How to stream pre-recorded video on YouTube: OBS, your own server or a service

Pre-recorded video can go on air in three ways. They differ not in picture quality — it can be the same for all — but in how much work is left to you and what happens when something breaks.

OBS on your own computer. Free and quick: add videos to a Media source, turn on looping, press Start Streaming. Fine for a stream of a few hours. For 24/7, the computer and internet must run without a break, titles and thumbnails are changed by hand, and a stream that drops at night is yours to restart.

Your own server (VPS) with ffmpeg. Inexpensive and independent of your computer. But it is administration: install ffmpeg, convert videos to one format, write a restart script, watch disk space. Creating broadcasts and changing titles and thumbnails through the YouTube API is also on you — or you do it by hand in YouTube Studio.

A ready-made service. You pay for the server, re-encoding, restarts and branding being already done. When comparing services, look beyond price: is there a limit on stream length, is playlist looping included in the plan, how much storage you get, whether titles and thumbnails change automatically.

AutoStream belongs to the third group. Stream length is not limited, playlist looping is on every plan, and so is automatic title and thumbnail rotation; the plan only sets the number of simultaneous streams and storage. Prices start at $10 per month, 3 days free with no card. The service does not guarantee channel monetization or view growth: that depends on the content and YouTube's rules.