IRL Pro is documented as a way to send a live feed from an Android device to a streaming destination; its documentation does not establish playback of a prerecorded video playlist. YouTube supports vertical live viewing and vertical layouts in Live Control Room, but that does not prove IRL Pro can produce native 9:16 video on your particular phone.
If by “playlist” you mean a sequence of prerecorded clips, treat that as a separate, unverified workflow. If you mean a live camera feed framed vertically, you can test that route with IRL Pro and YouTube, but check the actual incoming picture before relying on it.
What IRL Pro and YouTube support
The documented IRL Pro workflow is a live feed sent to a configured destination using RTMP or SRT. The app’s setup instructions concern connecting a feed to a stream key; they do not describe selecting, sequencing or looping local video files. That distinction matters because a camera encoder and a playlist player solve different jobs. One captures and sends what the camera sees; the other must play media, manage transitions and encode that output for a live destination.
YouTube has its own vertical-live features. Its vertical live-stream guidance describes a full-screen mobile viewing experience and a Live Control Room workflow for vertical layouts, including dual-format streams. Those are YouTube-side capabilities. They should not be read as a promise that any Android app will generate the necessary portrait video or send a playlist.
For the supported live-camera case, expect to configure an encoder-style stream: create or schedule a live event in YouTube Studio, then enter the YouTube Live server URL and stream key in the sending app when using YouTube directly as the destination. Keep the key private, as it is a credential that permits a feed to reach your broadcast. YouTube’s encoder setup instructions explain the destination details.
If your immediate goal is an always-on channel that rotates prerecorded devotional talks, music or ambience, do not assume IRL Pro is a playout system. You may find the distinction useful when comparing remote playlist management for 24/7 YouTube streams. That is a different production problem from sending a phone camera live.
Can IRL Pro stream a vertical playlist?
The available documentation does not verify that IRL Pro can play prerecorded playlists. Nor does the evidence establish that IRL Pro provides guaranteed native 9:16 output on Android. The careful answer is therefore: a vertical playlist workflow with IRL Pro is not confirmed; check the app version and target device, and test the complete path before scheduling a real programme around it.
The query can describe two very different plans. In one, you point the phone at a scene and send a live camera feed. In the other, you want a series of existing clips to play as if they were a live show. The first matches the documented camera-feed use. The second requires confirmed media playback and an encoder path, neither of which should be inferred from the app’s ability to stream.
YouTube’s vertical layout options may help if the source reaching Live Control Room is suitable for the intended presentation. For a scheduled stream, YouTube allows creators to adjust the vertical preview layout, with choices such as centre crop, fit to phone width or stacked, and to change zoom and position. You must set the vertical format before the stream starts; YouTube says it cannot be added after a stream has begun. See the current vertical live-stream setup details before your event, because platform controls can change.
Do not substitute a successful horizontal test for a vertical test. A feed can be live and still show the wrong crop, pillarboxing, a sideways image or a composition that cuts off a person or text on a phone screen. The preview on your own device and a second viewer’s phone is the evidence you need, not the word “portrait” in a menu.
Separate prerecorded playback from a live camera feed
A camera stream changes as the camera sees the room or street. A prerecorded programme instead starts with files and needs an application or workflow that can play them in order, handle the end of one clip and start the next, and encode the result continuously. IRL Pro’s documented stream-key path alone does not answer whether it can do those things.
If your requirement is a playlist, write down what “playlist” means before configuring anything. Is it one long exported vertical video, a set of files that should repeat, or a sequence with pauses and titles? Does it need to restart from the beginning after a connection drop? Must the phone remain available, or should the programme continue with the screen locked? Those are functional requirements to verify, not assumptions to make from a live-streaming app’s name.
A separate playout and encoder arrangement may be necessary, but the sources reviewed here do not establish which software or YouTube configuration will work for your particular playlist. Do not treat a third-party stream-key intermediary as proof of playback capability either. For example, an intermediary may explain how its own URL and protocol connect to an app, but it does not thereby make the app a video player. Keep destination, playback and encoding as distinct questions.
If you are investigating clip playback, a related guide on looping videos and dropped frames in PRISM Live Studio can help frame the kinds of playback and stability questions to ask. It is not evidence that IRL Pro supports the same function. Likewise, guidance on keeping a stream running when OBS restarts concerns a different workflow; use it only if your chosen production setup actually includes OBS.
Check the YouTube Live Control Room setup
Start with the destination, not the phone orientation. In YouTube Studio, create or schedule the live event and check the title, privacy setting and other metadata. If you are using an encoder workflow, follow YouTube’s current instructions for the server URL and stream key, then enter them carefully in the sending app. Avoid posting screenshots or recordings that expose the key.
Decide whether you want one vertical presentation or a dual-format stream. YouTube’s Live Control Room can produce horizontal and vertical viewing formats for a stream, with vertical preview and layout controls. In the documented dual-format behaviour, the vertical version is shown to mobile viewers browsing the Shorts feed, while other viewers see the horizontal version; the formats share a stream URL and live chat. These are YouTube viewing behaviours, not functions supplied by IRL Pro.
If you need the dual-format route, set the vertical layout in the scheduled stream’s preview before going live. Review crop, fit or stacked options with the actual content in frame. A speaker positioned near the edge of a horizontal shot may disappear in a centre crop; a graphic designed for landscape may become too small when fitted to a narrow phone view. Reposition and zoom in the preview where available, then look at the result at phone size.
