When capturing videos with Overwolf you may encounter certain issues. We've collected several common ones, and added explanations and solutions so you could solve these issues on your own :)


Game Highlights and Apps are Currently Down

Occasionally you may come across an in-app status message that indicate that highlights and apps are currently down. In this case, your highlights will not be captured automatically, however you can still capture manual videos of the game.


You don't need to do anything; this situation will be resolved on it's own. We only ask for your patience until we finish patching things up and bring the highlights and apps back to work!

For more information, please visit the following article: Apps and Highlights Status Explanation.


Take me to...


Stuttering/Lagging/Freezing Videos

GPU Drivers

If you're experiencing stuttering (frame loss) in your captured videos, unsynced audio and video, videos freezing on one frame, or no video capturing at all your graphics card's drivers may be out of date.

Outdated drivers may prevent your graphics card's encoder from working properly (the encoders are essential for the capturing process), and as a result you might experience different issues with the capturing process.

Please make sure that your drivers are up to date by visiting your graphics card's developer's website:

Once you update your drivers it's important to restart your PC (in order for the changes to be applied) before you try to capture videos again.

Codecs

The best capturing results can usually be achieved by selecting a codec that uses your dedicated GPU for the encoding process. Other codecs, mainly the x264, use your CPU.
Choosing a CPU based codec often result in faulty videos because the CPU has a hard time running the capturing process in addition to all the other system tasks.
The codec can be changed through the recording app settings or Overwolf's Capture settings:


If your graphics card's encoder is unavailable (grayed out) despite having the latest drivers, you can take a deeper-effective measure and try a clean driver install.

For more information on encoders, please visit the articles in the following category: Codecs.

Presets

Certain presets may use more of your systems resources, and result in faulty video recordings. 

Please make sure to have your preset option set to either "Default" or "Automatic" and try to record again.

High Quality Settings

If your capturing quality settings (resolution, FPS) are set higher than what your system can handle, it will result in faulty videos. 

You should try to lower the capturing resolution and FPS before launching the game, and then check if the results have improved.

Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling

Windows 10's new version, 2004 (build 19041), includes a new graphics setting: Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling. When turned on, this setting may interfere with Overwolf's OBS-based capture engine and cause various issues with the capturing process and the resulted videos. Turning this setting off can help overcome these issues.



Windows 11:



If you prefer to keep the Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling enabled, you can try to switch the game's display mode from 'Fullscreen' to 'Windowed'/'Windowed Borderless' in order to eliminate lags/dropped frames.

Windows Game Options

Disabling the following options, through the system settings, can improve the recording:

  1. Xbox Game Bar



  2. Background recording



  3. Game Mode

     

AMD Ryzen Processor

If you have an AMD Ryzen processor, you should try updating your system's BIOS, as we've seen it can solve the issue. You will need to enter your motherboard's manufacturer's website and follow the steps according to your specific motherboard model.

Software/App Coexistence

If you have any other video capturing/streaming software (like Nvidia ShadowPlay/NVIDIA Share/OBS Studio, for instance), streaming process or live wallpaper engine (Such as Lively Wallpaper/Wallpaper Engine) running at the same time as your Overwolf capturing app, this may affect the resulting video, or even prevent Overwolf's app from capturing your gameplay entirely.


Please disable or close the relevant software and try to capture your gameplay again with your Overwolf app.


Lastly, please make sure that you are not using the recording features of multiple Overwolf apps at the same time as this may cause issues in the recordings. Examples of Overwolf apps with recording features:


  • Avatar
  • BUFF
  • Game Capture
  • Gazoom
  • Insights Capture
  • Medal
  • Nuked.TV
  • Outplayed
  • Valorant Tracker (TRN)
  • Replay HUD
  • Replays.lol


Nvidia G-SYNC

Please note that running Nvidia G-SYNC may also cause issues with recording. You can disable it using the following steps:

  1. Right-click on your desktop and click on “Nvidia Control Panel” from the menu
  2. Click on the “+” next to Display
  3. Select Set up G-SYNC
  4. Uncheck the box next to Enable G-SYNC

NVIDIA 3D Settings (Recording only lagging in app)

If your recordings are only lagging when viewing them in an Overwolf app and not when viewing the recordings in your media player please try the following steps:

1. Disable Visual Artifacts in Overwolf Apps (Hardware Acceleration)

2. Frame rate inconsistency:

a. Check your Display refresh rate by going to the Windows Display settings, clicking on Advanced Display and checking your current refresh rate

 

b. Go to the NVIDIA Control Panel, click on Manage 3D Settings, click on Manage 3D settings and verify that the Background Application Max Frame Rate is either disabled or matches the Windows Display refresh rate:


This setting can also be found in the NVIDIA app under Graphics > Global Settings > Max Frame Rate:


If you make any changes to either of these settings please make sure to restart the computer and check if the issue continues.


Sound Issues

Sound Drivers

Different sound issues can be the result of outdated sound drivers, so the first thing to make sure of is that you have the most recent drivers installed.

You can find Realtek drivers right here, and the drivers for any other audio devices in the manufacturer's website.

