The reliable way to add a logo and ticker to a pre-recorded YouTube live stream is to compose them in a streaming encoder before the picture reaches YouTube. In OBS Studio, use a Media Source for the video, an Image Source for the logo, and a Text Source or Browser Source for the ticker.
You then place the logo and ticker above the video in OBS's Sources list, position them in the preview, and connect OBS to YouTube with the stream URL and stream key from YouTube Studio. This guide describes the setup from the official OBS and YouTube instructions; it is a synthesis, not a tested live-broadcast recipe.
Build the finished picture before sending the stream
YouTube receives the output from your encoder. It does not provide a general-purpose layer in Live Control Room where you can place a logo over an incoming encoder feed or add a moving ticker to it. The overlays therefore need to be part of the video composition that OBS sends.
Think of the scene as a stack of transparent layers. The prerecorded video is the bottom layer. The logo sits above it, usually in a corner. The ticker sits above the video as well, often along the lower edge. OBS combines those layers into one outgoing picture.
This matters for devotional channels, radio loops, local news updates and study streams because the logo and ticker will appear wherever the composed scene appears. If the video repeats, the overlays remain available each time the scene is shown. If the ticker is driven by a web page or changing text file, its behaviour depends on that source rather than on YouTube.
Before opening OBS, decide what the viewer should see. A channel logo may need to remain visible throughout the stream, while a ticker might show a station name, a prayer-time notice, a news line or the title of the current programme. Keep the message short enough to read without covering the main subject.
It is useful to make a simple layout sketch first. Mark the logo area, the ticker band and the part of the video where important faces, subtitles, lyrics or devotional artwork normally appear. A logo placed over a singer's face or a ticker placed over existing captions may technically work but still produce a poor viewing experience.
For a practical example, imagine a 1920 by 1080 bhajan video. You might reserve the top-right corner for a transparent PNG logo and a narrow strip along the bottom for the channel name and current programme. Those choices can be adjusted in OBS after you see the actual video, but deciding the intended hierarchy first prevents repeated resizing later.
Add the prerecorded video in OBS
Open OBS Studio and create a scene for the broadcast. A scene is the canvas that contains the video and every overlay source. Give it a clear name such as Bhajan main, Radio loop or News stream, especially if you expect to create more than one layout.
In the Sources panel, add a Media Source. Select the prerecorded file from your computer. OBS documents support for common video files including MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI and WebM. Choose the file that contains the picture and audio you want viewers to receive.
The Media Source settings include playback controls. If you want the video to end after one showing, leave looping disabled. If it is intended to repeat continuously, enable looping and watch the transition between the end and beginning of the file. A visible jump, a silent gap or an unexpected black frame may be more noticeable once the stream runs unattended.
Check the media source's audio before adding overlays. You should see activity in OBS's Audio Mixer when the file plays. Listen for volume that is too low, clipping, silence at the beginning or an abrupt change when the file loops. A logo and ticker cannot correct a problem in the underlying recording.
If the video does not fill the canvas, right-click the source and use the transform options to fit it to the scene. Check whether fitting introduces black bars or crops important material. The correct choice depends on the video's aspect ratio and the output shape you intend to send.
Do not enable looping simply because the stream is meant to be 24/7. A long recording can be allowed to finish if you are changing scenes or stopping the broadcast afterwards. Looping is a playback decision, not a requirement of YouTube Live.
If the file repeats unexpectedly or the transition is not what you intended, the cause may be in the source settings rather than the YouTube connection. The guide to fixing a repeated video in a 24/7 YouTube stream covers a related problem, although its workflow may involve a playlist rather than one OBS Media Source.
Place a logo with Image Source
Prepare the logo before adding it. A transparent PNG is usually suitable when you want the video to remain visible around the mark. OBS also documents image sources using formats such as PNG, JPG and GIF, with transparency available where the image format supports it.
In the Sources panel, choose Image and create an Image Source. Give it a useful name such as Channel logo, then browse to the logo file. The image will appear in the scene preview.
Resize the logo by dragging its handles or by opening its transform properties and entering a size. Keep the original proportions while resizing. A stretched logo looks untidy and can make small text in the mark difficult to read.
Now move it to the chosen corner. Leave a small, consistent margin from the edges rather than placing it directly against the frame boundary. The exact margin is a design choice, but the logo should remain visible on phones and smaller preview windows as well as on a large screen.
