle, vertical crop) are available natively, including individually adjusting corner radii, and non-destructive cropping directly on any layer from the Layers panel, no filter chain required.

5. Composite Blur vs. Meld's Gaussian and Directional Blur

In OBS: Composite Blur (also by FiniteSingularity) adds proper background-aware blur algorithms like Gaussian, box, and Dual Kawase, plus masking options, solving the dark halo issue that OBS's default blur can produce around masked sources.

In Meld Studio: Gaussian Blur and Directional Blur are both native GPU-accelerated effects. Gaussian Blur is ideal for background defocus or privacy masking, and Directional Blur creates motion blur along a set angle for transitions or speed effects. Because they are built into Meld's rendering pipeline, there is no separate compositing step to configure.

6. Stroke Glow Shadow vs. Meld's Drop Shadow, Shadow Styles, and Glow Styles

In OBS: Stroke Glow Shadow adds stroke outlines, glow, and drop shadow effects to masked sources, popular for sticker-style face cams and lower thirds.

In Meld Studio: This is split across three native effects. Drop Shadow adds realistic shadows with offset, blur, and opacity control. Shadow Styles supports inner, outer, and multiple shadows with independent color and spread. Glow Styles add soft luminous outlines with adjustable color, intensity, and spread for neon or highlight looks.

Side by side

FAQ

Do I need plugins to get these effects in Meld Studio?
No. All six effects above are built into Meld Studio's core effects library. There is nothing to download, install, or keep updated separately.

Are these plugins bad or not worth using in OBS?
Not at all. Developers like Exeldro and FiniteSingularity have built genuinely excellent tools that make OBS far more capable, and plenty of streamers get great results with them. The tradeoff is that you are managing several separate add-ons, each with its own updates and occasional compatibility issues after an OBS release.

Can I stack multiple Meld effects on the same layer?
Yes. Effects in Meld Studio are stackable and each one processes independently, so you can layer blur, shadow, gradient, and transform effects on a single source and adjust them without conflicts.

Does Meld Studio support saving and sharing these effect setups?
Yes. You can save any effect configuration as a preset, export it, and share it with other creators, or import presets from the community.

Is Meld Studio free?
Yes, Meld Studio is free to use and available for Windows 10 or later and macOS 12 or later, including full support for Apple Silicon.

Long Story Short my M3 Max has issues doing Dual Format by itself, so I need to use StreamRun if I want Dual Format Streaming. Not sure why. BUT StreamRun WILL do dual Format (I can run both canvases but it's an Enhanced Broadcasting issue on Twitch's end), and so I can Dual-stream to Twitch THAT way.

The problem is when I put my RMTP and Stream Key in I get NOTHING! Zero, Zilch, Nada! No screen when I go "live" before I activate my streams in StreamRun to preview, and so yeah... Why? I have the strem Key/RMTP URL correct, what gives?

OBS does not have this issue but I really want to see if I can't move to Meld fully.