Smooth skin, balance facial lighting, add makeup and fine-tune your look for OBS streams. Apply your effects in the CiCi Cam desktop app, then select CiCi Cam as the camera source in OBS. See the real before-and-after below and follow the setup.
Desktop Starter includes all features, with a daily usage time limit and a watermark. Pro removes both.
Drag to compare real CiCi Cam captures. Follow the illustrated path to bring your look into OBS.
Sources → + → Video Capture Device
Device: CiCi Cam
The desktop workflow · this guide
Adjust skin smoothing, lighting, makeup and face shape in CiCi Cam. Send the result to OBS, or use the same camera in compatible video-call apps.
Windows 10/11 x64 · macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon
Set up the desktop app in OBS →A separate native plugin
Prefer to adjust effects directly on an OBS camera source? CiCi OBS is a separate native plugin with skin smoothing, facial adjustments and color controls. Available for OBS Studio 30.1.1+ on Windows 10/11 x64; macOS is coming soon.
Plugin and desktop memberships are separate.
Explore the CiCi OBS plugin →Download the CiCi Cam desktop app and install it on the same computer as OBS. Allow camera access when prompted. On Mac, enable the CiCi Cam camera extension if requested.
Choose your webcam in CiCi Cam. Start with gentle skin smoothing and facial lighting, then adjust makeup, face shape or color to suit your stream. Compare effects on and off, save your preset and leave CiCi Cam open.
In your OBS scene, open Sources → + → Video Capture Device. Create a source and choose “CiCi Cam” in the Device dropdown. If you already have a camera source, open its Properties and change Device to CiCi Cam. This selects the processed feed instead of the raw webcam.
Adjust an effect in CiCi Cam and confirm that the OBS preview changes. Position and crop your camera source, then record a short test with your full scene to check motion and audio sync before going live.
The desktop Starter plan includes all features, with a daily usage time limit and a watermark visible in your OBS output. Desktop Pro removes both. Check the current in-app allowance before a long stream.
CiCi Cam supports Windows 10/11 x64 and macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon. Confirm that OBS can access camera devices on the same machine.
Start with a low smoothing intensity and balanced lighting. Compare effects on and off, then check your face at the size viewers will see in the OBS scene. Save a preset once you like the result.
CiCi Cam, OBS, browser sources, and the encoder all use the same computer. Test a representative recording or private stream before going live.
Confirm each stage from left to right: physical webcam, CiCi Cam preview, CiCi Cam virtual camera, then the OBS source.
Close OBS, open CiCi Cam and confirm its virtual camera is installed and running, then reopen OBS so it scans camera devices again. Check operating-system camera permissions if it remains missing.
Make sure CiCi Cam owns the physical webcam and OBS owns the CiCi Cam virtual camera. Close another app if it is also trying to open the physical device.
Open the source properties and inspect Device. If the physical webcam is selected, change it to CiCi Cam. Beauty changes can only reach OBS through the CiCi Cam output.
Test 1280 × 720 at 30 fps, check the Buffering setting, remove duplicate heavy filters, and review OBS Stats. Increase quality only after the complete scene remains stable.
The desktop path is physical webcam → CiCi Cam effects → CiCi Cam virtual camera → OBS Video Capture Device. Keep CiCi Cam open and select it in the Device dropdown. OBS Virtual Camera serves the opposite direction: it sends your finished OBS scene to another app, so you do not need to start it to receive CiCi Cam.
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Both features create camera devices, but they sit on opposite sides of an OBS workflow. Choosing the correct direction prevents black screens, feedback loops, and unnecessary processing.
| Question | CiCi Cam virtual camera | OBS Virtual Camera |
|---|---|---|
| What does it output? | A processed webcam feed | The OBS program, preview, scene, or selected source |
| Typical signal direction | Physical webcam → CiCi Cam → OBS | OBS scene → OBS Virtual Camera → Zoom, Teams, or another app |
| Where is it selected? | Inside OBS as a Video Capture Device | Inside the app that needs to receive the finished OBS scene |
| Is Start Virtual Camera required? | No. Add CiCi Cam as an OBS source. | Yes. Start it when another app needs the OBS output. |
| Primary job | Face-aware beauty, lighting, makeup, shape, and color before OBS | Send OBS composition, overlays, and sources outward as one camera feed |
A longer chain is valid when needed: physical webcam → CiCi Cam → OBS → OBS Virtual Camera → destination app.
Start with device defaults, confirm the signal path, then change one capture property at a time while watching OBS Stats and a short test recording.
Add CiCi Cam through Sources → Video Capture Device. Do not use Window Capture for the CiCi Cam interface, and do not select OBS Virtual Camera as the input to the same scene.
Use the upstream virtual camera when the same beauty preset should work before OBS or across camera apps. Use an OBS plugin only when the effect must live inside a specific OBS source or scene, after checking platform, architecture, and OBS-version compatibility.
Begin with Device Default. If you choose Custom, use a mode the virtual camera exposes and keep it aligned with the intended stream. OBS notes that an unsupported resolution can produce no image.
Leave Buffering on Auto-Detect first. OBS documents that enabling it can help stutter, while disabling it can reduce device delay. Test the result because the best choice depends on the system.
CiCi Cam, OBS composition, the encoder, browser sources, and games all share the computer. Run a representative recording or private stream instead of assuming a separate process has no GPU or CPU cost.
Follow the complete input workflow, including source setup, signal direction, and common failure points.
Understand which camera sends video into OBS and which one sends an OBS scene outward.
Choose between scene-wide color controls and face-aware processing without duplicating effects.
Configure the camera source, canvas, framing, cropping, and a stable beginner stream.
Choose between virtual-camera filters, face-aware beauty, AR effects, and scene-production tools before setting up your source.
The free plan has a daily usage time limit and a watermark; Pro removes both. Check plan details before a long stream.
OBS source names, capture properties, plugin compatibility, download path, and Virtual Camera behavior were checked against official OBS pages. Performance recommendations are diagnostic starting points, not universal benchmarks.
Install CiCi Cam on Windows 10/11 x64 or macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon, build a natural webcam preset, and select CiCi Cam as your Video Capture Device in OBS.
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