Fix "Failed to open NVENC codec" in OBS

Quick Answer: This error usually means your video card driver is outdated or broken. The #1 fix is to open GeForce Experience and install the latest Game Ready Driver. Restart your PC afterwards.

Reason 1: Outdated Drivers

OBS updates frequently to use the latest NVIDIA features. If your driver is 6 months old, OBS might try to call a function that doesn't exist yet on your PC.

Reason 2: Unsupported Resolution (Older Cards)

If you are using an older GPU (like a GTX 660 or 750 Ti), it might not support encoding at resolutions like 1920x1080 or specific odd resolutions.

  1. Try lowering your Output Resolution to 1280x720.
  2. Try switching from Rescale Output to changing the Base Canvas.

Reason 3: Too Many NVENC Sessions

Consumer NVIDIA cards (GTX/RTX) used to have a limit of 3 simultaneous encoding sessions. If you are recording gameplay with ShadowPlay AND streaming with OBS AND using another tool, you might hit the limit.

Fix: Close other programs that use the GPU (Plex, Video Editors, ShadowPlay).

Can't fix it? Switch encoders.

See if your CPU is strong enough to handle the stream instead.

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