HELP · OBS

OBS black screen

Usually a capture path, not a dead GPU. Work these in order. If you are stuck on a specific source, book and we start from that screen.

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1. See which source is black. Game Capture, Display Capture, Window Capture, webcam, or a capture card are different problems. Studio Mode: watch the preview you would actually send.
2. Test Display Capture on the monitor the game uses. If Display Capture works and Game Capture does not, the game is blocking capture (anti-cheat, exclusive fullscreen, or OBS and the game on different GPUs).
3. Same GPU, then borderless. Laptops: Windows Settings → System → Display → Graphics. Point the game and OBS at the same GPU. Try borderless window. Only run OBS as admin if the game is also admin.
4. Capture card: HDMI from the game PC into the card, not a random hub. Set the card to the game’s resolution. Black preview is often an HDMI handshake — power-cycle both PCs and re-select the device in OBS.
5. Webcam black is usually the wrong device, Windows camera privacy, or Discord holding the cam. Close Discord, pick the exact device name, then reopen Discord if you still need it.

Longer write-up: First OBS setup on the guides page.

Want the short checkup first? Open the wizard.