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Once OBS is paired, three choices in the SermonWave dock decide what gets translated and when: which OBS source carries the pastor's microphone, when translation starts and stops, and which languages the device translates into.
Who it's for#
Whoever sets up OBS for services. You do this once; the plugin remembers it.
Before you start#
- OBS is paired with SermonWave and the dock shows Connected. See Pair OBS with SermonWave.
- The pastor's microphone already comes into OBS as an audio source (for example Mic/Aux, an audio input capture, or a feed from your sound desk).
- A SermonWave admin has assigned languages to the device in the Dashboard.
Step 1 — Choose the pastor microphone#
- In the dock, find Pastor microphone.
- Pick the OBS source that carries the pastor's voice. If you just added a source in OBS, click the refresh button (Refresh the source list) next to the list.
- Speak into the mic. The level meter moves and shows speech when the plugin hears a voice.
Good to know:
- The plugin listens to that one source after its OBS filters and before the mix. Music, video playback and other sources stay out of the translation, so pick the cleanest voice feed you have.
- If the source is muted in OBS, the dock says "The source is muted — sending silence."
- If you switch scene collections and the source isn't there, the dock says "The selected source is not in this scene collection — nothing is being sent."
- A Dashboard admin can also switch the source remotely.
Step 2 — Choose when to translate#
Under Start / stop, set Translate when:
| Option | Translation starts when… | …and stops when |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming or recording (default) | you start streaming or recording | both have stopped |
| Streaming | you start streaming | streaming stops |
| Recording | you start recording | recording stops |
| Manual only | you click Start in the dock | you click Stop |
Then set On start:
- Start a session now — the live session begins immediately.
- Arm (start on first speech) — the device waits and begins when the pastor starts speaking. The dock shows "Armed — waiting for speech".
The Start / Stop button in the dock always works, whatever you chose, and the Dashboard's start and stop commands work too. When you close OBS while translating, the plugin ends the session cleanly.
Step 3 — Set the device's languages#
Under Translation:
- Pick the Speaking language (or Auto-detect).
- Under Translate into, tick the languages you want. Only the languages a SermonWave admin assigned to this device are listed. "text only (no voice)" next to a language means listeners get text but no translated voice.
- Click Save languages. The dock says "Saved. The dashboard and listeners now use these languages."
Click Revert to undo changes you haven't saved yet.
Device languages vs. OBS-only choices#
There are two kinds of language choices in the dock:
- Translation (device languages) — what SermonWave translates into for everyone: listeners on the Listener page, the Dashboard and the archive.
- In OBS and Languages sections (OBS-only) — which of those translated languages OBS uses: for stream captions, the captions overlay, translated recordings, translated streams and in-room playback. As the dock says, these "Only affect OBS. Listeners and the dashboard are not changed." You can only pick from the device's current translation languages.
If you remove a language from the device that OBS is still using, OBS keeps it selected but marks it "not translated now", and no captions or audio arrive for it until you add it back.
Step 4 — Share the listener link#
Under Listener link, click Copy link or Show QR to put the link on a slide or the room screen. Listeners hear the original and translated audio on their phones. See The listener page.
Troubleshooting#
"Pick the OBS source that carries the pastor's microphone." No source is selected yet. Choose one under Pastor microphone.
"No languages assigned to this device — ask a SermonWave admin." An admin needs to assign languages to the device in the Dashboard first.
"Choose at least one language to translate into." Tick at least one language before Save languages.
"Could not save the languages: …" The connection to SermonWave dropped or the change was refused. Check the status line says Connected and try again.
Translation didn't start with my stream. Check Translate when. With Recording, starting only the stream does nothing; with Manual only, click Start.
FAQ#
Can I use a mix of several microphones?#
The plugin listens to one OBS source. If you need several mics, mix them on your sound desk or in an OBS audio source first, then pick that.
Does OBS have to stream for listeners to hear the translation?#
No. Choose Recording or Manual only and listeners still get the translation on the listener page.