To set orientation for a prerecorded video in CameraFi Live, rotate the video source itself: open the Video tab, add the gallery file, tap its source and choose a rotation command. Then inspect the broadcast preview; locking your phone’s screen orientation is a separate setting and does not rotate the video source.
The distinction matters when a landscape file appears sideways, or a portrait clip looks wrong in a landscape broadcast. CameraFi Live provides source-level rotation and reversal controls, while YouTube advises choosing portrait or landscape, locking screen rotation, and testing an unlisted livestream before going public. The exact menu labels can vary by app version, so use the preview as your check rather than assuming a setting has fixed the framing.
Open the Video source tab
Start a CameraFi Live session and swipe left to reveal the source controls. Open the Video tab. This is where you add a prerecorded file as a video source; the phone’s screen-rotation setting is not a substitute for these controls.
If the app is already showing a live camera source, look for the tabs or source panel rather than trying to rotate the whole phone first. You want to make a change to the video layer that will be broadcast. CameraFi Live’s getting-started guide confirms that video files can be used as broadcast sources, although its current guide does not repeat every rotation-menu step. You can consult the CameraFi Live Android guide if you need context for adding sources.
The exact sequence for rotating a source is documented in CameraFi Live’s guide to adding video and image sources. Those instructions are older than the current getting-started guide. If your installed version has changed the wording or placement of a control, follow the equivalent source-level action and verify the result in preview.
It helps to separate two questions before touching anything. Is the picture within the file sideways, upside down or mirrored? Or is the app/device display or intended YouTube layout in the wrong orientation? The Video source controls address the first question. Phone screen rotation addresses the second.
Add a gallery video
In the Video tab, tap + and select the prerecorded file from your phone’s gallery. Once added, it should appear as a source in the session. CameraFi Live supports video as a source, but adding a file does not by itself guarantee that its shape or orientation will suit the broadcast.
Choose the actual file you plan to broadcast, not a similar clip with a different export or crop. If you have several versions, check the filename and, where possible, preview the chosen item. For example, an original vertical recording and a later landscape edit may contain the same scene but need different treatment. Correcting the wrong version wastes time and can make the source controls seem ineffective.
Take note of the file’s native orientation before changing it. A video that was recorded in portrait may be upright when held vertically, while a landscape recording may already be correct for a wide viewing layout. If a picture appears sideways, rotating the device in your hand or using a screen-lock setting will not change the pixels’ orientation within the selected source.
If your broader plan is to reuse a library of recordings, first decide how each file should appear to viewers. A continuous interview archive on YouTube has different framing needs from a single portrait clip: conversations may need a consistent wide layout, while a vertical recording may be better kept upright. This editorial choice comes before using the rotate control.
Choose a rotation control
Tap the video source you added to open its source menu. The documented choices include Rotate left 90° and Rotate right 90°. Select the direction that turns the picture upright in the broadcast preview. If one direction makes it worse, use the other rather than repeatedly changing the phone’s screen orientation.
A quarter-turn is useful when a file’s picture is sideways. It changes the source orientation; it does not mean the broadcast canvas will automatically crop or reframe the image in the way you intend. A portrait source can remain portrait-shaped after a turn, and the available preview is the practical way to see what CameraFi Live is presenting for your session.
Use one change at a time. Open the menu, choose a direction, then check the preview before making another adjustment. This makes it easier to tell whether the command helped. If you rotate left and then rotate right, you may simply return to where you started, which can make it harder to remember what the original problem was.
Think of the source as a picture that needs to be oriented before broadcast, not as a screen that the phone can turn for you. CameraFi Live’s older orientation instructions document source transforms, but do not promise that every file dimension will be automatically fitted to every output. For a 90-degree rotation, check whether the picture is upright and whether important material remains in frame; do not assume the app has made an ideal crop.
If the clip is intended for a portrait YouTube viewing layout, compare it in that layout rather than judging it only while holding the phone vertically. A device held upright can show a landscape composition with empty space or unexpected edges. Likewise, a landscape file may look right on a wide display but wrong if you have chosen a vertical presentation. Source orientation and viewing layout are related decisions, but they are not the same setting.
Correct reversal or reset
Rotation is not the only source correction. If the image is upright but appears mirrored, open the source menu and try Reverse left and right. This is a horizontal reversal, not a screen-orientation lock. It can help when the content itself has been flipped, but check text, signs, logos and familiar asymmetrical details: they reveal whether the image is still reversed.
If the picture is upside down rather than sideways, use Upside down in the source menu. Check the preview immediately after selecting it. Avoid stacking several transforms by guesswork; a reversal combined with a rotation can produce a result that looks different from the one you intended.
Use Reset when you want to clear source rotation or reversal adjustments and return to the original source state. Reset is helpful if you have lost track of successive changes, or if the source now looks less correct than when you began. After resetting, start again with one adjustment and inspect the preview.
A simple workflow is to identify the defect, apply its matching control, and verify. Sideways means try a left or right 90-degree rotation. Mirrored means test horizontal reversal. Upside down means use the upside-down option. Unclear or over-adjusted means reset and begin again. These descriptions are a starting point, not a substitute for visual confirmation, since the same clip may have been exported or edited in unusual ways.
