StreamTranslate + OBS: Real-Time Subtitles in 2 Minutes

How OBS Browser Source Works With StreamTranslate

OBS Studio's browser source feature renders a web page inside OBS and composites it onto your video feed as a transparent overlay. It's the same technology used by alert boxes, donation tickers, and chat overlays. StreamTranslate uses this existing OBS functionality to display subtitle text that updates in real time as you speak.

The browser source connects to StreamTranslate's servers via WebSocket and listens for incoming subtitle updates. When you speak into your microphone, StreamTranslate transcribes and translates your speech in the cloud and pushes the subtitle text to the browser source in under 500 milliseconds. The text renders over your video, and OBS encodes it into the stream before sending to any platform.

Because it runs in the browser source rather than as an OBS plugin, StreamTranslate is compatible with every version of OBS Studio and works identically across Windows, Mac, and Linux. It also works with Streamlabs OBS and other OBS-based software.

OBS Browser Source Setup — Step by Step

Step 1 — Open StreamTranslate. Go to streamtranslate.live/control in your browser. Select your source language (the language you speak) and target language (what you want displayed). Click Go Live to start your session.

Step 2 — Copy your overlay URL. StreamTranslate generates a unique browser source URL for your room. Copy the full URL from the overlay section of the control panel.

Step 3 — Add a Browser Source in OBS. In OBS, open your scene. Click the + button in the Sources panel and select Browser. Give it a name like "ST Subtitles". In the URL field, paste your StreamTranslate overlay URL. Set Width to 1920 and Height to 1080 to match your canvas resolution. Check "Shutdown source when not visible" to save resources when you're not in a scene that uses the overlay.

Step 4 — Position the overlay. The subtitle text defaults to the bottom of the frame. You can drag and resize the browser source layer in OBS to position it exactly where you want. The overlay background is transparent — only the subtitle text is visible.

Step 5 — Test before going live. With OBS running and the browser source active, speak into your microphone. You should see subtitle text appear within half a second in the OBS preview. If subtitles appear, you're ready to stream to any platform.

Optimal OBS Settings for Subtitles

StreamTranslate's overlay is a text-only transparent layer, so it has minimal impact on OBS performance. That said, a few settings help ensure the best experience:

• Canvas resolution: Set both OBS canvas and browser source to 1920×1080 for sharpest text rendering at standard bitrates
• Hardware acceleration: Leave OBS hardware acceleration enabled — browser sources use GPU compositing by default
• Shutdown when not visible: Enable this on the browser source to free WebSocket connections when you switch scenes
• Refresh on scene activate: Optionally enable this so the overlay reconnects cleanly when you switch back to a scene
• Layer order: Keep the StreamTranslate browser source above your webcam and game capture layers so text is always visible
• Audio monitoring: Do not route desktop audio into OBS mic input — StreamTranslate listens to your microphone only, not the stream audio mix

Works With Every Platform OBS Supports

Because StreamTranslate integrates at the OBS level rather than the platform level, it works with every service OBS can stream to. Configure your OBS stream output to Twitch, Kick, YouTube, Facebook Gaming, X (Twitter), TikTok, or any RTMP destination — the StreamTranslate overlay works identically on all of them.

You can even use the same overlay URL across multiple simultaneous streams if you use OBS with a multi-streaming service like Restream or Castr. The subtitle text appears on all platforms from a single StreamTranslate session.

• Twitch — works with OBS stream key and Twitch service preset
• Kick — works via custom RTMP ingest URL
• YouTube Live — works with stream key
• X (Twitter) — works via RTMP
• TikTok Live — works via RTMP with TikTok Live Studio or OBS
• Restream / multi-streaming — works, single session serves all platforms

Troubleshooting Common OBS Issues

Subtitles not showing in OBS preview: Make sure your StreamTranslate session is active — the control panel should show "Live" status. Check that the browser source URL matches your current session URL exactly. Try right-clicking the browser source in OBS and selecting "Refresh".

Subtitles appearing but mic not picked up: StreamTranslate listens to your microphone via the browser tab it runs in, not through OBS. Make sure your browser has microphone permission granted, and that the correct input device is selected in the StreamTranslate control panel.

Text too small or hard to read: Increase font size in the StreamTranslate style settings. The overlay is designed for 1080p — if your canvas is 720p, the text will appear smaller relative to the frame.

Subtitles visible in preview but not on stream: Confirm the browser source layer is above your game capture layer in the scene's source list. Sources are composited bottom-to-top in OBS.

High OBS CPU usage with browser source: This is an OBS issue unrelated to StreamTranslate. Enable hardware acceleration in OBS settings under Advanced → Browser Source Hardware Acceleration.

Frequently Asked Questions