Best OBS Encoder Settings for 1080p and 720p (AIOZ Stream)

TL;DR:

• AIOZ Stream documents one desktop starting point: 1080p at 30 fps with CBR, 4500 to 6000 Kbps, a 1 second keyframe interval, the High profile and AAC audio at 128 to 160 Kbps.
• For 720p on desktop the OBS guide gives no bitrate. It only says to set the scaled output resolution to 1280 x 720 and lower the bitrate. The one documented 720p figure is 2500 Kbps in the mobile guide, for 4G and 5G.
• NVENC and x264 get identical values in the AIOZ docs. The choice between them is about your hardware, not about the stream.
• YouTube publishes much higher recommended ranges than AIOZ does, so AIOZ's band is a conservative, upload-friendly starting point rather than a ceiling on quality.
• Treat every number here as a starting value, then check your real bitrate and frame rate on a test stream before an event.

What AIOZ actually documents

Most "best OBS settings" articles hand you one table and call it settled. For AIOZ Stream the honest version is shorter, because the documentation covers a narrow set of cases and says nothing about the rest. Here is everything the docs commit to:

The last row matters. If you want 60 fps or a resolution above 1080p, there is no AIOZ guidance to follow, so anything you pick is your own judgment. The tested software versions are OBS Studio 30.2.3 on Windows and 31.1.0 on macOS. The step-by-step menu path is in the OBS setup guide; this article is about choosing the values.

Choosing a resolution and bitrate together

Resolution and bitrate are one decision, not two. A 1080p picture squeezed into too few bits looks worse than a clean 720p picture with the same budget, because the encoder has to throw detail away to fit. That is why the AIOZ fallback advice changes both: drop the scaled resolution to 1280 x 720 first, then lower the bitrate.

For context on how conservative the AIOZ band is, compare it with YouTube's published live encoder guidance. YouTube's help page lists, for H.264 at 30 fps, a minimum of 5 Mbps and a recommended 14 Mbps at 1080p, and a minimum of 3 Mbps and a recommended 8 Mbps at 720p. AIOZ's 4.5 to 6 Mbps for 1080p sits at the bottom of that spectrum. These are different platforms with different pipelines, so YouTube's numbers are a reference point, not AIOZ guidance. Still, they show the AIOZ range is a safe starting value for connections with limited upload, and that fast-moving content such as gameplay may benefit from testing higher values within what your connection and the platform allow.

There is no documented 720p desktop bitrate to anchor on, so any figure you choose is an inference. A defensible approach is to take the one 720p number AIOZ does publish, 2500 Kbps from the mobile guide, as a floor for cellular-grade conditions, and use the YouTube 720p range as an outer reference for a stable wired connection. Label that choice as yours when you record it in your own runbook, so a teammate does not mistake it for official guidance.

NVENC or x264

The AIOZ docs list both encoders with the same rate control, bitrate, keyframe interval and profile. That means the decision rests on your machine. NVENC is NVIDIA's hardware encoder and x264 is the software encoder that runs on the CPU. One 2026 comparison states that on RTX 20 series cards and newer, NVENC quality is "close enough to x264 Medium that most viewers cannot tell them apart on a live stream". The same page rates NVENC's CPU cost at about 2 percent against 30 to 60 percent for x264 Medium. Other guides publish noticeably different percentages for the same preset, which is a reminder that CPU load depends on your processor, your scene and what else is running.

The practical rule follows from that. If you stream from one machine while running something heavy, such as a game, a browser full of tabs or a screen share with many sources, hardware encoding leaves your CPU free and keeps the frame rate steady. If you have a strong CPU with spare cores, no capable NVIDIA GPU, or a stream that is mostly static, x264 is a reasonable choice. The AIOZ docs mark NVENC as "if available", which suggests the same order: use it when you have it, fall back to x264 when you do not.

Rate control and keyframe interval

Both AIOZ and YouTube specify CBR, which holds the bitrate roughly constant instead of letting it swing with scene complexity. AIOZ does not explain the choice, so stay with it rather than switching to a variable mode. You can verify the effect yourself: with CBR, the incoming bitrate on the statistics panel should hover near your setting instead of spiking.

