Automating OBS Recording With WinForms App

There was a requirement at work (not mine) that requires to record the 12 radio stations’ broadcast traffic to be monitored later for any discrepancies and whatnot.

I was asked if this was possible, and I said yes, there’s a solution for the current setup we have onsite. With the knowledge that OBS can record 6 separate audio tracks at once, I suggested allocating two desktop PCs to record each 6 “online audio streams” - we cater online live streaming, and since the audio service DOES NOT record hence save backups.

# OBS Layout

So I began setting up the layout that will help distinguish the date and time of the streams being recorded:

Add a Text source and Used a datetime.lua script:

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--[[ OBS Studio datetime script

This script transforms a text source into a digital clock. The datetime format
is configurable and uses the same syntax than the Lua os.date() call.
]]

obs             = obslua
source_name     = ""
datetime_format = ""

activated       = false

-- Function to set the time text
function set_datetime_text(source, format)
    local text = os.date(format)
    local settings = obs.obs_data_create()

    obs.obs_data_set_string(settings, "text", text)
    obs.obs_source_update(source, settings)
    obs.obs_data_release(settings)
end

function timer_callback()
    local source = obs.obs_get_source_by_name(source_name)
    if source ~= nil then
        set_datetime_text(source, datetime_format)
        obs.obs_source_release(source)
    end
end

function activate(activating)
    if activated == activating then
        return
    end

    activated = activating

    if activating then
        obs.timer_add(timer_callback, 1000)
    else
        obs.timer_remove(timer_callback)
    end
end

-- Called when a source is activated/deactivated
function activate_signal(cd, activating)
    local source = obs.calldata_source(cd, "source")
    if source ~= nil then
        local name = obs.obs_source_get_name(source)
        if (name == source_name) then
            activate(activating)
        end
    end
end

function source_activated(cd)
    activate_signal(cd, true)
end

function source_deactivated(cd)
    activate_signal(cd, false)
end

function reset()
    activate(false)
    local source = obs.obs_get_source_by_name(source_name)
    if source ~= nil then
        local active = obs.obs_source_showing(source)
        obs.obs_source_release(source)
        activate(active)
    end
end

----------------------------------------------------------

function script_description()
    return "Sets a text source to act as a clock when the source is active.\
\
The datetime format can use the following tags:\
\
    %a	abbreviated weekday name (e.g., Wed)\
    %A	full weekday name (e.g., Wednesday)\
    %b	abbreviated month name (e.g., Sep)\
    %B	full month name (e.g., September)\
    %c	date and time (e.g., 09/16/98 23:48:10)\
    %d	day of the month (16) [01-31]\
    %H	hour, using a 24-hour clock (23) [00-23]\
    %I	hour, using a 12-hour clock (11) [01-12]\
    %M	minute (48) [00-59]\
    %m	month (09) [01-12]\
    %p	either \"am\" or \"pm\" (pm)\
    %S	second (10) [00-61]\
    %w	weekday (3) [0-6 = Sunday-Saturday]\
    %x	date (e.g., 09/16/98)\
    %X	time (e.g., 23:48:10)\
    %Y	full year (1998)\
    %y	two-digit year (98) [00-99]\
    %%	the character `%ยด"
end

function script_properties()
    local props = obs.obs_properties_create()

    obs.obs_properties_add_text(props, "format", "Datetime format", obs.OBS_TEXT_DEFAULT)

    local p = obs.obs_properties_add_list(props, "source", "Text Source", obs.OBS_COMBO_TYPE_EDITABLE, obs.OBS_COMBO_FORMAT_STRING)
    local sources = obs.obs_enum_sources()
    if sources ~= nil then
        for _, source in ipairs(sources) do
            source_id = obs.obs_source_get_id(source)
            if source_id == "text_gdiplus" or source_id == "text_ft2_source" then
                local name = obs.obs_source_get_name(source)
                obs.obs_property_list_add_string(p, name, name)
            end
        end
    end
    obs.source_list_release(sources)

    return props
end

function script_defaults(settings)
    obs.obs_data_set_default_string(settings, "format", "%X")
end

function script_update(settings)
    activate(false)

    source_name = obs.obs_data_get_string(settings, "source")
    datetime_format = obs.obs_data_get_string(settings, "format")

    reset()
end

function script_load(settings)
    local sh = obs.obs_get_signal_handler()
    obs.signal_handler_connect(sh, "source_show", source_activated)
    obs.signal_handler_connect(sh, "source_hide", source_deactivated)
end

Add 6 Browser sources arranged in a grid and each navigates to a station’s stream URL
Add another Text source for the track number overlay spaced properly to match the browser source grid

Below is the final scenes list and output layout:

# OBS Recording Settings

After arranging the tracks to determine their order:

Set Advanced Audio Properties to separate audio to each track

Check all tracks in Recording settings

Rename tracks in Audio settings

Finally, I set the settings to record at just 10kbps to decrease the output filesize.