For a repeatable programme, note the final choice alongside the file name in your own operating notes. If you replace a file with a differently edited version, its orientation may differ even when the title is unchanged. A recorded-lesson stream with subtitles also illustrates why checking the whole frame matters: text, captions and other edge content can be lost or made difficult to read by an unintended layout.
Check framing in the preview
After each source adjustment, inspect CameraFi Live’s broadcast preview. Confirm that the picture is upright, that the intended subject is visible and that edges have not cut off details that matter. A rotation can correct which way the image faces without guaranteeing a useful crop or framing for your chosen output.
Look at the entire composition, not only the centre. For a devotional recording, check that the singer, shrine or lyrics remain in view. For a lesson, check the board and captions. For a local news loop, check the lower-third text and any information near the edges. A technically upright picture can still be poorly framed for viewers.
Compare what you see with how a viewer is likely to watch. If your expected audience mainly watches on phones, test the portrait presentation on a phone-sized display if practical. If the channel is designed for a television or desktop screen, inspect a landscape presentation. You are not trying to force every source into one shape; you are deciding whether the source and the broadcast layout make sense together.
Use a small table to keep the checks distinct:
| What you see | Control to try | What to confirm in preview |
|---|---|---|
| Picture is sideways | Rotate left 90° or Rotate right 90° | The subject is upright and the composition remains usable |
| Picture is upside down | Upside down | People, text and scene details appear upright |
| Picture looks mirrored | Reverse left and right | Text and asymmetrical details read in the correct direction |
| Several changes have made matters unclear | Reset | The source is back to its original state before you retry |
| Picture is upright but awkwardly cropped | Reconsider source and layout | Important content remains in frame; rotation alone may not fix it |
If a change does not improve the preview, undo it with the appropriate opposite action or reset, then reassess the original file. Do not assume a separate screen rotation setting will correct a source that remains sideways. CameraFi Live’s documentation supports rotating sources, but does not establish automatic reframing for every source size or aspect ratio.
If you are preparing a long-running channel rather than one short broadcast, make the preview check part of the file handover. A sleep-music channel built from prepared video may use calm, static images where cropping is easy to miss; a careful check can catch a cut-off title or a visual element that sits too close to the edge before it becomes part of a longer programme.
Lock the phone separately and test unlisted
Once the source looks right, consider the phone’s screen orientation separately. YouTube’s mobile livestream advice recommends deciding whether to stream in portrait or landscape and setting a screen-rotation lock. CameraFi Live has documented screen-rotation options such as auto rotate, landscape lock, portrait lock and reverse landscape lock, though menu placement may differ by installed version. Check the current app setting rather than relying on an old screenshot.
Locking the screen helps prevent the app display or chosen device orientation from changing when you move the phone. It does not rotate the prerecorded file or guarantee ideal framing. Keep the source controls and screen setting mentally separate: rotate the source if the image itself needs correction; lock the device orientation if you want the app to stay in the chosen portrait or landscape position.
Before a public broadcast, create an unlisted YouTube livestream test and check both picture and sound. YouTube’s mobile livestream tips advise testing an unlisted stream and checking video and audio quality, as well as considering network speed. In the test, view the stream as a viewer would, not only in the CameraFi Live preview. Confirm the intended portrait or landscape presentation, whether the image stays upright, and whether audio is present and intelligible.
A test is especially useful when a broadcast is planned for an audience that will arrive at a specific time. It gives you a chance to discover a mismatch between the app preview and the actual YouTube output before you make the broadcast public. If you change the source rotation, layout or screen setting after the test, repeat the relevant checks; the earlier test no longer proves the updated setup.
Also consider your content rights before using prerecorded material. CameraFi Live’s FAQ notes that broadcasting another person’s content can create copyright problems. Use material you are authorised to stream, and check YouTube’s current rules for your situation. A successful orientation test says nothing about whether you have permission to use the video.
If your main difficulty is not one clip’s rotation but keeping a prepared file available to broadcast when your phone or computer is off, StreamNeo removes that particular need to leave your own computer running: you upload a video, provide your YouTube stream key, and the broadcast runs from the cloud with monitoring and automatic restarts if it drops. It is YouTube-only, so it is not a replacement for CameraFi Live’s mobile source controls when those are what you need.
For a steady channel, choose the approach that fits how you will actually produce the broadcast. A phone workflow is useful when you need in-app source adjustment and are present to operate the session. A prepared-file workflow may suit a loop that should continue without your computer on, but orientation and rights checks still belong to you. Keep a note of the tested file, intended layout and source correction so the next session does not begin with guesswork.
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FAQ
Does locking my phone rotate the prerecorded video?
No. Screen rotation controls the phone or app’s display orientation; the video source has its own rotation and reversal controls. Adjust the source in CameraFi Live and verify the result in preview.
Which CameraFi Live setting should I use for a sideways video?
Tap the added video source and try Rotate left 90° or Rotate right 90°, choosing the direction that makes the picture upright. Check the full composition afterwards, because rotation does not guarantee that every file will be framed ideally.
What if the video is mirrored or upside down?
Use Reverse left and right for a mirrored picture and Upside down for an inverted one. If you have made several changes and cannot tell what is active, use Reset, then apply one correction at a time.
Should I test the stream before making it public?
Yes. YouTube recommends an unlisted livestream test so you can inspect video and audio quality before a public broadcast. Check the stream as a viewer would, and repeat the test if you change the source or layout afterwards.