How to Start Streaming in OBS Studio over SRT

Before you step into the OBS screens below, look at the live widget first. It keeps the send path grounded in the two signals that matter most when SRT starts behaving badly in production: incoming bitrate and network RTT. If RTT rises while the stream is still trying to push the same bitrate, a latency value that looked safe a few minutes ago can stop being safe on the real path.

Prepare the video source in OBS Studio

1. Install or open OBS Studio

Make sure OBS Studio is installed and up to date. Open it on the machine that will send the stream.

2. Add a video source

In the lower control area, find the Sources box, click the + button, and choose Video Capture Device.

3. Name the source

Give the source a clear name. This makes it easier to switch sources later if you are building a larger scene or production workflow.

4. Choose the camera and resolution

In the device settings, select the camera you want to use and choose the resolution that fits your workflow. In this example the source is a USB camera.

Configure OBS for SRT output

5. Open the stream settings

To send the camera over the network using SRT, open Settings in OBS and go to the Stream tab.

6. Create the SRT server in Callaba

Open Callaba, go to SRT Servers, and click Add New. Create a server with a clear name, set the Publisher Port and Receiver Port, and save it.

Once the server is created, open its details. There you will see the parameters for publishing and receiving the stream.

7. Paste the SRT Publisher URL into OBS

Copy the SRT Publisher URL from Callaba and use it as the destination in OBS Studio. Save the stream settings and return to the main OBS window.

8. Start streaming

Click the Start Streaming button in OBS. If everything is configured correctly, OBS should show an active session and a healthy status indicator.

At this point the sender side is live and the SRT stream should be arriving at the Callaba server.

What to check if streaming does not start

• Publisher URL: make sure you copied the publisher-side SRT URL, not the receiver-side value.
• Ports: confirm that the chosen SRT ports are reachable and not blocked by firewall rules.
• Wrong source selected: check that OBS is actually using the intended camera source.
• No activity in Callaba: verify that the stream was really started from OBS and that the URL was pasted correctly.

Common problems and fixes

• OBS starts but no stream reaches the server: re-copy the SRT Publisher URL and verify the publish port.
• The stream is unstable: increase latency where needed and confirm the network path is clean enough for SRT contribution.
• You can send but cannot play the stream back: sending and receiving use different URLs and sometimes different roles. Use the correct receive-side tutorial next.
• The wrong camera appears in OBS: go back to the Video Capture Device settings and verify the selected hardware source.

When SRT is a better choice than RTMP

SRT is often the better transport when you want a more resilient contribution path over less predictable networks. If you want to compare transport choices before standardizing the workflow, review SRT vs RTMP.

Next steps

• If you need to receive the same feed in OBS, continue with how to receive an SRT stream in OBS Studio.
• If you want to tune the stream for real-world network conditions, read how to find the right latency for your SRT setup.
• If you need to compare contribution protocols, continue with SRT vs RTMP.