In this article, learn how to live stream to YouTube on PC or Laptop using OBS Studio.
Using OBS Studio to live stream on YouTube isn’t as tough as many people believe! If you’re a YouTuber looking to live stream on the platform and connect with your audience, now is the time to get started. There are a plethora of tools available, but OBS Studio is arguably the simplest way to stream to YouTube — whether it’s your screen, webinars, or gameplay!
Whatever your motivation, we’ll show you how to use OBS Studio, a powerful open-source streaming software, to immediately start sharing your games and thoughts with a live audience.
If you’re new to OBS Studio, start with our OTTVerse lessons to learn about the software’s installation, setup, and streaming options.
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If you’ve used OBS Studio before, let’s get to the fun part: broadcasting to YouTube.
1) Enable Live Streaming on YouTube
2) Get a Stream Key
3) Set up OBS Studio for Live Streaming on YouTube
Add YouTube’s Stream Key to OBS Studio
4) Set up Video & Audio in OBS Studio for Streaming to YouTube
Video Settings in OBS Studio
Audio Settings in OBS Studio
5) Add Sources to OBS Studio
Start Streaming to YouTube
Conclusion
1) Enable Live Streaming on YouTube
First, we must create a YouTube account. This can be accomplished in a few easy steps.
Verify YouTube Account
We’ll go ahead and assume you already have a YouTube account. You must first validate your account before you may live stream. Click on YouTube Studio from your profile symbol in the top right corner.
Go to Create > Go Live and hit Enable.
Follow the steps to verify your identity and add your phone number. A verification code should arrive shortly. It may take up to 24 hours for your account to be approved and proceed to the next step.
2) Get a Stream Key
It’s time to return to YouTube Studio and obtain a key. Later on, you’ll put it into OBS studio, which will link the two. Select Stream and provide the required information. When generating live streams, you should choose a catchy SEO title to increase the visibility of your stream. For the time being, leave everything else alone and click Create Stream .
Your stream is now active! A control panel will appear right away. Your unique 16-character stream key can be found under Stream Settings . You can either copy it to the clipboard or type it in manually in OBS. Just don’t show it to anyone else.
Note: If you are on a mobile device, you can also download YouTube Studio as an app .
3) Set up OBS Studio for Live Streaming on YouTube
The first step is to install OBS Studio on your computer. Go ahead and download OBS Studio if you haven’t already. Before you set it up, make sure you run it as an administrator. If you’re new to OBS Studio, click here to learn how to set up OBS Studio on PC or Laptop .
After that, you may add YouTube’s Stream Key to OBS Studio.
Add YouTube’s Stream Key to OBS Studio
Go to Stream > Settings . Make sure YouTube is selected as a service and copy the stream key from below. Before exiting, leave the Server on default and click Apply . Suddenly, OBS Studio is connected to YouTube!
4) Set up Video & Audio in OBS Studio for Streaming to YouTube
Now, in OBS Studio, let’s set up the video and audio so that we may stream high-quality footage to YouTube.
Video Settings in OBS Studio
You’ll want to make sure it appears professional before you start live streaming. Select your resolution from the Video menu. We prefer 1080p resolution, however, you can reduce it to 720p if necessary. Leave the rest of the settings alone and click Apply .
It’s now time to move on to Output . This is where you may tweak your streaming options. We have Video Bitrate and Encoder , which are the most crucial features. The bitrate for 1080p should be between 3000 and 6000 Kbps. In terms of encoders, x264 is good and does a great job, but you should see if your graphics card has a powerful hardware encoder, which is sometimes superior.
The quality of your streaming will be mostly determined by two factors: internet speed and computer capability. You’ll get a sluggish stream if you bite off more than you can chew, which will turn off new admirers. Striking the correct balance can be difficult. Fortunately, there are YouTube broadcasting guidelines that go over every step of the procedure.
Audio Settings in OBS Studio
We also need to make sure you sound as well as possible, so go to Audio . A list of Global Audio Devices will appear, each of which represents a single sound source. Turn on Desktop Audio if you’re streaming games and want users to hear in-game audio. Turn on Mic/Auxiliary Audio as well if you wish to converse with your audience. To quit, press Apply and OK .
5) Add Sources to OBS Studio
Finally, it’s time to include things that your users will view. To do so, hover your mouse over the Plus sign next to Sources . Game Capture is the option we’ve chosen. You’ll be taken to Properties once you’ve given it a name.
Many people use third-party overlays, so tick that box and click OK. Rep these procedures to add a webcam and any other features you desire.
Start Streaming to YouTube
Congratulations, you’re now ready to use OBS Studio to start streaming to YouTube! All that remains is for you to return to YouTube Studio and begin streaming your clip.
In this video, we are gonna show you how to stream on YouTube on Windows PC or laptop with OBS Studio.
VIDEO
Conclusion
As you can see, utilizing OBS Studio to start live streaming to YouTube — the world’s most popular video site – is not difficult. We also recommend that you solicit feedback from your viewers so that you can make minor tweaks to your stream’s bitrate and quality. In addition, if you want to learn how to market yourself, click here .