OBS Preview Keeps Freezing

[NostalgiaTripUK]

Hey everybody, I'm currently tearing my hair out trying to resolve an issue I'm having with OBS where the preview keeps freezing. It mostly seems to occur when switching scenes or toggling game capture. I have tried;

• Running as admin
• Disabling HAGS
• Tried StreamLabs OBS instead which showed similar problems (but there the whole application froze as well).
• Updating GPU drivers
• Re-installing OBS

I worry that it my GPU is at fault; the only weird thing there though is that the stream itself still works and any changes I make will show on the livestream even though I cannot see them take effect on OBS, and if I open studio mode the studio preview still works too. The studio preview likes to freeze too but that one seems to fix itself if I disable/enable studio mode again, this fix does not work when disabling/enabling preview.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, log attached!

 

[NostalgiaTripUK]

Update: I have also tried using the Software Encoder instead of NVENC and the same issue occurs, so perhaps it's not the GPU at fault?

 

[NostalgiaTripUK]

Also tried running OBS in safe mode, same issue still occuring. Uploaded my logs to the OBS analyzer and fixed any issues that were occuring, still no luck.

 

[AnotherLurkerLOL]

I'm having the same problem. I've read the quick help tips, reinstalled my NVIDIA drivers, forced the executable to run in Admin mode, used software encoding instead of NVENC, etc. and my preview continues to freeze and break for no reason. I'm not even streaming; just recording footage for myself.

I had to reinstall Windows for other reasons, so I'm using Windows 11 24H2. I don't recall this happening to me on 23H2, but I can't say this for certain. Either way, I'm hoping for someone to tell me what the problem is.

 

[Yuuyatails]

I had also encounter the same issue in OBS Studio on Windows 11 24H2, where the previews (oddly, with the exception of multiview) would freezes if I switch between it and the games (specifically games that utilize Unreal Engine 4 and 5) by either alt-tabbing or minimize the games.

I tried reinstalling GPU driver and switching to software encoding, but the issue still persists. I think it's definitely have something to do with Windows 11 24H2.

 

[Yuuyatails]

Update (November 6, 2024): I think I found the possible cause of the issue, and possibility also Nvidia-related (as they recently updated the VRR algorithm in their driver).

It turns out that enable G-Sync under Windows 11 24H2 can cause the preview window to be freezes when switching between games and OBS Studio. Once G-Sync, or any VRR tech like FreeSync, is disabled, the issue goes away.

For the time being, I would advices you guys to disable VRR while streaming.

 

[NostalgiaTripUK]

Update (November 6, 2024): I think I found the possible cause of the issue, and possibility also Nvidia-related (as they recently updated the VRR algorithm in their driver).

It turns out that enable G-Sync under Windows 11 24H2 can cause the preview window to be freezes when switching between games and OBS Studio. Once G-Sync, or any VRR tech like FreeSync, is disabled, the issue goes away.

For the time being, I would advices you guys to disable VRR while streaming.

Yup looks like this is the fix, wish I saw this before I ended my livestream tonight for a proper test! I've just played around with OBS trying all the usual triggers over the last 10 minutes and not had a single issue. I'll be able to get a more thorough test completed when I next livestream and will report back to confirm if it held up.

 

[AnotherLurkerLOL]

Yeah, the workaround helped since I have a 1440p 180Hz FreeSync monitor. Now the preview no longer freezes when switching apps now.

Hopefully, this gets fixed in the next NVIDIA driver update so I won't have to turn off VRR just to use OBS.

 

[NostalgiaTripUK]

Update (November 8, 2024): After streaming for 7 hours I can confirm that disabling Gsync/Freesync is the fix for this issue.

 

[Klusio19]

I can confirm the previous comments - disabling G-Sync/Freesync fixes the issue. Looks like we need to create Nvidia report, because it looks like it's Nvidia's driver problem.