A 24/7 prerecorded livestream in OBS is a video file sent continuously to YouTube as an encoder feed, with OBS repeating the file. To keep that broadcast going, the computer, file, power and internet connection must remain available; a looping preview alone does not guarantee a persistent live broadcast.
First enable YouTube Live and allow time for approval, then create a stream in Live Control Room, connect OBS with its stream details, and test the picture and sound. YouTube says first-time live enablement can take up to 24 hours, and its automatic archive guidance covers streams under 12 hours, not a guaranteed full-day replay.
Check eligibility and enable live streaming ahead of time
Before configuring OBS, check that the channel can go live. YouTube’s live-streaming eligibility guidance says the channel must be verified and must not have had live-streaming restrictions in the previous 90 days. Its current general guidance also sets a minimum age of 16 for live streaming. If you are setting up a channel for a business or organisation, confirm that the account you will use meets the relevant requirements rather than assuming that an existing video upload history is enough.
Enable live streaming in YouTube Studio well before the date you plan to start. For a first-time setup, YouTube says activation may take up to 24 hours. That is a possible wait, not a promise that the feature will be available exactly at the end of that period. Do not schedule a public launch around an assumption of immediate enablement. Once the option is active, you can test the workflow privately or as an unlisted stream before promoting a channel schedule.
Think through rights and suitability while preparing the file. A video being prerecorded does not remove the need to have the appropriate rights to its picture, music and other material. YouTube’s creator policies and guidelines are a useful starting point for checking the platform rules; consult YouTube’s current official pages for your particular use case. A devotional track, for example, may have separate rights in the composition and in a particular recording. Do not assume that a file you can play locally is automatically suitable to broadcast.
A 24/7 schedule also changes the practical meaning of a test. A short preview can confirm that OBS is connected and the opening section looks right, but it cannot prove that the local computer will keep running overnight. Plan the test and the operating arrangement separately: establish eligibility and a working broadcast first, then decide who or what will notice a dropped connection.
Create or schedule the stream in Live Control Room
In YouTube Studio, open Live Control Room and create a stream from the Stream tab, or schedule an upcoming stream if you want a watch page and event details in advance. Enter a clear title and description, choose the intended visibility, and review the other metadata before you start. Public, private and unlisted streams serve different purposes: use a setting appropriate to whether viewers should be able to find the broadcast or only people with the link should see it.
An unlisted test is useful for checking how the stream appears to a viewer without making it publicly discoverable. It is not a substitute for checking access from the actual watch page. Use a separate browser or device, where practical, to confirm that the page loads and that audio can be heard. This catches a common gap: the encoder preview looks healthy to the channel owner, but the viewer experience, visibility or sound is not what was intended.
YouTube’s encoder setup instructions distinguish starting an encoder from taking a scheduled event live. Depending on the auto-start setting, you may need to start streaming from OBS, wait for the preview to appear in Live Control Room, and then click Go live there. Review the auto-start and auto-stop controls in the stream settings so you know whether starting or stopping OBS will also start or end the public broadcast. Do not infer the behaviour from a previous stream; check the current settings for this one.
If you plan to repeat this workflow, write down the sequence that works for your channel: which stream you created, which visibility you selected, whether the event is scheduled, and whether a manual Go live step is required. Keep this operational note separate from the stream key. That small distinction helps avoid a rushed launch in which the right scene is sending video to the wrong event or the preview is mistaken for a live watch page.
Connect OBS using the stream details
Create or open an OBS profile and scene collection appropriate to this channel. Under OBS Settings → Stream, choose YouTube if it is available, or use a custom service and enter the server URL and stream key shown in Live Control Room. The stream details identify where the encoder sends its feed and which YouTube stream receives it. Copy them carefully; a valid OBS connection to an old event is still the wrong connection.
Treat the stream key as a password. YouTube’s live stream settings help explains that keys act like the stream’s password and address. Do not paste one into a public document, screenshot, chat or shared production note. If you think it has been exposed, reset it in Live Control Room and update OBS with the replacement before broadcasting. A key should be available to the person configuring OBS, not to everyone who can see the scene setup.
Where available, prefer YouTube’s RTMPS ingest URL. RTMPS is RTMP carried over TLS/SSL, which encrypts the connection between OBS and YouTube. YouTube documents how to reveal the secure URL using the lock control in Live Control Room in its RTMPS guidance. Select the matching server in OBS rather than combining an RTMPS URL with unrelated connection details. If an SSL or connection error appears, check that the copied URL begins with rtmps; YouTube’s troubleshooting guidance also mentions port 443 where needed.
Once the details are in place, save the OBS settings and avoid sharing screenshots that expose the key. If the channel has more than one operator, agree who is allowed to reset credentials and how a replacement reaches the person maintaining the OBS machine. Credential confusion is an avoidable cause of an interrupted start, particularly when a stream is being prepared by one person and monitored by another.
Add prerecorded media and enable looping
In OBS, select the scene that will carry the broadcast. In the Sources panel, add a Media Source, give it a recognisable name, and select the video file. Enable Loop in the source properties. When the file reaches its end, OBS should begin it again, so the encoder can continue sending a repeated programme rather than stopping after one play. OBS documents common media file types, including MP4, MOV, MKV and WebM, in its Media Sources guide.
Choose the file deliberately. Check its first and last moments, not only the middle: a long black opening, abrupt audio cut or closing slate that was designed for a one-off video can become conspicuous each time the loop turns over. For a station ident or devotional programme, preview the transition from the final frame back to the opening frame. The loop control repeats the file; it does not edit the transition or make an abrupt ending seamless.
