To stream an internet radio station to YouTube from a Windows mini PC, use OBS Studio as the encoder: add a visual, bring in the station audio, then send the scene to YouTube Live Control Room. The audio route depends on the station: try its stream URL with OBS's VLC Video source if it is accessible and compatible, or capture the station playing in a Windows application where OBS supports it.
Do not assume a radio URL will work just because it plays in a browser, or that every application can be captured cleanly. Test the exact feed, check YouTube's preview and OBS's audio meters, and make a short private or unlisted test before relying on the setup for a longer broadcast.
Prepare the Windows mini PC and YouTube channel
A mini PC can run the encoder while it is switched on and connected to the internet. There is no documented minimum model or specification for this workflow, so do not buy hardware on the assumption that a particular processor or memory figure is required. YouTube's own live-streaming guidance says expensive equipment is not necessary; the useful question is whether your existing machine can keep OBS, the station source and the network connection running together. You can begin by testing on a Windows PC you already have.
Install OBS Studio from the OBS Project's official site. If you plan to try the VLC Video source, install VLC as well; OBS documents that this source requires VLC and that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC. Match the application versions by architecture rather than guessing if VLC does not appear as an available source. See the OBS guide to VLC Video sources before troubleshooting the source list.
Before the broadcast, check that YouTube Live is enabled for the channel and that you can create or schedule a stream in Live Control Room. YouTube says activation for a first livestream can take up to 24 hours, so do not leave channel activation until the evening you intend to go live. YouTube also notes that verification and channel restrictions affect live access; check the current YouTube encoder livestreaming help for the requirements that apply to your account.
Choose where the mini PC will sit and how it will connect. A wired network connection can remove the uncertainty of a weak Wi-Fi link, but it does not itself guarantee a stable broadcast. Keep the computer awake for the intended test and check Windows power settings so it does not sleep while OBS is meant to run. Avoid installing updates or changing drivers in the middle of a test; make those changes separately and then retest.
Create an OBS scene with a visual and audio
A radio broadcast still needs video going to YouTube. In OBS, create a scene and add a station logo, cover image, or simple branded graphic as an Image source. You can use a still image rather than inventing motion solely to fill the screen. Make sure you have permission to use the artwork, and check that text or logos are legible at the size shown in the preview.
Name the scene clearly, such as “Station live”, and keep the first version simple. OBS scenes combine sources, so the visual and audio can be managed together. If you later want to add a schedule or contact information, add it after the plain image-and-audio path works; each extra source creates something else to verify. For a related example of a simple audio-led broadcast, see how to set up a podcast livestream with audio-only episodes.
The image is not the radio source. Keep these roles distinct: the visual source gives YouTube a picture, while a VLC source or captured player provides the sound. When you inspect OBS's Audio Mixer, the relevant source should show activity as the station plays. If the mixer moves but the preview is blank, fix the visual. If the preview looks right but the mixer is still, focus on the station source and routing.
Decide whether this is a temporary test or an intended long-running channel before settling on the scene. A Windows mini PC is a local host: if it sleeps, restarts, loses power or loses internet, the broadcast path may stop. Do not infer continuous reliability from a short successful setup. If your actual need is to play a recorded file rather than a live radio feed, the workflow is different; compare it with a cloud service for scheduling prerecorded YouTube livestreams.
Try the station URL with VLC Video source
First determine what the station actually provides. A website may offer a play button without exposing a usable stream URL, or it may require authentication, location access or browser behaviour that OBS cannot reproduce. Ask the station for its official stream address if it publishes one, and check any access terms. A URL that opens a web page is not necessarily the audio feed itself.
In OBS, add a VLC Video source to the scene, then enter the station URL in the source's playlist or network location field, according to the source interface. VLC Video source supports playlists and extended media support when VLC is installed, but that does not mean OBS can decode every station feed. The exact audio format, redirect behaviour, authentication and regional restrictions can determine whether a given source works. The OBS media source documentation describes local media support; do not treat the built-in Media Source as a universal internet-radio input.
Start with one station address and allow it to load. Watch both the source status and the Audio Mixer. A visible source item alone does not prove that audio is arriving. If the meter remains still, try the URL in VLC Player separately to establish whether the address itself plays on that PC. If it works in VLC Player but not in OBS, note any error or difference rather than repeatedly changing unrelated settings.
A useful fallback decision is based on the source you can access, not on a universal ranking of methods. If the station provides an accessible compatible URL, the direct VLC source avoids depending on a separate player window. If access is only through a Windows player or browser, application-audio capture may be more practical. Credentials, location limits and how the source behaves after a restart matter too. Test the actual feed in the chosen route before treating it as settled.
If you are comparing encoder-based radio with a channel built from a playlist of videos, the trade-off is not just software. The live encoder versus YouTube playlist comparison explains the different operating patterns; for this radio workflow, OBS is the encoder carrying the station sound and the still visual.
Capture audio from a Windows player if needed
When the direct URL does not work, play the station in the Windows application that can access it, then add OBS's Application Audio Capture source if your system supports it. OBS documents this source for Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11. Select the relevant player or browser window rather than assuming that all system sound should be sent to the broadcast. The OBS Application Audio Capture guide explains the supported source and its setup.
This is a fallback, not a guarantee that any app's audio can be captured. OBS notes that some applications may be incompatible; a virtual-cable routing workaround may be needed in those cases. If the source is not available, the wrong application is selected, or the meter stays still, first confirm that the station is audible through the selected application. Then check Windows version and OBS source selection. Do not assume that reinstalling VLC will fix an application-capture issue.
