A green screen lets you remove your background on stream and replace it with anything — your stream overlay, gameplay, an image, or a transparent cutout of just yourself. Both OBS Studio and Streamlabs have a built-in Chroma Key filter that does this automatically. If you don't have a physical green screen, AI-powered tools like NVIDIA Broadcast can remove your background without one.
This guide covers both methods: physical green screen setup with Chroma Key, and virtual background removal without a green screen.
Green Screen Setup in OBS Studio
- Open OBS Studio and click the + button under Sources
- Select Video Capture Device and give it a name
- Choose your webcam from the Device dropdown, then click OK
- Right-click the Video Capture Device source and select Filters
- Under Effect Filters, click + and select Chroma Key
- The Key Color Type defaults to Green — change this only if your backdrop is a different color (blue is the second most common)
- Adjust the Similarity slider until your green screen backdrop disappears completely
- Fine-tune Smoothness to clean up rough edges around your outline
- Click Close
Your webcam feed now has a transparent background. Place any source behind it in your scene (an image, gameplay capture, your stream overlay) and it will show through where the green screen was.
Green Screen Setup in Streamlabs
- Open Streamlabs and click + under Sources
- Select Video Capture Device under Essential Sources
- Click Add Source, give it a name, and click Add Source again
- Choose your webcam from the Device dropdown, set your resolution, and click Close
- Right-click the source → Filters → Edit Filters
- Click Add Filter and select Chroma Key from the dropdown
- Adjust Similarity until the green background disappears
- Fine-tune Smoothness and other sliders as needed
- Click Close
The filter settings and behavior are identical to OBS Studio — Streamlabs uses the same underlying Chroma Key filter engine.
Chroma Key Settings Explained
Understanding each slider helps you get a cleaner key, especially in imperfect lighting conditions.
| Setting | What It Does | When to Adjust |
|---|---|---|
| Key Color Type | The color being removed from the image | Change from Green to Blue (or custom) if your backdrop is a different color |
| Similarity | How wide a range of that color gets removed | Increase until the entire backdrop disappears. Start low and increase gradually — too high will eat into your foreground |
| Smoothness | Feathers the edges between removed and kept areas | Increase if edges around your body look jagged or pixelated |
| Key Color Spill Reduction | Removes color "spill" — green tint reflecting onto your skin, hair, or clothing | Increase if you see a green halo or tint on your edges |
| Opacity | Controls overall transparency of the entire source | Usually leave at 100%. Lower it if you want a semi-transparent webcam overlay |
| Contrast / Brightness / Gamma | Basic color correction applied within the filter | Adjust if your webcam looks washed out or too dark after applying the key |
Tip: If you can't get a completely clean key with one Chroma Key filter, add a second one. Multiple Chroma Key filters stacked on the same source can remove different shades of green that a single filter misses — this is common when your backdrop has uneven lighting.
Background Removal Without a Green Screen
If you don't have a physical green screen, AI-powered software can remove your background in real-time using your existing webcam. The quality isn't as clean as a physical green screen with good lighting, but it's a viable alternative — especially for casual streaming.
NVIDIA Broadcast (Free — Requires NVIDIA RTX GPU)
NVIDIA Broadcast uses the Tensor AI cores on NVIDIA RTX GPUs to remove, blur, or replace your background in real-time. It works as a virtual webcam — you set NVIDIA Broadcast as your camera source in OBS or Streamlabs, and the background removal happens before the video reaches your streaming software.
Features:
- Background removal, blur, and replacement
- Auto-framing (keeps you centered in the frame)
- Microphone noise and echo removal
- Virtual Key Light — AI-enhanced facial lighting (RTX 4080+ only)
Requirements: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or higher (any RTX card with Tensor Cores). GTX cards are not supported. 8 GB RAM. Windows 10 or 11.
How to use with OBS/Streamlabs:
- Download and install NVIDIA Broadcast
- Open NVIDIA Broadcast and select your webcam under Camera. Enable Background Removal (or Blur/Replace)
- In OBS or Streamlabs, add a Video Capture Device source
- Select "NVIDIA Broadcast" as the device (not your actual webcam)
- Your webcam feed now appears with the background already removed — no Chroma Key filter needed
NVIDIA Broadcast is free and performs well on RTX 30-series and newer GPUs. On RTX 20-series, expect slightly higher GPU usage. For more on which GPUs support streaming features like this, see our GPU streaming guide.
