I have two computers that I use on a regular basis. When I'm at home, I use my gaming PC hooked to an ultrawide monitor. For times when I'm traveling or working from a cafe or co-working space, I use my MacBook Pro. The Mac, undoubtedly, has a built-in webcam for video calls which serves its purpose well. But, when I'm using my PC, I have to use an external webcam to attend meetings. Owing to this, I picked up a 1080p 60fps webcam from Asus with autofocus capabilities. While the video quality is truly commendable, the field of view is way too wide for my liking. So, naturally, I wanted to reframe it.

I opened Asus' website and started looking for the relevant software to tweak the webcam's settings, only to realize Asus doesn't have a first-party app to control the webcam I bought. What a pity, considering I paid close to $150 for the webcam and, at that price point, I definitely expected some sort of basic customization. So, I was stuck with an ultra-wide webcam that showed much more of the background than I would've liked. Just when I was about to give up and live with it, I figured I didn't necessarily need an app from Asus for the job. I tried using OBS Studio, an app which live-streamers swear by, and it worked like a charm! Here's how I did it.

What is OBS

Open Broadcaster Software, more commonly known as OBS, is a free, open-source software that allows you to record your screen or live-stream the contents of your screen. Unlike the traditional method of recording your screen on Windows, OBS provides a lot more features and options, making it a powerful tool used by many live streamers and content creators.

The best part about OBS is you can link your YouTube or Twitch accounts with the program and go live directly on these platforms via the app itself. You can create multiple different scenes and switch quickly between them. For example, you can create a scene to launch a game that you're playing in one window along with your YouTube chat replay in another. The second scene can be an instance of Discord along with a preview of your live stream that can be used to communicate with your teammates and check if your stream is running fine.

You can easily switch between these scenes with keyboard shortcuts and the transition between scenes appears seamlessly on the stream.

Setting up OBS

Apart from using OBS for screen recordings and live streams, there is a third feature that we will be using to reframe our webcam. This feature is called Virtual Camera. Essentially, OBS simulates a webcam and tricks your computer into thinking it is an external video source. Let's set up OBS to take advantage of this feature.

First, download OBS and install it on your computer. The app is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. When you launch the app for the first time, you will be asked to select your primary use case for OBS. If you plan on using it for live streaming or recording in the future, select those options. But, like me, if you only want to use OBS to reframe your webcam, select the I will only be using the virtual camera option. It's just quicker to start using the app this way.

Adding a source

Now that OBS is set up, it's time to add a video source. This is to tell OBS where the video feed needs to be captured.

1. Click on the + icon in the Sources section to begin.
2. Then, choose Video Capture Device.
3. Select Create new and enter a name of your choice. This is what your virtual webcam will be called.
4. Click on the drop-down menu next to Device and select your webcam from the list of devices.

Configuring the video output

Once the video source is selected, it's time to make the video look better. This is where the Configure Video option comes in handy. Click on it, and you'll see a pop-up to adjust different parameters of the webcam's video output.

You can either set every parameter to Auto by selecting the checkbox next to the value, or use the slider to adjust the settings per your preferences. If your webcam produces dull colors by default, you can boost the saturation. Similarly, the brightness of the video can be increased if you're in a dimly lit environment.

Once you're done with all the changes, click on Apply, followed by OK.

Cropping and reframing

It's now time for the main act. After adding the video source, you can see that there's a lot of empty space in the background of my video feed. I don't like that since it's a plain wall, and it looks odd on calls. So, all I needed to do to reframe the video was drag in the handlebars on the red outline surrounding the video.

You can also reposition the frame to center it. Once you've reframed the video from all sides, you can see the live preview within OBS. That is exactly how you're going to look on a video call.

Miscellaneous settings

Before we finally use the new reframed video, it's time for some last-minute settings. Hit the Filter button to access more preferences.

Here, you can apply LUTs, denoise your video, and apply color corrections if you wish to. Let's just say these are settings reserved for power users.

Using OBS as a virtual camera for video calls

With everything set, it's finally time to deploy the reframed video feed in video calls.

1. Click on the Start Virtual Camera button inside OBS.
2. Open the video conferencing app or website of your choice. When selecting the video source, choose OBS Virtual Camera.

You will now see that your camera feed has the reframed version of the webcam instead of the default perspective.

Slay your meetings

Most affordable webcams don't come with any customization software to change the settings of the camera. Heck, some webcams like mine that cost over $100 don't even come with any customization capabilities. In such instances, an app like OBS comes in extremely handy. In fact, OBS offers a lot more features than most first-party apps from brands do. So, even if your webcam comes with an accompanying app, you can still try using OBS to look your best.

Moreover, OBS is an extremely powerful tool that you can also use for live streams and to create YouTube videos, so it's definitely worth having on your computer.