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Virtual background and background blur in a live

Blur or replace your background in a live stream without a green screen: Remove BG on the camera tile, blur, ready backgrounds, or your own picture or video.

Updated November 5, 2026 · 3 min read

To blur or replace the background behind you in a live stream, open the gear on your camera's tile and pick a background in the Virtual Background strip on the General tab: Blur, Remove bg, a ready background, a solid colour, or your own picture or video. For one click, press Remove BG on the camera tile: the room behind you becomes transparent and you sit over whatever is below. It all runs in your browser on your computer, with no green screen and nothing to install.

Before you start

• A camera in the browser studio. Add a camera to the browser studio.
• Light on your face. The software separates you from the room by shape and contrast. A well-lit face against a calmer background gives cleaner edges.
• A computer with some headroom. The background is processed locally, on your computer. Watch the CPU and fps readings at the end of the studio bar.
• Any plan, including the trial.

Steps

1. Open the studio. Choose Live stream, start a new live and pick Browser Studio.
2. Open the camera's settings. Click the gear on the camera's tile and stay on the General tab.
3. Find Virtual Background. A strip of small pictures shows the choices. The note under it says the background is processed locally.
4. Pick one. Off, Blur, Remove bg, a ready background (Studio Slate, Blue Cyc, Warm Paper, Deep Emerald, Noir, Shallow Depth, Cool Bokeh, Warm Bokeh, Aurora, Liquid Flow), Solid Color, Custom Image, Custom Video or From library.
5. Or use the quick buttons. Blur background sits next to the Pro Look presets on the same tab. Remove BG sits on the camera tile itself; a second click brings the room back.
6. Check the tile. A camera with its background removed shows a checkerboard where the room was, so you can see what is transparent.
7. Take it to air. Put the camera on Preview and press Take, as usual: Preview, Program, Take and Cut explained.

Which option to choose

Remove bg combines well with a shared screen or slides under you: you appear in front of the content: How to share your screen in a live stream.

Virtual background or green screen

For a regular show with a fixed set, a green screen gives the cleaner result: How to set up a green screen virtual studio for live streams.

Guests

A guest can switch on background blur on their own preparation screen before joining: Guests and invitations — bringing people into the room.

What can go wrong

• "Background blur unavailable — using CSS fallback". The browser could not run the background model. The studio falls back to a simpler blur; update the browser or use Chrome or Edge.
• Ears, hair or fingers flicker at the edges. Add light on your face, sit further from the wall, and avoid a background close to your skin or clothing colour.
• The picture stutters after turning the background on. The computer is busy. Close other tabs and programs, or use a green screen instead.
• Remove BG shows black instead of my slides. There is nothing under the camera. Put the slides or picture on Program and the camera on an overlay channel above it: Overlay channels 1 to 8 and their keys (F1 to F8).

Frequently asked questions

Can I blur my background in a live stream without a green screen?

Yes. Open the camera's settings in the browser studio and pick Blur, or press Blur background on the General tab.

Can I use my own picture as a virtual background?

Yes. Choose Custom Image, or Custom Video for a moving background, or pick a file from your library.

Is my camera picture sent somewhere to remove the background?

No. The background is processed locally in your browser, and only the finished picture goes into the broadcast.

Is a virtual background as good as a green screen?

Not at the edges. It needs no backdrop, but hair and fast movement are cleaner with a well-lit green screen.

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