OBS Blind — Chapter 4: Working with Content

In the previous chapters of the OBS guide, we explored the main screen interface, the settings, and in the last chapter we learned which sources can be added to the program and which situations each of them is best suited for.

Now it’s time to understand how to generate content using all the knowledge we’ve gained so far. And the first thing we will look at is recording.

Recording Content

We know that OBS can record both audio and video content, and that video can be generated in many different formats, while audio, for example, can be recorded directly in MP3 format. Let’s try making our first recording.

First, let’s check that recording works in general without adding any complex sources — meaning we only have a connected microphone and a screen reader running, whose sounds we will not remove from this test recording.

In the main OBS window, press Tab until you find the “Start Recording” checkbox. If you activate this button, recording to a file should begin — or, if we haven’t added any sources to the scene, the program will warn us and ask whether we really want to continue.

This is completely normal, so confirm and say something into the microphone, interact with the screen reader, and then stop the recording by toggling the checkbox off.

It’s worth noting that the recording process can be significantly sped up by opening the Hotkeys section in the settings and assigning shortcuts to various actions. Here is a simple example:

• Start Recording — Control+R;
• Stop Recording — Alt+R;
• Pause Recording — Alt+Shift+R;
• Resume Recording — Control+Shift+R.

You can assign whatever key combinations are most convenient for you.

Our test recording is ready, so let’s see where we can find it. Open the “File” menu using Alt, and press Enter on “Show Recordings.” A Windows Explorer folder will open — this is the default location where OBS Studio saves audio and video files. Inside, you will find a file named with the current date and time of the recording, with the extension corresponding to the format selected in the settings. When you open this file, you should hear your voice along with the screen reader, assuming everything was configured correctly.

If you don’t hear something you expected, go back to the main OBS Studio window and use Tab to find the following areas:

• Mute “Desktop Audio”.
• Mute “Mic/Aux”.

Make sure both checkboxes are unchecked.

If the audio is present — both desktop sound and microphone — but one of the sources is too loud or too quiet, open the context menu on either of these sections and choose “Advanced Audio Properties,” then press Enter.

A new window with advanced settings will open. Press Tab to find the volume sliders for both the desktop audio and the microphone. Adjust them up or down depending on your needs.

You can adjust the slider with the arrow keys in 1% steps, or with Page Up and Page Down in 10% steps.

The available volume range is from 0% to 2000%.

Note that if you assign hotkeys for the actions mentioned earlier, the “no sources added” dialog will no longer appear.

This dialog also disappears if you add display capture, window capture, or game capture to the scene, since those count as valid sources.

OBS offers extensive options for recording in various formats.

For example, if you want to record a podcast that doesn’t require video, you can record directly in MP3. Let’s see how to quickly configure OBS for that:

1. Open the program settings through the Alt “File” menu.
2. Move the focus to the “Output” category.
3. Press Tab twice to reach the “Output Mode” field and use the down arrow to choose “Advanced.”
4. Press Tab once to reach the list of tabs and use the Right Arrow to focus on the “Recording” tab.
5. Press Tab again and go to the “Recording Type” field, then use the down arrow to choose “Custom Output (FFmpeg).”

Here you can change the folder where recordings are saved, enable filename generation without spaces, and choose from a list of available formats — including MP3.

If you continue pressing Tab, you’ll find the bitrate settings. For MP3, there is no point setting the bitrate above 320 Kbps.

Press OK — now your recordings will be saved in MP3 and won’t require conversion from a video format.

Live Streaming

Let’s briefly touch on live streaming. There is no need to go into too much detail here, because the setup process differs for every streaming service, and once you understand how OBS works, the rest is not difficult.

It’s important to know that services such as Twitch and YouTube are fully accessible for blind streamers.

You can simplify the process of importing a stream key by connecting your account from one of the services directly in OBS.

This can be done in the “Stream” section of the settings: select the service from the combo box and press the button to connect your account.

After you confirm all permissions on the browser page that opens, the stream key will be imported into OBS Studio automatically.

You also need to configure some parameters directly on the service’s website, such as the stream title, the game category, and preferably the tags.

You should never share your stream key with anyone — it gives direct access to broadcasting any content from your channel without authorization.

About Filters

OBS provides nine built-in audio effects that are accessible to screen readers:

1. Noise Suppression — removes background noise such as fan hum.
2. Compressor — evens out volume so there are no sudden spikes.
3. Gain — increases or decreases the volume.
4. 3-Band Equalizer — adjusts low, mid, and high frequencies.
5. Invert Polarity — flips the phase of the audio signal, useful for fixing phase issues when using multiple microphones or audio sources.
6. Limiter — automatically reduces volume when it exceeds a set level to prevent distortion and clipping.
7. Upward Compressor — boosts quiet parts of the signal without affecting loud ones, improving clarity and detail.
8. Noise Gate — automatically mutes audio (e.g., the microphone) when volume drops below a threshold to avoid recording background noise during pauses.
9. Expander — increases dynamic range by reducing the volume of quiet background noise even further

For example, let’s apply noise suppression to our microphone so the hum of a laptop or desktop fan isn’t audible.

Find the “Mic/Aux” section in the main OBS Studio window and open its context menu.

You can also open it by pressing the “Mic/Aux Properties” button.

Use the arrows to select “Filters” and press Enter.

A separate filters window will open. Press Tab once, then press Enter on the “Add” button.

A menu with the list of the nine effects will appear. Find and activate “Noise Suppression.”

You will be prompted to assign a name to the filter — we will keep the default and press OK.

The focus will return to the filters window, where you can add more filters, delete them, or move them up or down in the list.

Press Shift+Tab to reach the only setting available for this filter:

RNNoise (high quality, higher CPU usage)

or

Speex (low CPU usage, lower quality).

Other plugins work similarly, each with its own simple or advanced settings.

OBS Studio also supports external VST2 plugins.

Unfortunately, finding a VST plugin that is fully accessible with a screen reader is difficult. Plugins used with Reaper and similar software do have accessibility workarounds, but that is a different topic.

Conclusion

At last, we have covered all the most important aspects of OBS Studio. If, after reading this guide and trying to master the program, you still have questions, you can always contact our project team — we will do our best to help.

I sincerely hope that thanks to this guide we will see more and more blind content creators who will showcase their talents and demonstrate to the world that blind people can be just as integral a part of any creative community — that we can compose music, play video games, program, and do much, much more.

From the bottom of my heart, I wish you success on this challenging creative journey, and we will meet again very soon in the vast ocean of opportunities!