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Connection guides / MKV, MP4 or Hybrid MP4: choosing OBS’s recording format

MKV, MP4 or Hybrid MP4: choosing OBS’s recording format

Which recording format to pick in OBS: why MKV survives a crash, what Hybrid MP4 adds, which codecs each holds, and how to turn MKV into MP4 for editing.

Updated October 12, 2026

The short version

Choose a format that survives a crash. OBS has recommended MKV because a recording that stops without a proper finish, after a crash or power cut, doesn’t lose the whole file. On OBS 30.2 or newer, Hybrid MP4 also stays recoverable and is finished as an ordinary MP4 that editors open directly. Plain MP4 lacks that protection. Set it in Settings, Output, Recording Format.

How the formats differ

  • MKV: an interrupted recording keeps what was written. Some editors and upload sites want MP4, so remux it first (below).
  • Hybrid MP4 (OBS 30.2 and newer): written so that it stays recoverable if the recording is cut off, then finished like a regular MP4 that MP4 software treats as normal. It holds H.264, HEVC or AV1 video and AAC, Opus, FLAC or ALAC sound; OBS warns that PCM sound in MP4 isn’t supported by every app.
  • Hybrid MOV (OBS 32.0 and newer): the same idea for MOV, with ProRes video and PCM sound but no AV1, Opus or FLAC.
  • Plain MP4: widely supported, but OBS’s guide recommends MKV over it because of what happens when recording doesn’t stop properly.

Turn an MKV into an MP4

OBS has the conversion built in. Click File, Remux Recordings, choose the file with the … button, then click Remux. To have it done every time, tick Automatically remux to mp4 in Settings, Advanced: OBS then remuxes each recording as soon as you stop.

Chapter markers for editing

Hybrid MP4 and Hybrid MOV can hold chapter markers, so you can jump to a highlight when you edit. Set a hotkey for Add Chapter Marker in Settings, Hotkeys, or use the Chapter Marker action on a Stream Deck. The markers are written when the recording is finished, so a crash loses them even though the video survives.

Record more than one audio track

In Advanced output mode you choose which audio tracks the recording keeps. That lets you leave copyrighted music out of the file or keep your voice on its own track for editing. Separate stream, recording and VOD audio shows how to set the tracks up.

Questions

My MP4 recording won’t open after a crash. That is the weakness of plain MP4. For the next recording, choose MKV or Hybrid MP4.

Does recording at a different quality cost performance? Yes. OBS notes that anything other than Same as stream, in Simple mode, or a separate recording encoder in Advanced mode, uses extra computer resources.

Sources