How to Stream a Pre-Recorded Video Live 24/7 on YouTube (No PC)

Running a 24/7 live channel on YouTube used to mean leaving a PC and OBS running non-stop — an expensive, fragile setup that crashes the moment your internet blips. Today you can stream a pre-recorded video live, around the clock, entirely from the cloud. Your computer stays off and the stream never stops.

This guide walks through the whole process: preparing your video, connecting your YouTube channel, and going live 24/7 in a few minutes.

What you need

• A YouTube channel with live streaming enabled (verify your phone number; new channels wait 24 hours for the first live).
• One or more pre-recorded videos (MP4 works best, 1080p recommended).
• A cloud streaming tool such as StreamSetu — no PC, OBS or capture hardware required.

Step 1 — Prepare your video

Export your video as MP4 (H.264 video + AAC audio) at 1080p. Keep the bitrate around 3–6 Mbps for smooth 1080p on YouTube. If you want the channel to run forever, you can loop a single video or queue a playlist.

A cloud platform will transcode the file once to a YouTube-friendly format (correct keyframe interval and GOP) so the live stream never buffers.

Step 2 — Get your YouTube stream key

In YouTube Studio, open “Go Live” → “Stream”. Copy the persistent Stream key. This key stays the same, so you only paste it once. Set the stream latency to Normal for the most stable 24/7 broadcast.

Step 3 — Upload and go live

Upload your video to your cloud dashboard, paste the YouTube stream key, choose “loop” if you want it to run forever, and hit Go Live. The platform streams the video to YouTube using stream-copy, so quality stays identical to your source and CPU cost is tiny.

Because it runs on a server, you can close your laptop — the stream keeps going 24/7. Good platforms also auto-reconnect if YouTube briefly drops the connection, so the channel effectively never goes down.

Why cloud beats a home PC