# Automation

After setting up the recording system, it is now a challenge on how to run OBS and start recording at the required times: 3:00am to 10:00pm.

Turning off the system at 10:00pm is not a problem but starting it at 3:00am is a challenge. And it is also not an option to run the system 24/7 since we need daily traffic.

# Task Scheduler and PowerShell Script

I first chose this method since I know that most programs use this as well to run at a specific setting (e.g. Startup, definite time). So I get to code two files: an XML for the task to be imported, and a PowerShell script which the task will run:

obs-launch-record.ps1

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$obs = Get-Process obs64 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
if ($obs) {
    # try gracefully first
    $obs.CloseMainWindow()
    # kill after 1 second
    Sleep 1
    if (!$obs.HasExited) {
    $obs | Stop-Process -Force
    }
}
Remove-Variable obs

Write-Host "$(Get-Date) Launching OBS Studio..."
Write-Host "$(Get-Date) Recording..."
Set-Location -Path "C:\Program Files\obs-studio\bin\64bit\"
Start-Process ".\obs64.exe" --startrecording
Write-Host "Remember to set and start your Output Timer in Tools"
Write-Host "or you can just manually stop the recording"

#Write-Host "Press any key to continue..."
#$Host.UI.RawUI.ReadKey("NoEcho,IncludeKeyDown")
Read-Host -Prompt "Press Enter to exit"

script-launch-task.xml

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<Task version="1.4" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2004/02/mit/task">
    <RegistrationInfo>
    <Date>2020-10-29T16:14:25.6856808</Date>
    <Author>DAVID-WORKPC\david</Author>
    <Description>This task runs a powershell script that launches OBS Studio with a parameter to start recording automatically.</Description>
    <URI>\Run OBS Studio and Record</URI>
    </RegistrationInfo>
    <Triggers>
    <CalendarTrigger>
        <StartBoundary>2020-10-29T02:59:59+08:00</StartBoundary>
        <Enabled>true</Enabled>
        <ScheduleByDay>
        <DaysInterval>1</DaysInterval>
        </ScheduleByDay>
    </CalendarTrigger>
    </Triggers>
    <Principals>
    <Principal id="Author">
        <UserId>S-1-5-21-2031556638-4226476305-1743380608-1001</UserId>
        <LogonType>InteractiveToken</LogonType>
        <RunLevel>HighestAvailable</RunLevel>
    </Principal>
    </Principals>
    <Settings>
    <MultipleInstancesPolicy>IgnoreNew</MultipleInstancesPolicy>
    <DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>true</DisallowStartIfOnBatteries>
    <StopIfGoingOnBatteries>true</StopIfGoingOnBatteries>
    <AllowHardTerminate>true</AllowHardTerminate>
    <StartWhenAvailable>false</StartWhenAvailable>
    <RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>false</RunOnlyIfNetworkAvailable>
    <IdleSettings>
        <StopOnIdleEnd>true</StopOnIdleEnd>
        <RestartOnIdle>false</RestartOnIdle>
    </IdleSettings>
    <AllowStartOnDemand>true</AllowStartOnDemand>
    <Enabled>true</Enabled>
    <Hidden>false</Hidden>
    <RunOnlyIfIdle>false</RunOnlyIfIdle>
    <DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>false</DisallowStartOnRemoteAppSession>
    <UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>true</UseUnifiedSchedulingEngine>
    <WakeToRun>false</WakeToRun>
    <ExecutionTimeLimit>PT72H</ExecutionTimeLimit>
    <Priority>7</Priority>
    <RestartOnFailure>
        <Interval>PT1M</Interval>
        <Count>5</Count>
    </RestartOnFailure>
    </Settings>
    <Actions Context="Author">
    <Exec>
        <Command>powershell</Command>
        <Arguments>-File D:\start-obs-record.ps1</Arguments>
    </Exec>
    </Actions>
</Task>

These two files works but despite the users being technical, this method seems daunting by using an uncommon app, Task Scheduler, and it is inefficient when changing the xml code or script (when changing time, obs.exe location, etc.)

# Building a WinForms App

To simplify and solve some major problems of the Task Scheduler method, I decided to use a GUI by developing a System Tray app using WinForms.

The GUI now allows to freely change the start recording in OBS with the argument (also used in PowerShell script above):

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.\obs64.exe --startrecording

The app basically runs 24/7 on the system and checks if it is time to start or stop the executable. An option to auto-run it at startup, and an executable file browser to ensure OBS exists.

# Monitor Recordings in VLC

Now that everything is automated and works as intended, assigned personnel can now review recorded files on VLC - we tried other players but they can NOT handle the filesize (over 13GB each).

VLC can easily read .MKV files which includes the 6 audio tracks and can be selected in VLC audio track (which shows the track name we did when setting up OBS Audio settings):

# Final Thoughts

It has been working since 2020-ish? See the full code of this app, repo is available on my GitHub.