Open LP and OBS Integrations

9April 11, 2023

Below (at the bottom of this webpage) are two downloads that fully integrate OBS with OpenLP. This allows you to run OpenLP and OBS as separate applications, and use the OpenLP Controller within OBS, as well as lyrics integration using web page overlays. There is also auto-switching of scenes and audio based on whether OpenLP is showing lyrics or showing slides or showing bible verses. There is an automatic countdown based on a fixed time and also overlays for logos.

There is even extra logic to automatically change the Scene to the camera view if OpenLP is blanked or showing the background theme.

They are based on older, more stable versions of OpenLP and OBS.

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

To get this going, follow these steps:

Download OBSPortable.zip and OpenLP.zip (see very bottom of this page).
Unzip both files into two separate folders.
Run OpenLPPortable.exe first and wait for 10 seconds.
Run OBSPortable.exe.
You now have full overlays and automatic scene switching controlled by OpenLP.

No installation is required – these are fully portable files that can run even from a USB stick.

WARNINGS

In OBS, never delete the “Untitled” scenes or Profiles. This will reset OBS!!
Do NOT update OBS, as the newer versions of OBS have different webextensions that are not compatible.
Do NOT use “localhost” as this causes OpenLP to run very slowly. Instead use 127.0.0.1 in the URLs for the Web Source and Custom Dock.

USAGE NOTES

If you want to use BlackMagic ATEM mini ATEM Software Control integration, then see here: ATEM Global Hotkeys

If you would like to run OpenLP on a different computer, then modify the IP address for the Custom Browser Dock, and the Lyrics Source:

OPENLP STAGE CODE

Here is the code for stage.js. It is based on the sample code from the OpenLP forum https://forums.openlp.org/discussion/5336/tutorial-how-to-control-obs-via-openlp-custom-stage-view/ but switches automatically between scenes by detecting what OpenLP is displaying. There are two modes, manual and auto:

Manual Mode

If the OBS current scene does not have “auto” in the scene title, then ignore any commands from OpenLP. This feature allows you to decouple OBS from OpenLP so you can use OpenLP at the start and end without affecting the live stream.

For instance, this service run sheet will allow you to start a pre-roll video, then switch to the autoCamera at the start. From this point onwards, OpenLP will control OBS scene switching.

Then at the end, play the post-roll.

So when the pre-roll and post-roll videos are running in OBS, you can use OpenLP to display anything you want without fear of affecting the livestream.

2. Auto modes

If OpenLP is not displaying anything then OBS will switch to autoCamera.
If OpenLP is showing song words / bible / notes then OBS will switch to the autoLyrics.
If OpenLP is showing a presentation / video / image then OBS will switch to autoMirror.
If OpenLP is showing an item with the title “scenechange:xxxx” (or in the notes for the item) then it will force OBS to change to that scene.