Three OBS options matter here: Base (Canvas) Resolution, Output (Scaled) Resolution and Downscale Filter, and the safe direction is to leave the canvas alone and lower only the output resolution when you need less load. If the two resolutions match, the Downscale Filter is greyed out and there is nothing to choose. This guide follows File > Settings > Video in OBS Studio 32.2.2 (published 2026-08-14), the latest stable release as checked on September 30, 2026. If your finished video looks soft, OBS recording blurry fix covers that symptom from the other side.
Bottom line: leave the canvas, adjust the output
OBS's official Encoding Performance Troubleshooting page says that reducing the output resolution can help lower the encoder load. It says the opposite about the Base (Canvas) Resolution: lowering it complicates capture and asset management, so it is generally not recommended and is suggested only when GPU resources are extremely short. If you would rather not think about filters at all, keep both values equal and lower only the output resolution when the load becomes a problem. One caveat: OBS has no article that defines these two resolutions on their own, so the explanations here are drawn from the documents cited below and from the labels in the interface. Specific pairings such as a 1440p canvas with a 1080p output have no official backing, so this guide does not recommend one. For the rest of the recording options outside the Video tab, continue with OBS game recording settings.
Step by step
- 1Open the Video tab — Go to File > Settings and choose Video in the left-hand list. The option names in this guide are the English labels of OBS Studio 32.2.2 as checked on September 30, 2026, and older versions may look different.
- 2Read both resolution values — Note what is currently entered in Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution. OBS's Aspect Ratio Guide (dated 2021-11-27) recommends 16:9 resolutions such as 1920x1080 or 1280x720 for the best results, and also lists 3840x2160 as a 16:9 example.
- 3Decide equal or different — When both values are identical no resizing is needed, so the Downscale Filter is disabled. If you want less encoder load, keep the canvas as it is and change only Output (Scaled) Resolution to a lower value.
- 4Pick a Downscale Filter — Once the values differ, the Downscale Filter becomes active and offers Bilinear, Area, Bicubic and Lanczos. The official wording only describes each method and its sample count, so record the same scene briefly with each option and compare the results by eye.
- 5Follow the safe path if you must lower the canvas — If GPU resources are extremely short and you do need a smaller canvas, follow the documented order. Create a new Scene Collection and switch to it, lower Base (Canvas) Resolution in Settings > Video, then readjust the position and size of your sources for the lower resolution.
- 6Check Rescale Output on the Output tab — In Settings > Output, switch Output Mode to Advanced, then look for Rescale Output in the Streaming and Recording sub-tabs. Confirm that it reads Disabled, or that you turned it on deliberately, because it is applied independently of the Video tab.
What each option does
| Option (OBS 32.2.2, en-US label) | What it does | When to change it, and the source |
|---|---|---|
| Base (Canvas) Resolution | The size of the working canvas your scene is built on; sources are placed and sized against it. | The official guide suggests lowering it only when GPU resources are extremely short, and generally advises against it. |
| Output (Scaled) Resolution | The size that is encoded into the final video. If it differs from the canvas, scaling takes place. | The official guide lists reducing it as a way to ease encoder load. |
| Downscale Filter | Picks the method used when the canvas is scaled down to the output size. | Only active when the two resolutions differ. When they match it reads [Resolutions match, no downscaling required] and is disabled. |
| Bilinear / Area / Bicubic / Lanczos | OBS words them as Bilinear (Fastest, but blurry if scaling), Area (Weighted sum, 4/6/9 samples), Bicubic (Sharpened scaling, 16 samples) and Lanczos (Sharpened scaling, 36 samples). | The official wording stops there and gives no quality ranking or load figures, so compare them with a short test recording. |
| Scale Filtering (right-click a source) | A per-source scaling method that is a separate setting from the Downscale Filter. | The Aspect Ratio Guide suggests trying Bicubic for a blurry source, and Point or Area for retro and pixel art. |
| Rescale Output (Disabled) | A separate entry found after switching Output Mode to Advanced; it rescales the output to a resolution you choose, apart from the Video tab values. | It is independent of the Video tab values, so check that it is not turned on unintentionally. |
Checklist after changing settings
- I wrote down Base (Canvas) Resolution and Output (Scaled) Resolution and know whether they match
- I am not hunting for a greyed-out Downscale Filter when the two values are equal, since that is normal
- When easing the load, I adjusted the output resolution before the canvas
- If I changed the canvas, I did it in a new Scene Collection and re-fitted my sources
- I checked that Rescale Output in Advanced output mode is in the state I intended, such as Disabled
- I played back a short test recording and looked for blur or cropping
If you would rather not tune any of this
If juggling two resolutions and four filters feels bigger than the recording itself, an app that records automatically is a reasonable alternative to keep in mind. DOR is a free Windows app that detects supported games, saves the full match as an mp4, uses NVENC hardware encoding by default on NVIDIA graphics cards, and records game sound and microphone together. Automatic highlight clips such as kills are available only for some games, while the rest get full-match recording only. To weigh OBS against other tools more broadly, read OBS alternatives, and for the reasons OBS setup can feel heavy, see when OBS is too complicated.
Official sources and how this was checked
Checked on September 30, 2026 against OBS Studio 32.2.2 (published 2026-08-14), using its English interface labels and OBS's own documentation. Output resolution and canvas reduction come from Encoding Performance Troubleshooting, the 16:9 recommendation and per-source filtering from the Aspect Ratio Guide, and the advanced output rescale from the Standard Recording Output Guide. The Aspect Ratio Guide is dated 2021-11-27, so option names here follow the current on-screen labels.
