After a little over a month in the beta phase, OBS Studio 31.1 is now stable. This update follows the December release of version 31.0.
Linux users have reason to celebrate. For a while, multitrack video output was something you could only get on other platforms, but now it has landed with full network optimizations and even support for stream delay. Linux screen capturing also gets a lift with explicit sync support for PipeWire, reducing latency and improving performance. Other new features include:
- Experimental support for Windows on Arm (WoA).
- The addition of preview zoom controls.
- GPU-powered conversion for color format, space, and range.
- AV1 B-frame support for AMD's AMF encoder.
- QVBR rate control for the VA-API encoder on Linux.
- Spatial AQ option for VideoToolbox encoders on macOS 15 and newer.
- V4L2 virtual camera support for BSD and other non-Linux systems.
On the visual side, the developers made some small UI changes to unify the look, adjusting the appearance of the Sources list and dock toolbars. You can now change the application's font size and UI density for a tighter or more spaced-out feel.
On the performance side, 31.1 now increases the maximum draw efficiency for previews. The "Missing Files" dialog also got an overhaul, now supporting deeper directory searches. For gamers, a long-awaited update to the game capture hook finally fixes issues with games like Valorant that use Riot's Vanguard anti-cheat.
The update tackles a bunch of crash-related issues, from a race condition that could cause back-to-back recordings to fail, to a simple freeze when cropping something too much. A lot of the fixes focus on the newer features, like one that stops multitrack video streams from cutting out after 48 hours.
There are plenty of platform-specific improvements too, including a fix for audio distortion in the Windows browser source, broken hotkeys on Linux, and messed-up FLV timestamps when b-frames are used.
You can download OBS Studio for your platform of choice including Linux (Ubuntu), macOS (Apple | Intel), and Windows (x64 | arm64). Full release notes and checksums can be found here.