Tutorial
May 2026
How to Set Up Multistreaming with OBS
Learn how to configure OBS Studio to stream to multiple platforms using HostVortex.
OBS Studio is the free program that captures your screen and sends it to us. You install it once, paste your stream key, and every platform you connected receives the feed.
The whole setup, start to finish.
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Step by step
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Download OBS Studio for your system from obsproject.com and run the installer.
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In your HostVortex dashboard open Stream key and copy the ingest URL and the stream key. Treat the key like a password: anyone who has it can stream as you.
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In OBS open Settings → Stream. Set Service to "Custom…", paste the ingest URL into Server and the key into Stream Key, then click OK.
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Click Start Streaming. Back in the dashboard the connection turns green within a few seconds.
Where the ingest URL and the key go: OBS → Settings → Stream, with Service set to Custom.
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Output settings the platforms accept
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Encoder: pick the hardware encoder your graphics card offers (NVENC, QuickSync or AMF) — it uses far less CPU than x264.
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Rate control: CBR at 4000–6000 Kbps for 1080p, 30 or 60 fps. Your upload speed should be roughly double the bitrate you set.
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Keyframe interval: 2 seconds — shown in the screenshot below.
Both live under Settings → Output. Platforms reject or stall a stream that sends keyframes less often than every 2 seconds.
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Before you go live
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Your first stream reaches the platforms a few seconds after OBS reports it is live
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Closing OBS ends the stream everywhere at once.
✓
You can change resolution and bitrate later without touching the stream key.
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If it does not connect
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Authentication failed: the key picked up a trailing space, or the dashboard URL was pasted instead of the ingest URL.
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Connection timed out: the server field must start with rtmp:// or rtmps:// and must not end in a slash.
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Choppy stream: lower the bitrate. Your upload speed should be roughly double the bitrate you set.
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Still stuck? Send it through the feedback form in your dashboard, or open the support chat there
Go live everywhere from the encoder you already use.
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