Background removal without an RTX card
NVIDIA Broadcast is good and it needs hardware a lot of people do not have. Here is what to do instead.
Written by Hakeemify and last checked on . ProMatte is free software under GPL-2.0-or-later.
NVIDIA Broadcast is genuinely good, it is free, and it does more than backgrounds. If you have an RTX card, use it; this page is not trying to talk you out of it.
The problem is the gate. It needs that card. If you are on AMD, on Intel graphics, on an older NVIDIA chip, or on a laptop with no discrete GPU at all, you need something that runs on what you have.
Compared with NVIDIA Broadcast
NVIDIA Broadcast produces an excellent matte. The catch is the hardware: it needs an NVIDIA RTX GPU. If you have one, it is a strong option and this comparison is mostly academic.
Where NVIDIA Broadcast is strong: On the hardware it requires, the quality is excellent and it is tuned by the people who make the GPU. It also does noise removal and other effects ProMatte does not attempt.
| Feature | NVIDIA Broadcast | ProMatte |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware required | NVIDIA RTX GPU | Any D3D12-capable GPU, or CPU only |
| Platform | Windows | Windows verified; macOS Apple Silicon confirmed working; Linux builds and loads, untested in OBS |
| Source | Closed source | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Integration | Virtual camera into OBS | An OBS filter on the source |
Details of NVIDIA Broadcast above are from its vendor's public description and were not independently tested here.
When NVIDIA Broadcast is the better choice
- You have an RTX card. Use it. It is free, it is good, and it was built for that silicon.
- You want the rest of the Broadcast feature set, such as noise removal and eye contact.
- You want something a vendor supports rather than something one person maintains.
Compared with XSplit VCam
XSplit VCam is a polished commercial product with a free tier. The comparison here is about cost, source availability and where the processing happens.
Where XSplit VCam is strong: It is a finished commercial product with support behind it, it works outside OBS in any app that takes a webcam, and it does not ask you to understand what a matte is.
| Feature | XSplit VCam | ProMatte |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Paid, with a limited free tier | Free |
| Source | Closed source | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Works outside OBS | Yes, it is a virtual camera | No. It is an OBS filter |
| Account required | Yes | No |
Details of XSplit VCam above are from its vendor's public description and were not independently tested here.
When XSplit VCam is the better choice
- You need the background removed in Zoom, Teams or Meet, not in OBS. ProMatte is an OBS filter and does nothing for those.
- You want a supported commercial product and are happy to pay for one.
- You do not use OBS at all.
What it runs on
CPU backend, PP-HumanSeg v2 Portrait, 256x144, for all six presets on a 2017 low-end laptop (i7-7500U + GeForce 940MX, Windows 11)
Measured: capture/out/manifest.json, capture run 2026-09-09, ProMatte 1.0.2 in OBS 32.2.2Running on a 2017 laptop
Honest limits
Known limits
- Every shipped model is single-person or person-class. A second person is only kept if the model happens to segment them. The largest connected region is always kept, so you are never the one who disappears.
- A microphone in front of your face or a mug in your hand is background as far as the person-segmentation models are concerned. RVM handles held objects better because it mattes rather than classifies.
- Robust Video Matting is the best-looking model and the most expensive. On the 2017 test laptop it costs 71 to 96 ms a frame, so Auto does not pick it there. Choose it manually on that class of hardware and you get a high-quality matte that visibly lags.
- Every number here comes from one machine, a 2017 dual-core laptop with a Maxwell GPU. Mid-range and high-end performance has not been verified by anyone.
Real-time AI background removal for OBS. Free, open source, and it never leaves your PC.
Windows installer, Linux .deb and .tar.gz, macOS bundle. Free, GPL-2.0-or-later. ProMatte is GPL-2.0-or-later and stays that way. Sponsorship never buys code, features-behind-a-paywall, or a licence. It buys time, hardware and models.
Questions people actually ask
Do I need an NVIDIA card?
No. It runs on any D3D12-capable GPU through DirectML, including Intel and AMD, and falls back to the CPU. The machine every number here was measured on is a 2017 laptop with a GeForce 940MX.
Will it slow OBS down?
Inference runs on its own thread and the render thread never waits for it. On the test laptop the filter cost 1.7 to 3.3 ms of render time while OBS held 30 fps. Source: docs/final-verification.md section 3.3
Is it really free?
Yes. GPL-2.0-or-later, no account, no licence key, no paid tier. Sponsorship is optional and funds development time, hardware and models, never the code.
Why is the first start slow?
The first DirectML session on a given GPU compiles shaders. That took 8.4 seconds on the GeForce 940MX and 30 to 76 seconds on the Intel HD 620. Video passes through unchanged while it happens. Source: docs/final-verification.md section 8 item 8
Related
- OBS Background Removal: The Complete Guide
- OBS Virtual Background Without a Green Screen
- An obs-backgroundremoval Alternative, and When to Stay Put
ProMatte is free software under GPL-2.0-or-later, built by Hakeemify. Every measurement on this page names the machine it came from.