Cloud OBS without a PC: how to stream with no computer running
5 min read ·
To stream IRL with scenes, alerts and chat on screen, something has to put it all together before sending it to Twitch. Traditionally that's OBS on a PC. You can take that PC out of the equation — in more than one way.
Option 1: a PC at home with OBS
The phone sends the signal to a relay server, and OBS at home receives it, builds the scenes and streams. It works, but the PC has to stay on and your home internet has to keep up. If anything fails at home, the stream goes down.
Option 2: a Windows machine in the cloud
Renting a Windows server with a graphics card to run OBS remotely. Flexible, but expensive: with the big providers, just 4 hours a day easily costs a hundred dollars or more a month, and you still set everything up yourself.
Option 3: a cloud production platform
Platforms like Stratu do OBS's job without running OBS: you build scenes in a web dashboard, connect cameras and pick your platforms. Stratu uses its own engine, built for IRL streaming, that runs on ordinary servers — no Windows, no rented graphics card — which is what allows a lower price.
- Nothing to install or maintain
- Scenes, widgets and chat editable while live
- Automatic BRB when the signal drops
- Control from your phone
When a PC still makes sense
If you rely on very specific OBS plugins or capture games on your own computer, a PC is still useful. Even then you can combine both: the PC becomes one more camera sending to the cloud, and your main stream stays protected against drops.
Ready to go live?
Create your account and run your first cloud IRL stream in under five minutes.