Getting a back screen when trying to stream or screen record on OBS isn't all that unusual, especially if you are setting things up for a new game or program. Most of the time, it prevents you from capturing games or displays correctly and only affects video. As is almost always the case, there are a ton of different ways you can solve this problem, so follow along with the steps in this guide, and don't skip any because you don't know which solution is best suited for your situation.

Takeaways:

  1. Learn how to fix OBS black screen issues when trying to stream or screen record.
  2. What's the best way to fix black screen problems in OBS when streaming or screen recording?

How to Fix OBS Black Screen Issues

Some games require admin permissions to allow video capture

  • Right-click OBS Studio.
  • Select Run as administrator.

Running OBS as an administrator can also improve stability and performance in certain setups. But it's hit and miss, so don't expect it to solve all of your issues.

Make Sure OBS is Using the Right GPU

If you are trying to use OBS Studio on a laptop with multiple graphics cards, it might be using the wrong card. This isn't the biggest issue, but it can cause performance issues as well as black screen issues.

  • Close OBS Studio completely.
  • Open Windows Search and type Graphics Settings.
  • Open Graphics Settings and make sure Desktop app is selected.
  • Click Browse and locate OBS Studio.
  • Go to: C:\Program Files\obs-studio\bin\64bit
  • Select obs64.exe
  • Click Options and choose High performance.
  • Save changes and restart OBS.

This will make sure that OBS runs on the dedicated GPU, thus solving any issues.

Change Capture Settings

Here's where things get a little tricky. Some games work best using the Game Capture option, not all games will work well using this. Some will always show a black screen. So try to use the Game Capture option first. If that doesn't work, change to Display Capture.

  • Add or select Game Capture in OBS.
  • Open its settings.
  • Set Mode to Capture a specific window.
  • Start your game before selecting it.
  • Choose the running game from the list.

How to Fix OBS Black Screen Issues

If the game does not appear, switch back to the game window and try again. You may also need to adjust the game resolution or window mode.

Use Window Capture as an Alternative

Some games do not work with Game Capture.

  • Create a new scene.
  • Click Add Source.
  • Select Window Capture.
  • Choose your game window.

Make sure the game is running in Windowed or Borderless Fullscreen mode. Full exclusive full-screen may not work properly with this method.

Fix Cropped or Hidden Sources

Sometimes the screen is captured but not displayed correctly.

  • Right-click the source in OBS.
  • Select Transform.
  • Click Fit to Screen.
  • Make sure the source is visible in the scene list.

This fixes layout and scaling issues that may appear as a black screen.

Remove Interfering Software

Shutdown any other junk that you have running in the background and see if things change. There are a lot of random background things that will cause problems for OBS.

  • Overlay software (There are lots)
  • Antivirus programs
  • Screen recorders
  • GPU overlays

Disable these temporarily to test if they are causing the issue. If the problem goes away, you've found the culprit, so keep them off.