VCam by XSplit (Free with Watermark — Any GPU)
VCam (formerly XSplit VCam) offers AI background removal that works on any hardware — no NVIDIA RTX GPU required. It runs on your CPU, making it accessible to AMD GPU users and older NVIDIA GPU users who can't use NVIDIA Broadcast.
Features:
- Background removal, blur, and replacement
- Auto-framing
- Lighting enhancement
- Works as a virtual webcam (same setup as NVIDIA Broadcast)
Pricing: Free with a watermark on the virtual webcam output. Paid plans remove the watermark — pricing available at vcam.ai/pricing. The XSplit Premium suite ($59.95/year) includes VCam along with XSplit Broadcaster and Gamecaster.
Trade-off: Because VCam runs on CPU rather than dedicated AI hardware, it uses more system resources than NVIDIA Broadcast. If you have an RTX GPU, NVIDIA Broadcast is the better choice — it's free without watermark and uses dedicated hardware that doesn't impact CPU or game performance.
Tips for a Better Green Screen
Lighting is everything
The single biggest factor in green screen quality is even lighting on the backdrop. Uneven lighting creates different shades of green that the Chroma Key filter struggles to remove cleanly. Use two soft lights aimed at the green screen from either side. The goal is zero shadows and zero bright spots.
Light yourself separately from the green screen. Your key light (the light on your face) should not spill onto the backdrop, and the backdrop lights should not reach you.
Distance from the backdrop
Sit at least 3-4 feet (1-1.2 meters) away from the green screen. Being too close causes two problems: your body casts shadows on the backdrop (making it harder to key), and green light reflects back onto you (causing green spill on your hair, skin, and clothing edges).
Avoid green in your scene
Anything green in front of the backdrop will disappear — green clothing, green headset accents, green logos on your keyboard. If you wear glasses, check for green reflections in the lenses. Use the Key Color Spill Reduction slider to minimize green tint on your edges.
Wrinkles and creases
Wrinkled green screens create shadows that appear as darker patches, making the Chroma Key filter work harder. If you use a fabric green screen, iron or steam it flat before each stream. Collapsible pop-up green screens and wall-mounted pull-down screens avoid this problem entirely.
Webcam settings
Disable auto-exposure and auto-white balance on your webcam if possible. Automatic adjustments cause the camera to shift color and brightness mid-stream, which can break your Chroma Key settings. Lock your webcam to manual settings once you have a good key.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I set up a green screen in OBS?
Add your webcam as a Video Capture Device source, right-click it, select Filters, add a Chroma Key filter, and adjust the Similarity slider until the green background disappears. Fine-tune with the Smoothness and Key Color Spill Reduction sliders. The process takes under a minute once your physical green screen is in place.
Can I remove my background without a green screen?
Yes. NVIDIA Broadcast (free, requires RTX GPU) and VCam by XSplit (free with watermark, any hardware) both offer AI-powered background removal without a physical green screen. NVIDIA Broadcast is the better option if you have an RTX GPU — it's free, has no watermark, and runs on dedicated AI hardware with minimal performance impact.
Why does my green screen look patchy or uneven?
Uneven lighting on the green screen backdrop. The Chroma Key filter removes a specific range of green — if parts of your backdrop are darker (shadowed) or brighter (hot spots), those areas fall outside the filter's range. Light the backdrop evenly from both sides and increase the Similarity slider to capture a wider range of green. If that's not enough, stack a second Chroma Key filter to catch the remaining shades.
Green screen or blue screen — which is better for streaming?
Green is the standard because webcam sensors capture more data in the green channel, producing a cleaner key with less noise. Use blue if you frequently wear green clothing or have green objects in your scene. The Chroma Key filter in OBS and Streamlabs supports both — change the Key Color Type in the filter settings.
Does a green screen affect performance in OBS?
The Chroma Key filter uses a small amount of CPU. On any modern processor, it's negligible — well under 1% CPU usage for a single webcam source. AI background removal (NVIDIA Broadcast, VCam) uses more resources, but NVIDIA Broadcast offloads this to dedicated GPU hardware. If you're concerned about performance, a physical green screen with Chroma Key is the lightest option.
What's the best budget green screen for streaming?
A collapsible pop-up green screen ($30-60) is the most practical option for most streamers. It sets up in seconds, folds flat for storage, stays wrinkle-free, and doesn't require mounting hardware. Wall-mounted pull-down screens ($50-100) are better if you have a dedicated streaming space. Avoid the cheapest fabric-only screens unless you're willing to iron them before every stream.