YouTube’s direct mobile live-stream route has separate eligibility requirements from using an encoder. Its mobile live-streaming eligibility page lists a verified channel, at least 50 subscribers, no live-streaming restrictions in the preceding 90 days, and Android 8.0 or newer for that mobile route; initial activation can take up to 24 hours. These requirements should not automatically be applied to an encoder-based stream from IRL Pro. Check which route you are using and confirm the current requirements on YouTube’s page.
If an intermediary supplies the destination key, follow its instructions for that service rather than pasting a YouTube key into a field expecting another service’s publish URL. The research for this guide includes a third-party workflow using RTMP or SRT, where the dashboard’s complete URL and selected protocol must match the app configuration. That workflow is specific to that intermediary; it is not a universal requirement for YouTube direct streaming. A rotated key or changed region or protocol may also make a previously copied URL stale, so copy the current details again if the feed no longer arrives.
Verify orientation and incoming video on your device
Check orientation at each stage: the way the phone is held, the orientation the app sends, the incoming preview in YouTube, and the view a viewer receives. A phone held upright does not by itself prove the outgoing feed is 9:16. The app may encode a different shape, YouTube may crop it, or the destination preview may present a landscape canvas.
Before the event, install or update the app you intend to use, open its camera and broadcast settings, and look for a portrait or orientation control. Test the available choices rather than assuming that rotating the device changes the encoded frame. The sources reviewed do not settle portrait output for IRL Pro across Android devices. A negative user review is one person’s report, not authoritative proof that portrait output is impossible; equally, an option visible on one device is not proof it works on yours.
Send a short unlisted test and watch it in Live Control Room. Look for the incoming signal, then check the video on a second phone in the same viewing context your audience will use. Confirm that faces, instruments, subtitles and any essential sign or product remain inside the visible area. If YouTube’s vertical preview offers layout adjustments, use them and retest. A live preview that looks correct only in the control room may not be enough to judge a mobile viewer’s full-screen presentation.
Check sound as well as framing. A phone microphone can pick up wind, room echo, handling noise or nearby conversation; a wired or external microphone may help if it suits the setup. YouTube recommends testing mobile audio and video with an unlisted stream and checking network strength. For a stationary shot, a tripod or phone mount can prevent camera shake, but it will not correct a poor crop or weak connection.
Network behaviour depends on location and carrier. If you are moving, test on the route and connection you expect to use, and monitor whether the video remains stable. If the selected stream-key service recommends a particular protocol for mobile use, treat that as its guidance rather than a universal rule. Reduce the output settings and retest if the feed repeatedly stalls; do not raise bitrate just because a device offers a higher setting.
Test before relying on a playlist workflow
Use an unlisted event as a rehearsal. Start with a short, non-critical test and check that YouTube receives video and audio, the intended orientation appears on a phone, and the event is visible only to the people you intend. YouTube recommends an unlisted test for checking mobile audio and video. A rehearsal also gives you a chance to confirm the chosen destination, key and preview layout without asking an audience to diagnose the setup.
For a camera feed, test the exact phone, Android version, IRL Pro version, destination and network you plan to use. Restart the app and repeat the test after changing orientation settings, stream keys or protocols. Record what you see: whether the feed is portrait, how YouTube crops it, whether audio stays in sync, and what happens when the connection weakens. A result on a different handset is useful as a clue, not a guarantee for yours.
For prerecorded clips, add a separate acceptance test rather than treating the camera rehearsal as sufficient. Confirm that your intended player can open the files, move from one clip to the next, preserve portrait framing and deliver uninterrupted encoded video to the selected YouTube destination. Also test what happens when the device sleeps, the app loses focus or the network reconnects. The consulted IRL Pro documentation does not answer these playlist questions, so do not schedule a long programme until the whole workflow has been demonstrated.
Keep a fallback that matches the failure you are trying to avoid. If a live camera is essential, have a second way to contact viewers or postpone the stream if the feed cannot be restored. If the requirement is continuous prerecorded playback, use a workflow whose playout behaviour you have verified, and consider whether a phone-based camera app is the right tool at all. Readers planning a channel that must stay live through routine computer interruptions may also find ways to keep a 24/7 lofi stream running after Windows updates relevant, though it addresses a computer-based setup rather than proving an IRL Pro playlist feature.
A phone can be a practical field camera when you can monitor battery, heat, sound and connectivity. It is a less suitable assumption for an unattended, around-the-clock playlist unless you have specifically verified playback, charging, sleep behaviour and recovery. Choose the tool around the source: a live camera, an edited single file or a playlist are not interchangeable just because they all end up on YouTube Live.
If the repeated work is keeping a file-based channel running without leaving a computer on, StreamNeo removes that particular need: you upload the video once, provide the YouTube stream key, and the broadcast can continue with your computer switched off. That does not verify an IRL Pro playlist workflow, and it is a YouTube-only service.
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
Can IRL Pro play a playlist of prerecorded videos?
The available IRL Pro documentation reviewed here describes sending a live feed over RTMP or SRT, not importing or looping prerecorded files. Do not rely on playlist playback unless you verify that exact function in your app version and test it through YouTube.
Does YouTube support vertical live streams?
Yes. YouTube documents vertical viewing on mobile and vertical layout controls in Live Control Room, including a dual-format option. Set up the vertical format before the stream begins, because YouTube says it cannot be added after the stream has started.
Does holding an Android phone upright guarantee a 9:16 stream?
No. Physical orientation, the app’s encoded output and YouTube’s displayed crop are separate things. Check the incoming preview and a viewer’s phone on the device and app version you plan to use.
Are the mobile YouTube requirements the same for an encoder stream?
Not necessarily. YouTube lists subscriber, verification, restriction and Android-version requirements for its mobile live route; they should not be assumed to define encoder eligibility. Check the current official guidance for the specific route you choose.