To stream a pre-recorded video to YouTube Live at 4K 60fps from Windows 11, add it to an OBS scene as a Media Source, set the output to 3840×2160 at 60 fps, and use an encoder and bitrate that your PC and connection can sustain. Then connect OBS to the YouTube event with its stream URL and key, check the preview in Live Control Room, and test before you select Go live.
Those settings describe a target, not a guarantee: Windows 11 support or a 4K output setting does not prove that a particular computer can encode smoothly at that rate. This guide focuses on standard SDR video; use HDR settings only when your source is actually HDR and you intend to send an HDR stream.
Prepare the local video and YouTube event
Start with the file you intend to broadcast, not with the OBS output menu. OBS Media Source can play common local formats such as MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI and WebM. Keep the file in a location that will remain available throughout the stream; moving or renaming it after setup can leave OBS looking for a path that no longer exists. You do not need a capture card merely to play a file already stored on the PC.
Decide whether the video should play once or repeat. A one-off presentation or scheduled programme should normally finish at the end. For a continuous music, devotional or ambience channel, enable Loop on the Media Source so it starts again when it reaches the end. OBS also has a restart-playback-when-source-becomes-active option: if the source is shown again in the active scene, that setting can restart it from the beginning. Choose deliberately, particularly if you plan to switch scenes.
Inspect the source itself. A 4K OBS canvas does not turn a smaller file into native 4K detail. If your source has a different resolution or frame rate, check how it appears in the preview and decide whether scaling or frame-rate conversion is acceptable for your material. YouTube's recommended ingest settings are for the live feed sent to YouTube, not a promise about the quality of the file you began with.
In YouTube Studio, open Live Control Room and create or select the event before configuring the connection in OBS. Keep the event details and stream key available, but do not share the key: it is the credential that lets an encoder send a feed to your channel. YouTube's live encoder settings explain its supported protocols, codecs and ingest recommendations. If you are deciding whether a different workflow suits a continuous channel better, the OBS and Restreamer comparison discusses that distinction; this walkthrough stays with OBS on Windows.
Add the video as an OBS Media Source
Open OBS Studio and create a scene for the programme. In the Sources panel, use the add control and choose Media Source. Give it a useful name, such as “Main video”, then choose the local-file option and browse to the video. Confirm the path and settings before closing the properties window. The OBS Media Source guide describes the source controls, including looping and playback behaviour.
For uninterrupted playback, consider whether to enable “Loop” and “Restart playback when source becomes active”. Loop repeats the file at its end; restart-on-activation concerns what happens when the source becomes active in a scene. They are different controls. If you are switching to a holding screen and back, test the result: you may want the programme to resume where it was, or to start from the beginning.
OBS may offer “Use hardware decoding when available” for supported formats. It is an option to test, not a universal fix. Playback decoding and live encoding are separate parts of the workload, and a setting that helps one file or PC is not necessarily best for another. Observe the preview and system behaviour with your actual file.
Check that the video fills the intended canvas without unwanted cropping or black bars. Use the source transform controls only after seeing the preview; stretching a differently shaped image can distort it. Also check the audio mixer. The Media Source may carry audio, but confirm that its meter responds and that the intended audio is reaching the stream mix. YouTube lists AAC or MP3 audio for RTMP/RTMPS ingest; its guidance specifies AAC for 5.1 surround. For stereo, it lists 128 kbps and a 44.1 kHz sample rate. Match the settings to the source and the kind of audio you are sending rather than assuming video setup covers sound as well.
Set 3840×2160 at 60 fps
In OBS, open Settings and then Video. Set the Base (Canvas) Resolution to 3840×2160 when that is the intended scene layout. Set the Output (Scaled) Resolution to 3840×2160 as well if you want the transmitted feed to be 4K. Then set the common frame rate to 60 fps. The canvas, output resolution and frame rate describe the feed OBS is preparing; they do not establish that the source is native 4K or that the PC can encode the result in real time.
A lower-resolution video can be scaled to a 4K output, but scaling adds no original image detail. If your source is 1920×1080, for example, YouTube may receive a 3840×2160 frame while the underlying picture remains derived from 1080p material. Avoid describing that as a native 4K master. Inspect the scene preview for scaling artefacts and check whether text, fine lines and motion remain clear enough for your audience.
The workload depends on the whole setup: the encoder available in the PC, the video, any filters or overlays, and other activity on the machine. OBS supports Windows 11, but its compatibility information does not say that every Windows 11 PC can stream at 4K60. OBS generally recommends hardware encoding to reduce CPU load, while warning that capability and quality differ by encoder generation. Its system requirements and hardware encoding notes are useful context, but no single PC specification guarantees a reliable result.
If the preview stutters, dropped frames appear, or the PC cannot keep pace during a test, do not assume that raising output settings will solve it. Reduce the workload or choose a lower output target that remains stable. A steady 1080p stream is often more useful to viewers than a 4K label attached to a feed that stalls. You can also read the bitrate calculation guide when weighing quality against a constrained connection, though that article is not a substitute for YouTube's codec-specific live table below.
Choose an encoder and codec-specific bitrate
Open the OBS Output settings and choose an encoder available in your installed build. A hardware encoder can offload work from the CPU, but codec support depends on the graphics hardware and drivers, and the encoder still has to sustain the selected format. Do not assume that a computer supports AV1 or HEVC simply because OBS shows a codec name in general documentation. Check the actual encoder choices and test the chosen one with the real scene.