The keyframe interval is where sources diverge. AIOZ documents 1 second. YouTube's page recommends 2 seconds and says not to exceed 4 seconds. A 1 second interval is within YouTube's ceiling and simply shorter than its recommendation, so the two are compatible. Because this article is about AIOZ, use the documented 1 second and treat any other value as an experiment on a private stream.

The profile is documented as High, and Zerolatency tuning is optional, offered by the guide for lower latency. If you are after the lowest possible delay, remember that the encoder is only one contributor; the delivery format has a larger effect, which low-latency HLS covers.

Frame rate

Every AIOZ example uses 30 fps. The PRISM guide names 30 fps explicitly and the desktop values are described at 1080p30. YouTube lists higher bitrates for 60 fps, for instance a 6 Mbps minimum and 17 Mbps recommended for 1080p60 H.264, because moving more frames takes more data. So do not assume the AIOZ 4500 to 6000 Kbps band is enough for 60 fps. If you need 60 fps, test it and watch both the incoming bitrate and the frame rate, since AIOZ does not document that case.

A short procedure that works

1. Measure your consistent upload speed and size your total bitrate to it. The arithmetic is in the go-live walkthrough.
2. Pick the resolution your upload can carry: 1080p if the documented band fits with headroom, otherwise 1280 x 720 with a lower bitrate.
3. Enter the documented values: CBR, a bitrate inside your budget, a 1 second keyframe interval, the High profile and AAC audio.
4. Run a short private test stream. Compare the incoming bitrate and frame rate with your settings. AIOZ's statistics report bitrate_in and fps_in, the values your encoder is actually delivering.
5. If the incoming values fall short, lower the bitrate or the resolution. If they match, you are done.

The viewer side is a separate question. Viewers receive the renditions you chose in the session form, and how a platform builds those is explained in how to build a bitrate ladder. The codec background behind H.264 is in video transcoding basics.

What the docs leave open

The documentation does not give a 720p desktop bitrate, any 60 fps or higher-resolution guidance, a maximum accepted bitrate, an explanation for the 1 second keyframe interval, or a troubleshooting path if the incoming bitrate falls below your setting. It also does not say how the incoming stream maps to the rendition list. Plan for those gaps with a test stream rather than assuming a number.

FAQ

What are the best OBS settings for streaming to AIOZ Stream?
The documented desktop starting point is CBR, 4500 to 6000 Kbps, a 1 second keyframe interval and the High profile at 1080p30, with AAC audio at 128 to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, stereo.

What bitrate should I use for 720p?
The OBS guide gives no 720p bitrate. It says to scale output to 1280 x 720 and lower the bitrate. The mobile guide lists 2500 Kbps for 720p on 4G or 5G.

Should I use NVENC or x264?
AIOZ lists identical values for both. Use NVENC if you have a supported NVIDIA GPU, since it keeps CPU load low. Use x264 if you have spare CPU capacity and no capable GPU.

Is 4500 to 6000 Kbps enough for 1080p?
It is the documented range and a safe start for limited upload. YouTube recommends considerably higher bitrates for 1080p, so test higher values if your connection allows and your content has fast motion.

Does AIOZ support 60 fps streaming?
The documentation only gives 30 fps examples. It does not say whether 60 fps is supported or what bitrate to use for it.

What keyframe interval should I set?
AIOZ documents 1 second. YouTube recommends 2 seconds and says not to exceed 4. Start with 1 second for AIOZ and test any change on a private stream.

Related Reading

• Mobile Livestreaming with PRISM Live Studio on AIOZ Stream: the documented 1080p and 720p mobile bitrates next to these desktop values
• Live Streaming on AIOZ Stream: The Complete Guide
• OBS Studio Setup Guide for AIOZ Stream
• Stream Health Metrics Explained
• HLS vs WebRTC: Which Streaming Protocol Should You Choose