For a rotation of several files, OBS offers a VLC Video source with a playlist and a Loop Playlist option. VLC must be installed for that source type to appear. Check the playback order and test the transition between each file. If your goal is to avoid repeating the same opening every time, a playlist can be more appropriate than several independent media sources stacked in a scene. The Minecraft VOD loop setup gives another example of why order and end-of-file behaviour matter in a repeated programme.
A single file is simpler to inspect and troubleshoot; a playlist gives more variety but adds transitions, file availability and ordering to the things to verify. If the scene relies on a locally stored file, keep the file in a stable location and do not move, rename or disconnect it while OBS is using it. OBS and the source media need to remain available together. A source that was playable during yesterday’s test may show as missing after a drive is unplugged or a folder is changed.
Keep the scene uncomplicated for the first test. Add overlays or a clock only after the media source works. Each additional element creates another thing to check when something appears wrong. If you are adapting portrait devotional footage for a landscape broadcast, confirm that it is framed as intended rather than stretching the picture; this guide to fitting vertical devotional videos in OBS covers that separate layout problem.
Preview picture and audio, then start streaming
Before going live, play the source in OBS and check the canvas. Confirm that the picture fits the intended frame, there are no unintended empty borders or cropped captions, and the source continues through the file ending and loop point. Listen to the audio rather than relying on the moving audio meter alone. A meter can show that sound is present while the programme is too quiet, distorted or mixed with an unwanted desktop audio source.
Start the encoder by selecting Start Streaming in OBS. Watch OBS’s status and then check Live Control Room for an incoming preview. A successful local preview is not the same as a YouTube ingest preview: the former shows that OBS can play its scene, while the latter confirms that YouTube is receiving the encoder feed. For a scheduled stream, follow the Live Control Room flow and click Go live if auto-start is disabled. Finally, open the viewer-facing watch page and check that the broadcast is accessible and the sound is right.
Use YouTube’s live streaming tips as a basis for testing and monitoring encoder streams. For a longer test, listen at more than one point in the programme and check that the picture remains present. If the stream has a spoken introduction, a music bed, or a sequence of clips, test the quieter and busier parts too. A test of the first few seconds will not reveal a file that stalls later or a playlist that stops at the first item.
Do not change the stream key or server URL as a first response to every problem. First identify where the failure appears: OBS source playback, OBS connection, Live Control Room preview, or the public watch page. Check the relevant status and messages, then change one thing at a time. If you need a useful troubleshooting reference for a related encoder issue, the ingest URL verification guide explains why the selected ingest endpoint matters.
Plan monitoring, restarts and archive handling
A 24/7 broadcast from OBS depends on a running encoder and a local source. The computer must stay on, the file must remain accessible, and power and internet service must continue. Those are operating requirements of this local workflow, not a guarantee that the broadcast will persist unattended. A computer can sleep, restart for an update, lose its connection or encounter a problem with the media source. OBS can keep a scene open while the YouTube broadcast itself is no longer healthy, so plan who will notice and what they will check.
For a small channel, monitoring can be a practical routine rather than a full control room. Check OBS and Live Control Room after starting, and visit the watch page from a separate device. If the channel depends on overnight continuity, decide who can respond to an alert or a viewer report, and how that person will determine whether to restart OBS, reconnect, or create a new event. A restart may restore the feed, but it does not mean the prior broadcast or its replay will become one uninterrupted archive.
YouTube’s automatic archive guidance says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived. It does not promise that a stream lasting 12 hours or longer will receive an archive, so do not plan on a complete 24-hour replay from one continuous broadcast. If keeping recordings is important, consider shorter scheduled sessions and verify that each recording appears in the channel’s Live tab. Shorter sessions create additional starts and event management; a continuous stream reduces those handovers but has less certain archive handling under the cited guidance.
YouTube’s DVR setting allows viewers to pause, rewind and resume in supported circumstances, but that is not a substitute for a complete archive or a promise of a 24-hour rewind window. If viewers need to catch up on a particular programme, consider publishing a separate video or organising shorter sessions whose recordings you can check. Be clear about the schedule, and do not advertise an uninterrupted replay unless you have confirmed what is actually available after each broadcast.
If your main constraint is leaving a personal or shop computer on around the clock, compare the local OBS workflow with a cloud playout service. OBS offers direct control over the scene and local files, but requires your own computer, connection and monitoring plan to stay in the picture. YouTube itself lists a cloud-based 24/7 prerecorded streaming service as an alternative in its encoder guidance. StreamNeo addresses the specific burden of keeping your own computer running: upload the video, provide the YouTube stream key, and the stream runs from the cloud with monitoring and automatic restarts if it drops. It is for YouTube only, and it does not remove the need to check YouTube’s rules, stream status or archive behaviour.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Does OBS keep a prerecorded video live after it reaches the end?
Yes, if the Media Source is configured with Loop, OBS repeats the selected file when it reaches the end. Check the transition back to the opening and test the whole source rather than assuming the preview will remain healthy indefinitely. The computer, media file, power and internet connection still need to be available.
Does OBS starting mean the YouTube stream is already public?
Not necessarily. OBS sends the encoder feed, but a scheduled stream may still require you to wait for the Live Control Room preview and select Go live, depending on auto-start settings. Check the watch page from a viewer’s perspective before announcing that the broadcast is live.
Will YouTube save a full 24-hour replay?
Do not assume so. YouTube says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived; the guidance does not promise an archive for a 24-hour stream. If a replay matters, use shorter sessions where appropriate and verify each recording in the channel’s Live tab.
Can I leave OBS running overnight without checking it?
A running OBS window is not proof that the broadcast is still reaching viewers. Local power, internet, the computer and media source can all fail, so decide how you will monitor the stream and respond to a drop. For a stream that must continue while your own computer is off, consider a cloud playout workflow, while still checking the broadcast and its archive status.