diff --git a/plugins/obs-ffmpeg/obs-ffmpeg-nvenc.c b/plugins/obs-ffmpeg/obs-ffmpeg-nvenc.c
index 03a8db52a..171935e7a 100644
--- a/plugins/obs-ffmpeg/obs-ffmpeg-nvenc.c
+++ b/plugins/obs-ffmpeg/obs-ffmpeg-nvenc.c
@@ -91,11 +91,24 @@ static bool nvenc_init_codec(struct nvenc_encoder *enc)
 	ret = avcodec_open2(enc->context, enc->nvenc, NULL);
 	if (ret < 0) {
 		struct dstr error_message = {0};
-		dstr_printf(
-			&error_message,
-			"Failed to open NVENC codec: %s"
-			"\r\n\r\nPlease check your video drivers are up to date.",
-			av_err2str(ret));
+
+		// special case for common NVENC error
+		if (ret == AVERROR_EXTERNAL) {
+			dstr_printf(&error_message,
+				    "Failed to open NVENC codec: %s\r\n\r\n"
+				    "Check your video drivers are up to "
+				    "date. Disable other software that may "
+				    "be using NVENC such as NVIDIA "
+				    "ShadowPlay or Windows 10 Game "
+				    "DVR.",
+				    av_err2str(ret));
+		} else {
+			dstr_printf(
+				&error_message,
+				"Failed to open NVENC codec: %s\r\n\r\n"
+				"Please check your video drivers are up to date.",
+				av_err2str(ret));
+		}
 		obs_encoder_set_last_error(enc->encoder, error_message.array);
 		dstr_free(&error_message);
 		warn("Failed to open NVENC codec: %s", av_err2str(ret));