Watch the logo over light and dark parts of the video. A pale mark may disappear over a bright sky, while a dark mark may disappear over a dark background. If the logo has a solid rectangle behind it, decide whether that rectangle is acceptable for the channel's visual style.
Use a separate logo source rather than editing the logo permanently into every video when you expect to change the channel mark, move it or use the same recording in several streams. The scene can then be adjusted without exporting the whole video again.
The logo is an overlay, not a watermark that YouTube adds for you. It will be present in the signal OBS sends, so check it in the actual scene preview and later in YouTube's preview. Do not assume that placing the image near the edge makes it safe from cropping on every display.
Create a ticker with Text or Browser Source
For fixed wording, add a Text Source. This is appropriate for a permanent channel name, a contact line, a prayer schedule or a simple notice that does not need to change during the broadcast. Enter the text in the source properties and choose a font, colour and size that remain legible against the video.
OBS also documents reading text from a file. That can be useful when you want to update the wording without rebuilding the scene. It does not, by itself, turn the text into a scrolling news ticker. It simply gives the source text to display. If you use a text file, check how the source reacts when the file is changed and make sure the file remains available while OBS is running.
For a custom ticker design, add a Browser Source. A browser source can display a local page or a URL, which allows the ticker treatment to be designed as a web page. The page may contain a background strip, coloured text, changing content or an animation created by the page itself.
A Browser Source is not automatically a scrolling ticker. The local page or URL needs to provide the movement and layout. This distinction is important: the OBS documentation establishes that a browser source can display web content, but it does not promise a built-in scrolling-ticker recipe.
If you use a web page, check it without relying on assumptions about internet access. A remote page may fail to load, change appearance or show an error during a long broadcast. A local page can reduce dependence on an outside page, but it still needs to be present at the path used by the Browser Source.
Keep the ticker visually separate from existing subtitles and lyrics. A wide solid or semi-transparent background strip can improve contrast, but it also covers more of the prerecorded video. Test the text at the output size rather than judging it only in the editor at a large zoom level.
For local news, avoid leaving an outdated line on screen simply because the video continues. A ticker that cannot be updated reliably is better treated as fixed programme information than as a live news banner. If the message needs frequent changes, plan who will update it and how you will confirm that the new wording is visible.
Arrange and position the sources
OBS displays the scene's sources in a list. The ordering controls which source is in front when two sources occupy the same part of the frame. Put the prerecorded video at the bottom, then place the logo and ticker above it.
A typical order from top to bottom might be:
| Source position | Source | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Top | Ticker Text or Browser Source | Displays the message over the video |
| Middle | Channel logo Image Source | Keeps the mark visible above the video |
| Bottom | Media Source | Provides the prerecorded picture and audio |
The source at the top of the list is normally drawn over sources below it. If the logo seems to disappear behind the video, move it above the Media Source. If the ticker is hidden by an opaque image or another browser layer, move the ticker higher or reduce the area occupied by the covering source.
Use the preview to position each item. You can drag a source, resize it and open its transform controls for more precise changes. Lock sources after positioning them if you keep selecting and moving the wrong layer while editing the scene.
Check the complete frame, not just the logo and ticker separately. Look for four practical problems:
- The ticker covers lyrics, subtitles, faces or important text in the original video.
- The logo is too small to identify or too large for the corner it occupies.
- The ticker contrast is weak over parts of the video.
- An overlay touches the edge and may be difficult to see on a different display.
Preview the scene at the intended output dimensions. A line that looks comfortable in the OBS window may become difficult to read after the picture is scaled. If viewers are likely to watch on phones, favour fewer words, stronger contrast and a size that can be understood without stopping the video.
Keep the design consistent across scenes if you use more than one. A devotional station might have separate scenes for a morning programme, a lyric loop and a notice screen. Reusing the same logo position and ticker band makes the channel easier to recognise and reduces the chance of placing an overlay differently by mistake.
Check playback before you connect
Run the complete scene for several minutes before starting the public broadcast. Confirm that the video plays, the audio meter moves, the logo remains visible, and the ticker displays the intended text or page. This is a configuration check, not evidence that the setup has been tested as an overnight live broadcast.
