Record a translated copy in OBS بتا

Every time you record in OBS, the plugin can save a second file per language: the same video with the translated voice over the original sound. After you stop recording, it re-syncs that file so every translated sentence starts exactly when it was spoken on screen, and adds subtitles.

Who it's for#

Teams who record services and later upload them to YouTube, a website or a podcast in another language.

Before you start#

• OBS is paired and translating. See Set up audio, languages and start/stop in OBS.
• The language is one of the device's translation languages.
• Your OBS recording uses a normal format and quality. Lossless quality or a custom FFmpeg output is not supported, because the translated copy reuses the main recording's video.
• Enough free disk space: each translated copy is about the same size as your main recording.

Step 1 — Add a language#

1. In the dock, open Translated streams.
2. Pick a language in the list and click Add language. The dock says "Added …" (for example "Added Español.").
3. The language now has a recording copy, a translated stream and in-room playback for this OBS. Its recording copy is already on: under Recording, Record a … copy is ticked, and the language's REC button in the control bar shows "REC on".

You can add up to 5 languages. Nothing is added to your scenes, and your main recording is not changed.

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Step 2 — Choose the recording options#

Open Recording in the dock. For each added language:

• Record a … copy — on: every recording also writes a translated copy. The language's REC button in the control bar turns this on and off too: it shows "REC off", "REC on", and "● REC" while recording.
• Re-sync recording after stop (on by default) — rebuilds the file after you stop (see below).
• Keep live-mixed copy ("_live") (on by default) — also keeps the file as it was mixed live, for comparison. Turn it off to have it deleted once the synced file is ready.
• Captions in recording (on by default) — adds a subtitle track and a .srt file.
• Show captions by default (on by default) — players start with the subtitles shown (MKV). Viewers can still turn them off.

How loud the original sound is under the translation is set with Original audio and Under translation; see Keep translation in sync with video.

Step 3 — Record#

Start and stop recording in OBS as usual (the dock can be closed). Under Recording, the language shows "Recording → …" with the file name, and its REC button shows "● REC". Pausing the main recording pauses the copy too.

What re-sync does#

Live, each translated sentence reaches the recording 3–6 seconds after it was spoken, like a live interpreter. When you stop recording, the plugin:

1. Waits a few seconds for the last translations ("Waiting a few seconds for the last translations, then syncing the … recording…").
2. Rebuilds the file in the background so every translated sentence starts exactly when it was spoken in the video, over the recording's own original sound. The dock shows "Syncing … recording… 60%".
3. Finishes with "… recording synced: …" and how many sentences were placed.

It takes about a minute per hour of recording. The video is copied, not re-encoded, so quality is unchanged.

Details worth knowing:

• If two sentences would overlap (translations often run longer than the original), the later one starts right after the earlier one.
• A sentence spoken while the recording was paused is left out, because it isn't in the video. A pause no longer splits the synced file.
• The silence a synthetic voice starts with is trimmed, so the voice itself starts on time.

Where files are saved and how they're named#

Translated files go in the same folder as your main recording (OBS Settings → Output → Recording Path). They use your main file's name plus the language code. For a main recording 2026-10-04 10-30-00.mkv and Spanish:

If the main recording is MKV, copies are .mkv; otherwise they are .mp4. Subtitle tracks use SubRip in MKV and mov_text in MP4. Subtitles show at most 2 lines of 42 characters per sentence.

Without re-sync (turned off, or it failed), the live-mixed file keeps the plain _es name and gets subtitles timed to when each sentence played live.

The Dashboard's device page shows each translated recording's status and file name, read-only.

Troubleshooting#

"No translated recording — add a language under Translated streams". You're recording but no language is added. Add one with Add language under Translated streams.

"… recording is off — tick "Record a … copy" under Recording". The language is added but its recording copy is off. Click its REC button in the control bar, or tick Record a … copy under Recording.

"Error: the main recording has no shareable encoder (lossless or custom output) — use a normal recording format". Change Settings → Output → Recording Quality away from Lossless, or stop using a custom FFmpeg output.

"Re-sync failed (…). The live-mixed recording is kept: …". The reason is in brackets, for example "the disk is full" or "the main recording file could not be opened". The live-mixed file is still usable.

"Not re-synced: the Custom mix has other sources on this track. The live-mixed recording is kept." Recordings using a custom audio mix are not re-synced.

FAQ#

Does this change my main recording?#

No. Your main recording stays exactly as before. The translated copy is a separate file.

Can I upload the .srt to YouTube with my original video?#

Yes. The .srt is timed to the synced translated file, which uses the same video timeline as your main recording.

Do I need to be streaming?#

No. Translated recordings work while only recording, if Translate when includes recording. See Set up audio, languages and start/stop in OBS.