How to Create Your First 24/7 Live Stream

Introduction

Running a 24/7 live stream used to require a dedicated computer running OBS around the clock. With playout.video, you can launch a continuous live stream entirely from the cloud, with no hardware, no downloads, and no babysitting.

This guide walks you through the entire process, from signing up to going live on your first platform.

What You'll Need

Before you start, make sure you have:

• A playout.video account (the Free plan requires no credit card)

• At least one video file to stream (MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, or WebM)

• A streaming platform account (YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, TikTok, or any RTMP-compatible service)

Step 1: Sign Up and Access the Dashboard

Head to playout.video and create your account. Once signed in, you'll land on the Dashboard, your central hub for managing live streams and media.

The dashboard shows your recent live streams and media library at a glance. If this is your first time, both sections will be empty, that's about to change.

Step 2: Upload Your Content

You need videos in your media library before you can stream. There are two ways to add content:

Upload from Your Computer

1. Click the Upload button on the dashboard or go to the Media Library

2. Select one or more video files from your computer

3. Supported formats: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WebM

4. Wait for the upload and processing to complete

Import from YouTube

Already have videos on YouTube? Import them with one click:

1. Click the Import YouTube button

2. Paste the YouTube video URL

3. playout.video will download and add it to your library automatically

For a detailed guide on importing from a link, see Importing Videos from Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and More.

Step 3: Set Up Your First Stream

Now let's create your first stream:

1. Click Create Live Stream from the dashboard or the Live Streams page

2. Upload your first content

1. Give your stream a name (e.g., "My 24/7 Music Channel")

3. Connect your Social Channel

Click Create

You'll be taken to the stream management page, which has everything you need in the sidebar:

• Playlist: the videos that will play in your stream

• Destinations: where your stream will broadcast

• Schedule: automated actions and timing

• Settings: quality, aspect ratio, and other options

Step 4: Add More Content and Build Your Playlist

Go to the Media Library https://playout.video/files

• Click New Button and select Upload Files, or alternatively just drag and drop the files to the browser window.

Your stream needs content to play. Let's add videos to the playlist:

1. Click Playlist in the sidebar

2. Get back to the live stream by clicking Live Streams on left side panel

3. Click Manage Live Stream button

4. Click Add Videos to browse your media library

5. Select the videos you want to include

6. Drag and drop to reorder them as you like

Your playlist will loop automatically by default. When the last video finishes, it starts again from the beginning.

For more playlist features like jingles and inline switching, see Building and Managing Playlists.

Step 5: Add a Destination

A destination is where your stream will be broadcast. Let's connect your first platform:

1. Click Destinations in the sidebar

2. Click Add Destination

3. Choose your platform:

• YouTube: connect your YouTube channel via OAuth

• Twitch: connect your Twitch account

• Facebook: connect your Facebook page

• TikTok: connect your TikTok account

• Custom RTMP: enter any RTMP URL and stream key

4. Follow the authorization prompts to connect your account

5. Enable Auto Start if you want this destination to go live automatically when the stream starts

You can add multiple destinations to stream to several platforms simultaneously. This is called multistreaming.

For a complete guide on connecting platforms, see Connecting Streaming Platforms.

Step 6: Go Live

Everything is set up. Time to launch:

1. Make sure your playlist has at least one video

2. Make sure at least one destination is connected

3. Click the Start Stream button

That's it. Your 24/7 live stream is now running in the cloud. You can close your browser, shut down your computer, and the stream keeps going.

What Happens Next

Once your stream is live:

• Auto-loop: Your playlist repeats automatically when it reaches the end

• Auto-recovery: If anything interrupts the stream, playout.video automatically restarts it

• No downtime: The stream runs 24/7 on our cloud infrastructure, with no hardware needed on your end

• Monitor anytime: Check back on the dashboard to see your stream status, viewer count, and health

Optional: Add Overlays

Want to make your stream look more professional? Use the Composition Editor to add:

• Your logo or watermark

• Text overlays with custom fonts and colors

• Now Playing display showing the current video title

• Audio visualizer for music streams

See Using the Overlay and Composition Editor for a full walkthrough.

Optional: Set Up a Schedule

Automate your stream with scheduled actions:

• Start/stop the stream at specific times

• Switch playlists on a schedule (e.g., different content for morning vs. evening)

• Start/stop specific destinations independently

Schedules can be one-time or recurring using cron expressions. See Scheduling Streams and Automated Actions.

Keep Every YouTube Recording on a 24/7 Stream

YouTube may not save a recording of a broadcast that runs longer than 12 hours. Watch time from a live stream YouTube did not save does not count toward the watch hours the Partner Program asks for, so a stream that runs around the clock on one broadcast can lose most of its hours.

To avoid that:

1. Open your stream and go to the YouTube panel for the destination

2. Under Settings, turn on Start a new broadcast every 11 hours

Every 11 hours, playout.video ends the current broadcast so YouTube keeps its recording, and starts the next one. Your stream reconnects to YouTube for the new broadcast, so the switch takes a few seconds, usually under 10, and then the new broadcast goes live on its own.

Each new broadcast keeps the title, description, privacy and category, and a thumbnail you set in playout.video. A thumbnail you set in YouTube Studio does not carry over.

Each new broadcast also has its own watch link, and live chat starts fresh. Share your channel's Live tab if you want one address that always reaches the current broadcast.

If the switch is off and a broadcast passes 11 hours, the YouTube panel shows a warning and you get a notification.

Find Every Part of Your Stream

The YouTube panel lists each broadcast under Archive parts, newest first, with when it ran and a link to watch it on YouTube:

• Live is the broadcast your stream is going to now

• Saved is a part the 11-hour switch ended, so YouTube keeps its recording

• Ended is a part that stopped another way, for example when you stopped the stream

Links are kept for 30 days. After that the part still shows when it ran, and you can find the video in YouTube Studio.

Troubleshooting

Stream won't start?

• Make sure your playlist has at least one video that has finished processing

• Check that your destination credentials are valid and the platform is reachable

Video quality looks low?

• Check your stream quality settings. You may need to upgrade to a higher tier for 4K or 60fps

• Make sure your source videos are high quality; playout.video streams at the quality you configure, but can't upscale low-resolution source files

Stream stopped unexpectedly?

• Auto-recovery should restart it automatically within seconds

• Check the stream health status on your dashboard for any error messages

• Auto-recovery does not end your YouTube broadcast, so the same watch link keeps working across a reconnect

YouTube watch link changed after you stopped the stream?

• Stopping the stream on purpose ends the YouTube broadcast, which is what makes YouTube save the recording

• Starting again creates a new broadcast with a new watch link, so share your channel's Live tab rather than one broadcast link if you stop and start regularly

• To keep one broadcast running across stops, open the YouTube panel on the destination and turn off End broadcast when the stream stops. YouTube stops saving broadcasts longer than about 12 hours, so you then need to end it yourself in YouTube Studio

Next Steps

• Importing Videos from Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and More, quickly build your library from existing content

• Building and Managing Playlists, advanced playlist features

• Connecting Streaming Platforms, add more destinations

• What Is 24/7 Live Streaming and Why You Should Start Today, learn about the benefits of 24/7 streaming