SirLynix/obs-kinect

What it solves

This plugin lets you use a Microsoft Kinect camera (v1, v2, or v3) inside OBS Studio as a video source, and it can create a "virtual green screen" effect that removes your background without needing a physical green screen. It works by using the Kinect's depth sensor (and, optionally, body tracking) to distinguish you from the background, which is useful for streaming, recording, or video calls.

How it works

When you add a KinectSource to OBS, the plugin reads the Kinect's color, depth, and infrared streams. The green screen effect works by discarding pixels that are too far or too close based on the depth map. There is also a "Body" filter that uses the Kinect's built-in body recognition to keep only pixels associated with a person, even if they move around. Depth and body filters can be combined (e.g., "Body + depth" modes). To smooth the edges, the plugin applies a real-time blur. There are options to reduce flickering, like "depth-lagging" (using a slightly older depth frame if the current one is missing) and GPU-accelerated color-to-depth mapping (with a CPU fallback).

Who it's for

This is aimed at OBS Studio users who own a Kinect (any version) and want a background removal effect without using a physical green screen. It is especially useful for streamers, content creators, and anyone recording in a small space. It requires OBS Studio 25.0 or newer, a Kinect device, the appropriate Kinect runtime/SDK, and Visual Studio 2019 redistributables. Linux support exists but is partial.

Highlights

• Supports all known Kinect models: v1 (Xbox 360 / Windows), v2 (Xbox One / Windows), and v3 (Azure Kinect).
• Provides both depth-based and body-based green screen effects, plus combined modes and a dedicated Microsoft background removal for Kinect v1.
• Runs processing on the GPU for performance, with an option to fall back to CPU if needed.
• Includes real-time blur and depth-lagging settings to reduce flicker and harsh edges.
• You can use multiple Kinect sources at once, and devices are polled only once per frame, regardless of source count.
• Comes with detailed setup instructions and a FAQ covering common issues like device detection, depth limits, and VR interference.