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How to Replace Your Webcam Feed with an Image or Video Using OBS

Send an image, video, or designed scene as your webcam feed with OBS Virtual Camera, then select it in your call app and choose your microphone separately.
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To show a chosen image, video, or designed scene instead of your usual webcam feed, build the scene in OBS Studio, start OBS Virtual Camera, then select OBS Virtual Camera in your video-call app. The virtual camera supplies video; choose your microphone separately in the call app if you want others to hear you.

What OBS Virtual Camera does

OBS Virtual Camera sends an OBS Studio scene to apps that accept a webcam as a video input. Your scene can use an image or video you already have; you do not need to buy a camera. A USB webcam is only an optional source if you want live camera footage in the scene.

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The receiving app sees the OBS output as a camera device. This is different from sharing your screen: you choose the virtual camera in the app’s camera settings, just as you would choose a physical webcam.

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Set up an image or video as your camera feed

  1. Open OBS Studio and prepare a scene. Add the image, video, camera, or other media you want to show, and arrange it in an OBS scene. The exact controls for adding a source can vary; the essential step is to have the desired content visible in the scene you plan to output.
  2. Choose the Virtual Camera output. In OBS’s Controls dock, open the Virtual Camera settings and select an output mode. Choose Program to send OBS’s normal output. Choose Preview only when you deliberately want the Studio Mode preview; choose Scene or Source when you intend to hold the output to one selected scene or source. Selecting the wrong mode can send a different view than the one you expect. See the OBS Virtual Camera Guide.
  3. Start the virtual camera. Click Start Virtual Camera in the Controls dock.
  4. Select the camera in your call app. Open the app’s camera settings and choose OBS Virtual Camera as the video device. Exact menus differ by app and can change; this guide does not provide unverified Zoom or Microsoft Teams click paths.
  5. Choose your microphone separately. If you want to speak, select the microphone you intend to use in the call app’s audio settings. Do not assume that starting OBS Virtual Camera also routes microphone audio.
  6. Check the app’s preview before joining. Confirm that it shows the right OBS scene, then join or present. If you need to switch scenes, check that the selected OBS output mode will send the intended view.

Google Meet: choose a camera or present camera content

Meet offers two distinct ways to use a camera source. Use the ordinary camera setting when you want your image or OBS scene to replace the video shown for you as a participant. Use Meet’s camera-presentation feature when you want to present content from a camera to the meeting instead.

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Use OBS as your participant camera

In Google Meet on a computer, open Settings → Video, choose OBS Virtual Camera, and inspect the feed. Google’s computer video and audio guidance also describes video-quality controls; lowering the send resolution may help if quality, network conditions, battery use, or data use is a concern.

Present content from a camera

Meet separately supports presenting from an external or virtual camera. Enable Share content from camera in meeting settings, then choose Present now → Camera and select the camera. Google limits this feature to the Workspace editions listed on its camera-presentation help page; check that page for the current eligibility list. For the documented video-production-tool path, Google specifies uncropped output encoded at up to 1080p and 30 FPS. That is a stated product ceiling, not a guarantee of the quality you will receive in every meeting.

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If OBS Virtual Camera is missing or showing the wrong view

  • The camera device is not listed: A third-party guide published by OBS Camera on August 18, 2026 recommends starting OBS Virtual Camera before opening the receiving app; if the app was already open, close and reopen it. Treat this as troubleshooting advice, not a universal requirement. The guide is commercially interested: its author says he builds Camera for OBS Studio. It is not official Zoom or Teams documentation.
  • The app shows the wrong scene or content: Return to OBS’s Virtual Camera settings and verify whether the output is set to Program, Preview, Scene, or Source. Program sends OBS’s normal output; the other choices should be used only when their more limited or preview behavior is intentional.
  • People can see you but cannot hear you: Check the microphone selection in the call app’s audio settings. The ordinary OBS Virtual Camera setup described here handles video, while the microphone is selected separately.

Zoom and Microsoft Teams menu names, permissions, and troubleshooting steps are not established here by current official app-specific documentation. If the virtual camera remains unavailable in either app, consult that app’s current help for your operating system rather than assuming a particular permission or refresh sequence.

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Quick Recap

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