If the ticker is animated, watch it long enough to see whether it stops, clips the first or last words, or becomes unreadable against a changing background. If it is a Browser Source, check that the page loads and that any local file path is correct. If it reads a text file, change the file once and confirm the result is what you expect.
Use a private or unlisted test workflow where appropriate for the channel. YouTube's official encoder guidance explains the connection process, while OBS's source documentation explains how the scene sources behave. Neither fact removes the need to inspect your own final composition.
Keep a copy of the logo and ticker assets in a known folder. If you move a logo file after creating the source, OBS may no longer find it. A local browser page also needs a stable location. Asset housekeeping is unglamorous, but it matters when a scene has to be reopened after a restart.
For a computer-based OBS stream, the machine and network connection must remain available for the full broadcast. A power cut, sleep setting, operating-system restart or Wi-Fi interruption can stop the outgoing encoder feed. The advice in how to keep an internet radio stream running during a power outage is relevant to this operational side, even though the overlay steps are different.
If keeping a personal computer running is the part you want to remove, StreamNeo turns an uploaded video into a YouTube-only 24/7 stream after you provide the video and stream key, so you do not need to install software or leave your own computer switched on. Do not assume that a cloud workflow offers the same OBS scene controls: confirm the current documentation for any logo, ticker, scheduling or layout feature you require.
Connect OBS to YouTube Live
In YouTube Studio, open the Live Control Room and create or select the stream. YouTube provides the connection details for an encoder-fed broadcast. In OBS, select YouTube if that option is available, or enter the YouTube stream URL and the matching stream key in the streaming settings.
Treat the stream key as private. Anyone who obtains it may be able to send content to the associated broadcast, so do not place it in a public document, screenshot or web page. If you believe it has been exposed, use YouTube's current controls to replace or reset it.
Start the encoder output from OBS and look for the preview in YouTube Studio. Check the picture, logo, ticker and audio there before beginning the broadcast according to the stream setup you selected. The preview is useful because it shows the result after the connection has been made, not only the local OBS canvas.
YouTube's official encoder instructions describe the stream URL, stream key and Live Control Room steps. The OBS sources guide explains how media, image, text and browser sources are combined in a scene. Use those pages to check the current interface because labels and available options can change.
If the connection repeatedly drops, first separate the overlay problem from the delivery problem. A correctly positioned logo cannot prevent a network interruption, and a working network cannot repair a missing browser page. For the connection side, see the troubleshooting guide for a YouTube RTMP stream that keeps reconnecting.
These are the main route differences to consider:
| Route | Useful when | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| OBS with YouTube encoder | You need direct control of media, logo, text and browser layers | Your computer and connection need to remain available while streaming |
| A documented cloud prerecorded workflow | You need a scheduled broadcast without operating OBS locally | Features differ by product, and a documented image overlay does not establish ticker support |
| A one-time presentation format | The video is intended for a single presentation rather than an encoder-fed 24/7 channel | It should not be treated as equivalent to a continuous live encoder stream without checking current YouTube guidance |
OneStream Live's vendor instructions for adding an overlay to a prerecorded stream document selecting a video, adding and positioning an image overlay, choosing destinations and scheduling. The cited instructions do not establish a ticker feature, so confirm that separately before choosing that route for a ticker-led channel. Do not apply a vendor's image-overlay instructions to another service without checking its current documentation.
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FAQ
Can YouTube Studio add the logo after OBS sends the video?
For this workflow, build the logo into the outgoing OBS composition instead. YouTube Studio supplies the live connection and preview controls, while OBS combines the Media Source, Image Source and ticker source before sending the result.
Does OBS have a built-in scrolling ticker?
OBS provides a Text Source and a Browser Source, but the official source documentation does not establish a ready-made scrolling-ticker recipe. Fixed text can use a Text Source, while movement and custom styling need to come from the chosen page or graphics treatment.
Should the ticker be above or below the logo in the Sources list?
Both should be above the Media Source so they appear over the video. Between the logo and ticker, put the source that should be visible when they overlap higher in the list, although avoiding overlap is usually clearer.
Do I need to keep my computer on for OBS to stream?
Yes. OBS is running the encoder locally, so the computer, OBS session and network connection need to remain available while the broadcast is active. A cloud workflow can remove that local-computer requirement, but you should verify that it supports the exact overlay and scheduling features you need.