For a conventional SDR recording in OBS that you plan to upload to YouTube, use Rec. 709 for Color Space and Partial for Color Range. Check the range supplied by your capture source too: the right OBS output setting cannot correct a mismatch earlier in the signal path.
Recommended OBS settings for an SDR YouTube upload
Set the recording to Rec. 709 color space and Partial color range. OBS calls the space Rec. 709; YouTube recommends BT.709 for SDR uploads. OBS defines its default range as Partial, and YouTube says it converts full-range uploads to limited range.
Partial (also called limited or video range) is not a quality downgrade. It is the conventional SDR baseline for this workflow. Do not switch the whole OBS output to Full just because a video looks washed out; if the source and output ranges do not match, that change can make the mismatch worse.
What Color Space and Color Range control
Color Space
Color Space identifies the video color standard used to describe color. For SDR YouTube uploads, the platform recommends BT.709, while OBS labels the corresponding choice Rec. 709. YouTube’s upload recommendation specifies BT.709 transfer characteristics, primaries, and matrix coefficients.
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Color Range
Color Range describes how signal levels are represented. OBS offers Partial and Full; its Default option is equivalent to Partial. YouTube documents that it converts full-range uploads to limited range, so an upload should not be expected to remain full range through platform processing.
Set the OBS recording path
- Choose Rec. 709 and Partial for the SDR output. In OBS’s color/output controls, set Color Space to Rec. 709 and Color Range to Partial for an ordinary SDR recording intended for YouTube.
- Check the input source separately. If you use a webcam, capture card, console, or other hardware input, inspect its properties for color-space or range controls. These controls vary by device. If you manually specify a source range, match the signal the device actually supplies rather than assuming every source is Full or Partial.
- Record a short test and inspect the uploaded result. Compare the source, OBS recording, and YouTube playback. A correct OBS output label alone does not guarantee that every stage interpreted the signal identically.
If the upload looks too dark or washed out
Treat this as a signal-path problem, not automatically as a reason to toggle the global OBS range. Check, in order:
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- Source output: confirm what range the camera, console, or capture hardware is sending.
- OBS capture properties: where the device exposes a range setting, verify it matches the actual source signal.
- OBS recording output: confirm the SDR recording uses Rec. 709 and Partial unless your verified workflow calls for something else.
- Encoded metadata: color characteristics may be unspecified or interpreted differently during processing.
- Playback: compare the local recording with YouTube playback, since platform processing and the playback path can affect how levels appear.
YouTube documents assumptions for unspecified transfer characteristics and color matrices or primaries, and standardizes recognized color spaces. A dark or washed-out result can therefore arise from a range or metadata interpretation mismatch at more than one stage. Change a source-specific setting only when you have established what that source emits.
HDR recordings are a separate case
Do not apply the SDR Rec. 709 recommendation blindly to HDR. YouTube’s HDR instructions surfaced for this guidance 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. For an HDR recording, use a workflow explicitly intended for that HDR format rather than treating it as ordinary SDR.
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Does the recording container affect color range?
No: container choice is a separate decision from the SDR color-space recommendation. OBS identifies fragmented MP4 or MOV as formats that may suit workflows involving uploads to services such as YouTube or editing in common software. Choosing one does not change the Rec. 709 and Partial baseline for conventional SDR.
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