A Mac window setup for streaming
OBS, chat, the game or app you stream, and your alerts: a layout that keeps the captured window steady while you manage everything else.
The rule: the window you capture should never move or get covered. Everything else, OBS controls, chat and alerts, goes around it.
One screen
- Capture a single window rather than the whole display, so other windows never appear on stream.
- Keep OBS small, with only the scenes and audio mixer docks showing.
- Pop the chat out into its own window, narrow, beside the captured app.
Two screens
Put the captured app on one screen and OBS, chat and alerts on the other. It is the most dependable setup.
On the strip
A window manager moving the captured window mid stream is the last thing you want. With ClutterFreeMac, set OBS and the captured app to always float in Settings, Apps, or press ⌃ ⌥ P to pause arranging while you are live; windows go back where they were and stay put until you resume.
Questions
Should I capture a window or the whole screen when streaming from a Mac?
A single window, so nothing else on the screen can appear on stream.
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