Clip It Clean: Capture & Share 101 — Noob’s Journey
Noob’s Journey

Clip It Clean: Capture & Share 101

Crisp clips, zero crust. PC/console/mobile capture, simple audio, safe presets, and exports that don’t get mauled by the algorithm.

Why Your Clips Look Mid (and How to Fix It)

  • Wrong canvas/aspect: Record 16:9 for YouTube/Twitch, 9:16 for TikTok/Reels/Shorts, or crop smart later.
  • Bitrate mismatch: Too low = mush; too high = stutter on upload speeds. Balance it.
  • Bad audio chain: Game and mic fighting each other. Gain stage right, duck music.
  • UI chaos: Hide watermark overlays you don’t need. Cleaner frame, cleaner vibes.
Mantra: Right canvas → Right bitrate → Right audio. Do those three and you’re already top 10%.

PC — OBS Basics (Beginners Only, No Panic)

Scene Setup

  • Canvas: 1920×1080 (YouTube/Twitch) or 1080×1920 (vertical-first).
  • Sources: Game capture → Mic input → Desktop audio → Optional camera & overlay.
  • Hotkeys: Start/stop, mute mic, toggle cam, replay buffer (clip last 30s).

Encoder & Quality

  • Encoder: Use GPU (NVENC/AMD/Intel) when available.
  • Rate control: CBR for streaming, CQP/CRF/VBR for recording.
  • FPS: 60 for action, 30 for chill/strategy or tight bandwidth.

Replay Buffer = Free Clips

Enable Replay Buffer (e.g., 30–60s). Bind a hotkey to dump the last moments to file when something pog happens.

Performance Safeties

Lock game to your monitor refresh; cap background apps; record to a fast NVMe; don’t use the same drive that’s nearly full.

Console — Built-In Capture (and Cards)

  • Use the console’s clip hotkey to save last 30–120s. Set default length to cover typical highlights.
  • Turn on “include mic/party” only if you want it. Respect everyone’s privacy settings.
  • For long sessions or overlays, a capture card → PC with OBS gives you full control.

Cable sanity: console HDMI → capture card IN → capture card OUT → monitor; USB to PC. Set card to passthrough your refresh rate if supported.

Mobile — Screen Record Clean

  • Enable native screen recorder at 1080p/60 if available.
  • Do Not Disturb on; lock brightness; close extra apps to reduce thermal throttling.
  • If your game supports it, record clean feed (no giant watermark buttons) or hide UI elements you don’t need.

Audio Chain — Crispy, Not Clippy

Gain Staging

  • Mic peaks around −6 dB; game/music under it at −12 to −18 dB.
  • Add a noise gate and light compressor (ratio ~3:1, threshold to taste).

Duck the Music

Sidechain (if your mixer/OBS plugin supports it) so music dips when you talk. Words > vibes when teaching.

Safe Presets (Copy/Paste)

Recording — 1080p60

Canvas 1920×1080, FPS 60
Encoder: NVENC (or AMF/QuickSync)
Rate control: CQP (or CRF) 18–22
Max B-frames: 2
Keyframe: 2s
Preset: Quality (or P5)
Profile: High
Audio: 48kHz, 320 kbps

Recording — Vertical 1080×1920

Canvas 1080×1920, FPS 60
Encoder: NVENC (or AMF/QuickSync)
Rate control: CQP/CRF 20–23
Keyframe: 2s, B-frames: 2
Audio: 48kHz, 256–320 kbps

Streaming — 720p60 Baseline

Output 1280×720 @ 60 FPS
Encoder: NVENC (GPU)
Rate control: CBR
Bitrate: 4500–6000 kbps (match your upload)
Keyframe: 2s
Preset: Performance/Quality
Audio: 48kHz, 160–192 kbps

Streaming — 1080p60

Output 1920×1080 @ 60 FPS
Encoder: NVENC (new)
Rate control: CBR
Bitrate: ~6000–9000 kbps (platform limits vary)
Keyframe: 2s
Preset: Quality
Audio: 48kHz, 192–256 kbps

Bitrate Helper (Quick Estimate)

Your Upload Speed


Result: —

Rules of Thumb

  • Use ≤ 70–80% of your upload for live streaming to avoid drops.
  • Record locally at higher quality than your stream; edit → export → upload later.

Export Recipes (Editor-Agnostic)

YouTube (Long)

Resolution: 1920×1080 (or 1440p)
FPS: match source
Codec: H.264 High (or HEVC/H.265 if supported)
Bitrate: 12–20 Mbps VBR (2-pass optional)
Audio: AAC 48kHz 192–320 kbps
Subtitle/captions optional

Shorts/Reels/TikTok

Resolution: 1080×1920 (9:16)
FPS: 30 or 60
Codec: H.264 High (or HEVC)
Bitrate: 8–16 Mbps VBR
Audio: AAC 48kHz 160–256 kbps
Safe zones: keep captions/facecam inside center 1080×1420

Square Feed

Resolution: 1080×1080 (1:1)
FPS: 30 or 60
Codec: H.264 High
Bitrate: 8–12 Mbps VBR
Audio: AAC 48kHz 160–256 kbps

CLI Corner — FFmpeg One-Liners

Trim Without Re-encode

ffmpeg -ss 00:00:05 -to 00:00:25 -i input.mp4 -c copy clip.mp4

Crop to Vertical

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -filter:v "crop=ih*9/16:ih:(iw-ih*9/16)/2:0,scale=1080:1920:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease" -r 60 -c:v libx264 -preset medium -crf 20 -c:a aac -b:a 192k vertical.mp4

Hard-Sub Captions (SRT)

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "subtitles=lines.srt:force_style='Fontsize=28,Outline=2,PrimaryColour=&HFFFFFF&'" -c:v libx264 -crf 19 -preset slow -c:a copy captioned.mp4

Troubleshooting (Fast Wins)

Choppy Recording

  • Switch to GPU encoder; lower output resolution to 1600×900 or 1280×720.
  • Record to a fast NVMe; close browsers/overlays.

Stream Dropping Frames

  • Lower bitrate to ~70% of your upload; use Ethernet; set consistent keyframe = 2s.
  • Enable dynamic bitrate (if platform supports) or stream 720p60.

Desynced Audio

  • Lock sample rate to 48kHz everywhere (OS, OBS, interface).
  • If capture card adds delay, add the same offset to mic/cam.

Washed Colors

  • Match color range (Full vs Limited) between GPU, capture card, and OBS.
  • Use Rec.709, 8-bit; avoid weird HDR unless you know the pipeline.

Your Clip Lab Notes

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