For a typical SDR video recorded in OBS and uploaded to YouTube, use Rec. 709 for Color Space and Partial for Color Range. YouTube recommends BT.709 for SDR uploads, and OBS defines Partial as its default range. Check your capture source too: a correct OBS output setting cannot by itself fix a mismatch earlier in the video path.
Recommended OBS settings for a typical SDR upload
In OBS, set the recording’s color space to Rec. 709 and its color range to Partial. YouTube calls the corresponding SDR standard BT.709 and recommends it for uploads. OBS’s documentation lists Rec. 709 as a supported color space and defines its default range as Partial.
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In OBS, open the settings and locate the color controls. Select Rec. 709 for Color Space and Partial for Color Range. The precise controls available can depend on the recording and capture setup; check the relevant output and source properties rather than assuming one global setting governs every device.
What Color Space and Color Range control
Color Space: the video color standard
Color Space identifies the standard used to describe the video’s colors. For a conventional SDR YouTube upload, OBS’s Rec. 709 corresponds to the BT.709 standard YouTube recommends. YouTube’s recommended upload guidance specifies BT.709 transfer characteristics, primaries, and matrix coefficients for SDR.
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Color Range: how signal levels are represented
Color Range determines how video signal levels are represented. OBS distinguishes Partial from Full and treats its Default range as equivalent to Partial. Partial is not a quality downgrade; it is the documented conventional SDR baseline here. YouTube says it converts full-range uploads to limited range, so choosing Full does not mean YouTube will preserve a full-range signal unchanged.
Check the source as well as OBS output
A webcam, capture card, console, or other input may expose its own color-space or range controls. Those properties vary by hardware. If you manually specify a source range, match the setting to the signal the device actually supplies; do not assume every capture device should use the same value.
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- Check the source device’s own output or capture properties if they are available.
- Compare the source’s range with the range selected for its OBS capture input.
- Then check OBS recording output and the resulting file’s metadata. A correct-looking OBS label alone does not prove that every stage interpreted the video the same way.
Fix a dark or washed-out YouTube upload
Do not switch OBS globally to Full just because the upload looks washed out, or to Partial solely because it looks dark. A mismatch can occur at capture, encoding, platform processing, or playback; changing one setting without checking the rest can make the mismatch worse.
- Check the source signal. Confirm the color space and range supplied by the camera, console, capture card, or other input, including any device-specific capture properties.
- Check OBS capture settings. Make sure the source’s configured range matches the signal it actually provides. If the device exposes no range control, do not invent one; inspect the remaining stages.
- Check recording settings and the file. Verify OBS’s selected color space and range, then inspect the recorded file and its encoded metadata if you have a suitable way to do so.
- Consider YouTube’s processing. YouTube documents assumptions for unspecified transfer characteristics and color matrices or primaries, and says it standardizes recognized color spaces. Upload processing can therefore affect how levels appear.
- Check playback. Compare the file and YouTube playback under consistent viewing conditions. If only one looks wrong, the issue may be in how that stage interprets or displays the video rather than in the OBS setting alone.
HDR recordings need a separate workflow
Do not apply the SDR recommendation of Rec. 709 and Partial blindly to an HDR recording. YouTube’s cited HDR instructions concern live streaming and specify Rec. 2100 PQ or HLG in a dedicated HDR workflow; they do not establish a universal setting for every prerecorded HDR export. Use a workflow appropriate to the source and intended HDR delivery rather than treating SDR settings as a general HDR prescription.
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Container choice is a separate decision
OBS says fragmented MP4 or MOV may suit users who plan to upload to services such as YouTube or edit in common software. Container choice does not change the SDR color-space recommendation: it is a separate recording and compatibility consideration.
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