Separate stream, recording and VOD audio

Start with a complete live mix

Start with a complete live mix, then add isolated or alternate recording tracks for editing and VOD use. Track numbers are containers; they do nothing until each source is assigned and the output format records them.

Local multitrack recording is the controlled starting point. Treat destination and VOD-track behavior as a separate platform setting and verify it before a live session. To give the game, voice chat and music their own sources first, see capture one app’s sound in OBS.

What to put on each track

Check these in order. The first two, live mix and voice isolation, decide whether it works at all; the rest make it easier to use.

• Live mix: Choose one track containing every source viewers must hear now.
• Voice isolation: Assign microphone to an isolated recording track when editing requires it.
• Game/application: Keep program audio on its own track if later balancing matters.
• Music rights: Do not assume track separation changes permissions or platform policy.
• Alerts: Decide whether alerts belong in the live mix, recording, both or neither.
• Guest voices: Record separate guests only when the routing and consent path supports it.
• Recording format: Use a format that keeps every track and can be recovered if recording stops suddenly.
• Playback/editor: Confirm the player/editor opens the intended track rather than only the first.

What can catch you out

Any of these can change your choice, or tell you what to check next when something fails.

• Track assignment: A visible meter does not prove inclusion in any recorded track.
• Stream completeness: Isolated tracks cannot replace a complete live track.
• Twitch VODs: OBS can send a different track to Twitch’s VOD. With Twitch chosen as the service in Settings, Stream, the Streaming tab of Settings, Output (Advanced mode) shows a Twitch VOD Track box and a track number. Other services get no such box.
• Storage load: More/larger recordings need adequate sustained storage and space.
• Remuxing and editing: Check your remux and editing tools keep every audio track.

Set up the tracks in OBS

These are OBS Studio’s own menu names (version 32). OBS’s multi-track guide does the same: every source on Track 1 for the stream, then one source per track for editing.

• Step 1: Open Settings, Output and set Output Mode to Advanced. OBS’s guide uses Advanced mode for several tracks, and it records up to six.
• Step 2: On the Streaming tab, set Audio Track to 1. Track 1 is the complete mix your viewers hear.
• Step 3: On the Recording tab, set Recording Format to Matroska Video (.mkv) and tick the Audio Track boxes you want in the file, such as 1 to 4. OBS suggests MKV because not every format holds several tracks; File, Remux Recordings turns it into an MP4 afterwards.
• Step 4: Open Edit, Advanced Audio Properties (or the cog button in the Audio Mixer). In the Tracks column, leave every source on 1, then give each the one extra track that is its own: for example voice chat on 2, the game on 3 and your microphone on 4.
• Step 5: To keep music out of a Twitch VOD, put every source except the music on one track, such as 5. Then, on the Streaming tab, tick Twitch VOD Track and choose that track number.
• Step 6: Record a minute, open the file in your editor and solo each track before you rely on the layout.

A game stream and a video podcast

A live track can contain microphone, game and alerts, while local track two contains microphone and track three contains game. The live destination remains complete.

A video podcast can record a live mix plus isolated local microphones and guest return when the routing system exposes them separately. Test the actual editor before the interview.

See also the OBS audio routing guide, and run the pre-stream checklist before you go live.

What usually goes wrong

Find your symptom below. Change one thing at a time, and make a short test recording after each change before you go live again.

• Recording seems silent: The player opened an empty/isolated track; inspect all tracks.
• Stream misses source: The source is absent from the live track despite being on another track.
• All tracks identical: Every source was assigned to every track; narrow the isolated assignments.
• Editor sees one track: Check recording format, OBS output mode and editor import behavior.

Check every track in a recording

Make a local multitrack recording and inspect each track in a player or editor. Confirm microphone, game, music and remote returns appear only where planned.

Run a short destination test using the current platform settings. If the VOD result differs from the local file, fix the destination assignment without changing the verified local track layout.

Equipment for these connections

Start with the kind of gear you’re missing, and read its full profile before adding it to your setup.

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