YouTube's recommended video bitrate at 2160p60 depends on the ingest codec. Its table lists these values:
| Ingest codec | YouTube listed minimum at 2160p60 | Recommended video bitrate |
|---|---|---|
| AV1 | 10 Mbps | 35 Mbps |
| H.265 / HEVC | 10 Mbps | 35 Mbps |
| H.264 | 14 Mbps | 50 Mbps |
These are YouTube's live ingest settings, not upload-video export recommendations. If your selected hardware encoder cannot provide a codec, use one it does support and follow the corresponding row. YouTube also recommends constant bitrate (CBR), a two-second keyframe interval, and says not to exceed four seconds. The same page lists other advanced recommendations, but the first checks are to match codec and bitrate, use CBR, and set the keyframe interval appropriately.
The video bitrate is not the entire connection load: audio and any other traffic also use upload capacity. YouTube recommends that the total stream bitrate fit within available upload bandwidth and that you leave 20% headroom. Applying that recommendation arithmetically, a 35 Mbps video bitrate points to about 42 Mbps of available upload capacity before allowing for audio and other traffic; 50 Mbps points to about 60 Mbps before those additions. Those are calculations from YouTube's headroom guidance, not separate platform thresholds.
The YouTube streaming tips recommend testing upload speed and using a reliable connection. Test from the location and at the time you expect to stream, if practical. Other people uploading on the same network can reduce the margin you thought you had. Ethernet is worth trying when Wi-Fi behaves inconsistently, but buying a cable is not a universal requirement. For another perspective on how bitrate affects stream demands, see the 720p live bitrate guide; 720p recommendations should not be substituted for the 2160p60 figures above.
For ordinary SDR material, do not enable HDR merely because the output is 4K60. Follow YouTube's SDR colour guidance, which points to Rec. 709 and 8-bit. HDR is a separate workflow with requirements for the source and encoder settings; it is not an image-quality toggle for ordinary SDR footage. If your file is genuinely HDR and you need to preserve that signal, consult YouTube's dedicated instructions before configuring it rather than applying a partial set of HDR settings.
Connect OBS to the event over RTMPS
In YouTube Studio's Live Control Room, create or select the stream and locate its stream URL and stream key. In OBS, open Settings, choose Stream, and select YouTube or the appropriate custom connection option for the event workflow you are using. Enter the URL and key from Live Control Room. YouTube's encoder connection instructions explain how the connection details are used; treat the key like a password and do not put it in screenshots, public notes or a shared scene description.
Use RTMPS where available. YouTube recommends it, and describes RTMPS as encrypting the connection with TLS/SSL. Make sure the URL and key belong to the event you intend to run: sending a feed to a different event or key can leave the expected Live Control Room preview empty. Save the OBS settings and return to the main window.
A local loop is only playback inside OBS. It does not create a YouTube Live broadcast by itself. You still need an event and a successful connection from OBS, and you must decide when to make the event public by selecting Go live in YouTube's control room. This distinction is useful when planning a continuous channel: for more on continuity after Windows updates, the Windows update continuity guide covers a different operational concern from this single-PC OBS setup.
Preview and test before broadcast
Before the event, run a private or unlisted test where practical. Use representative parts of the video: include movement, any title cards or overlays, and the audio that viewers will hear. Start the feed from OBS, then wait for the preview in Live Control Room. Confirm that the picture is present, the sound is correct, and YouTube reports a healthy incoming stream before clicking Go live.
Watch the stream health messages rather than relying only on the OBS preview. The preview confirms that frames are visible locally; Live Control Room can show whether YouTube is receiving the feed and whether it is reporting warnings. Check for dropped frames or encoder overload in OBS, and listen to the stream playback from another device if you can. A local monitor can differ from what reaches viewers, so checking the actual playback path catches mistakes such as missing audio or a wrong event.
Test long enough to include the point where a loop restarts if the programme should repeat. Confirm that the end-to-start transition is acceptable and that audio does not vanish or jump unexpectedly. If your source is one-time, ensure the intended duration fits the event and decide what should happen when it ends. These checks are more useful than assuming that a successful short connection proves an overnight broadcast will behave identically.
If the test shows instability, change one factor at a time: first confirm upload margin, then check the OBS encoder and system load, then lower output demands if necessary. Re-run the test after changes. Do not leave a new bitrate, codec or scene transform untested until the live event. If you need the video to continue while your Windows PC is off, StreamNeo removes the specific burden of leaving OBS and the computer running by taking an uploaded video and YouTube stream key to run the broadcast without your computer; it is YouTube-only, so this OBS guide remains the relevant path when you want to operate the local setup yourself.
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FAQ
Can OBS loop a video file during a YouTube livestream?
Yes. Add it as a Media Source and enable Loop if you want playback to repeat at the end. The loop is only playback in OBS; you still need to connect to a YouTube event and start the live broadcast through Live Control Room.
What bitrate should I use for 4K 60fps YouTube Live?
YouTube's 2160p60 recommendations are 35 Mbps for AV1 or H.265/HEVC and 50 Mbps for H.264, with different listed minimums. Use the row for the codec you can actually encode, and leave upload headroom for the total stream and other network traffic.
Do I need a capture card to stream a video file?
No capture card is needed just to play a local video file through OBS Media Source. A capture card is for bringing in an external video signal; a file already on your PC can be added directly as a source.
Can my Windows 11 PC handle 4K60 encoding?
There is no universal PC specification that guarantees reliable OBS 4K60 encoding. Encoder support, the scene and available upload capacity all matter, so test your exact file and settings in Live Control Room before relying on them for an event.