Avoid capturing the same sound twice. OBS advises disabling global Desktop Audio when using Application Audio Capture to prevent duplicated audio. In OBS audio settings, check what Desktop Audio is set to, and disable it if the selected application source is the intended route. Otherwise you may hear an echo or doubled sound in the stream even though the station itself plays normally on the PC.
For a scene-level Audio Input or Audio Output Capture source, also check whether the same device is enabled globally in OBS. Duplicate paths can make the mixer confusing and can send the same signal twice. Change one route at a time and listen to the OBS monitoring or a test recording, where available, before connecting to a public event.
Connect OBS to YouTube Live Control Room
Create or schedule the broadcast in YouTube Live Control Room, then use the stream URL and stream key shown there in OBS's streaming settings. The stream key identifies where the encoder should send its feed and lets YouTube accept it. Treat it like a password: do not place it in a public screenshot, shared document or tutorial, and reset it in Live Control Room if you believe it has been exposed. Review YouTube's stream key and encoder connection guidance while setting this up.
In OBS, open Settings and the Stream section, select the YouTube service or the appropriate custom configuration, and enter the details from Live Control Room. The precise interface can change between software versions, so use the values shown for your event rather than copying a key or server address from an old guide. Keep the key private even while asking someone to help: describe the field or share a redacted screenshot instead.
For a static station image and audio, avoid changing encoder settings without a reason. YouTube's current encoder guidance lists accepted formats and recommends settings; check the YouTube live encoder settings page for the current requirements rather than relying on a remembered value. Its guidance includes 44.1 kHz stereo audio and 128 Kbps stereo audio as advanced settings, and recommends a two-second keyframe interval that should not exceed four seconds. These are platform recommendations, not evidence that every mini PC has adequate capacity or network conditions.
The connection has two sides: OBS must send the feed and YouTube must receive it for the event. Starting output in OBS is not a substitute for checking the Live Control Room status and preview. If the event is not receiving data, confirm the selected event, server details and key carefully. Never paste a stream key into a public support post to diagnose a connection problem.
Check preview, audio meters and rights
With the station playing, watch the Audio Mixer in OBS. The meter should move when sound is present. Listen as well: a moving meter does not tell you whether the sound is intelligible, too quiet or distorted. Check the YouTube preview too, because it confirms the feed as received by the platform rather than only what you see inside the local scene.
Listen for silence between tracks, abrupt cut-offs, a second copy of the audio, or browser notifications that might enter the capture. A station page may also pause when its tab is in the background or require a user action again after a restart. These behaviours are reasons to test the exact source and its return to playback, not proof that the route will remain available unattended.
Check the upload connection against the bitrate you choose. YouTube's network guidance recommends leaving 20% upload headroom, so the stream should not consume all the available upload capacity. This is a recommendation to account for variation and other traffic, not a guarantee against an outage. If others share the connection, their uploads and video calls can affect what is available to OBS.
Before rebroadcasting, confirm you have permission for the station audio and any artwork or branding you use, for YouTube and the intended territory. A publicly accessible stream does not establish that you may retransmit it. YouTube's general copyright guidance does not decide the rights status of a particular station or feed; contact the rights holder where necessary and check current official information. No OBS setting grants permission.
Run a short test before going public
Run a short test with the same audio route, visual, encoder settings and network path you plan to use. YouTube recommends testing and monitoring the stream. Check that the stream appears in Live Control Room, the preview shows the intended image, the sound can be heard, and OBS's meters behave as expected. A local scene preview alone does not test the whole path to YouTube.
If possible, use a private or unlisted test event and a separate device or browser to listen as a viewer. Confirm the image is not cropped unexpectedly and that the station audio is present at a sensible level. Do not conclude that a test proves round-the-clock operation; it confirms only that the setup worked during that test. For a channel that depends on a recurring or continuous source, recheck it after a Windows restart and after any change to the station player or URL.
Use the test to find specific failure points. If OBS meters move but YouTube is silent, inspect the selected audio tracks and stream output. If the YouTube preview is delayed, wait for the platform's preview and check its stream health messages before changing several settings at once. If the station URL stops after a restart, establish whether it needs a manual play action, renewed sign-in or a different source route.
A mini PC may be convenient as a dedicated OBS host, but you do not need to buy one before testing an existing Windows computer. The unresolved issues are often the station feed, permissions, Windows audio routing or the internet connection rather than the computer's size. Keep notes on which source worked and how you restored playback; that is more useful than assuming a setup will survive a night because it ran briefly in the afternoon.
For an unattended channel, decide what happens when the station feed or local connection stops. OBS running on a local machine depends on that machine and its connection remaining available. If avoiding a computer that must stay on is the specific problem, StreamNeo can remove that local-host burden by taking an uploaded video and running it as a YouTube live stream; it is for video-file broadcasts, so it does not replace a live internet-radio feed that must continue to be received.
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FAQ
Can OBS use any internet radio URL?
No. A station address may need authentication, redirect through a web page, or use a feed OBS cannot decode. Try the exact URL with VLC Video source if it is an accessible compatible stream, then verify actual audio in the mixer and YouTube preview.
What if the station only plays in a browser?
Use Application Audio Capture if your Windows version and the application are supported, selecting the browser or player that is producing the sound. Some applications may not capture correctly, so test before relying on this route; a virtual-cable workaround may be needed.
Does a still image work for a radio livestream?
OBS can combine a still image and audio source in one scene, so a station graphic can provide the visual while the feed provides sound. Use artwork you have permission to broadcast and check how it appears in YouTube's preview.
Can I leave the mini PC running overnight?
A local OBS setup relies on the PC, Windows power settings, station source and internet connection continuing to work. A short test is useful but does not establish overnight reliability; test the real route, check sleep settings and monitor the broadcast.