Sound not recorded at all

If you can't hear any sound at all in your captured videos, you may have one of the following software running and conflicting with Overwolf: Nahimic, Alienware Sound Center or Asus Sonic Radar. Please close them when recording with Overwolf to avoid any issues.

Only recording input sound, output sounds (game, music, etc.) are missing

If you have recently updated your Windows OS, and have since been having trouble capturing your system's output sounds, you should try the solution presented here: How “Windows Sonic” Spatial Sound Works.

This issue can also be caused due to incompatibility between certain headset models and Overwolf's capture engine.

Not recording friends' voices from Discord

If you have a SteelSeries Arctis or HyperX headset with chat/game sound balance, and you can't hear your friends' voices on Discord in your captured videos (only your own voice and other sounds from your system) you can fix this issue by changing settings in Discord.
The SteelSeries Arctis and HyperX headsets are using two different channels to output sound, while Overwolf's capture engine can only record one channel at a time.
In order for your friends' voices to be recorded too, you will need to open up Discord's settings window, go to "Voice & Video", and change the "Output Device" to "Arctis 7 Game" or "HyperX [Model Name] Game":

Unsupported Sound Format Issue

When trying to use any of Overwolf's video recording apps with a specific sound format, you may encounter an error that says "Unsupported sound format issue". This issue may occur when using some kind of USB headset/microphone or a webcam microphone, and to solve it you should change the Default Format setting of your playback/recording device to "Tape Recorder".

Microphone sound only heard from left/right

If the sound recorded from your microphone can only be heard from one side (left or right), please check your microphone's channel setting:

  1. Right-click the speaker icon in your task bar
  2. Select 'Recording devices'
  3. Right-click your microphone from the list of devices
  4. Select 'Properties'
  5. Go to 'Advanced'
  6. Under 'Default Format' make sure the option '1 channel, 16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality)' is selected
  7. Click 'Apply' and 'OK', and try to record your gameplay again

NVIDIA Broadcast issues

Please note that using NVIDIA Broadcast may cause audio issues when recording.


Additionally, enabling the NVIDIA Broadcast Noise Removal feature will remove all game noise effects.

Audio not playing out side of recording app

If the recording audio does not play correctly when viewing the clip outside of the Overwoolf app it was recorded with the issue may be with the media player

Videos Not Captured At All

GPU Drivers

If your gameplay videos are not being captured at all, you should first check whether your graphics card's drivers are up to date.

Outdated drivers may prevent your graphics card's encoder from working properly (the encoders are essential for the capturing process), and as a result you might experience different issues with the capturing process.

Please make sure that your drivers are up to date by visiting your graphics card's developer's website:Once you update your drivers it's important to restart your PC (in order for the changes to be applied) before you try to capture videos again.

SHT Compatibility Mode

If your videos only show black frames, and you have both an integrated GPU and a dedicated GPU, please enable the 'Shared texture compatibility mode' option in Overwolf's capture settings:

Switchable Devices

Having switchable devices in your systems means that different programs can run on different graphics cards (usually the integrated one or the dedicated one).

When Overwolf's capture engine is running on one graphics card, and the game is running on the other - it can result in a black screen capture, or no videos being captured at all.

The solution is to set Overwolf's capture engine to run on your dedicated graphics card, the same one that the game is running on. This is how you can do that:


Legacy:

Recording Minimum Requirements ▾

The following are the minimum requirements for recording with Overwolf apps (having a setup with lower specs may cause issues):
  • Intel CPU: Intel i3 processors that support the Intel Quick Sync encoder. For the supported processors list, click here.
    AMD CPU: AMD Ryzen processors that support the AMF encoder (integrated Vega graphics unit).

    *OR*

    GPU: Versions of Nvidia graphics cards that support the NVENC encoder (GT/M versions might not work).
    Users with AMD graphics cards can try the AMF encoder, check the supported cards here.
  • RAM: 8GB or more of RAM (16GB recommended!)
For more information, please visit the following article: Overwolf Recording Minimum Requirements.

Ransomware Protection Blocking Recording

When the Windows Ransomware Protection is enabled it may block Overwolf apps from recording. You can test if Windows Ransomware Protection is blocking Overwolf by temporarily disabling it under the Windows Security settings:

If disabling the Windows Ransomware Protection resolves the issue you can click on "Protected folder" and set your media folder as an exception or set the media folder to an unprotected folder. 

If you are using Outplayed you can change the media folder using this guide: How to change the Outplayed Media folder

 

DPI / Offset Issues

Does the app's overlay look too big in-game? Is your cursor mislocated from where you actually click?


These issues could be the result of having your DPI set higher than 100%, and the solution is setting it back to that scale in the display settings of Windows. To find out how you can change your DPI setting, please visit the following article: How to Scale down your DPI.


Another option that cause an offset is the system's text size. To change it, please open the system settings > 'Ease of Access' > 'Display', and lower the text size to minimum.



Recordings appearing brighter than in-game

If your recordings are appearing brighter than the game please verify that any HDR setting has been disabled and restart the computer.


If you are running an AMD graphic card please verify that the "10-Bit Pixel Format" setting is disabled and that the computer has been restarted: