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For YouTube Live, start with CBR, a 2-second keyframe interval, and a video bitrate chosen from YouTube’s live-ingest table for your resolution, frame rate, and codec. In OBS, set the canvas and output resolution deliberately, then choose 30 or 60 fps according to the motion in your content and the capacity of your computer. Recording is a separate workflow: use its own quality settings when needed, and record to MKV to reduce the risk that an interrupted session ruins the whole file.
There is no single best preset for every PC, internet connection, or kind of video. The settings below distinguish YouTube’s current platform recommendations from OBS’s example recording values and practical starting advice. YouTube’s live guidance can change; its figures here reflect the official page accessed October 3, 2026.
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Best OBS settings for YouTube Live
Use these as a starting point, not a guarantee of smooth streaming. YouTube’s published rates are recommendations for ingesting a live stream, not upload bitrates for finished videos. A high bitrate cannot compensate for an unstable connection, and your system must also encode and render the scene reliably.
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The following are YouTube Help’s recommended bitrates for live ingest, as accessed October 3, 2026. Choose the row that matches your actual output resolution and frame rate, and the column for the codec you are sending. YouTube also publishes minimum rates; the recommendations below are not minimum requirements.
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| Output | H.264 | AV1 or H.265 |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p, 60 fps | 17 Mbps | 12 Mbps |
| 1080p, 30 fps | 14 Mbps | 10 Mbps |
| 720p, 60 fps | 8 Mbps | 6 Mbps |
| 720p, 30 fps | 8 Mbps | 6 Mbps |
| 1440p, 60 fps | 34 Mbps | 24 Mbps |
| 1440p, 30 fps | 21 Mbps | 15 Mbps |
| 2160p (4K), 60 fps | 50 Mbps | 35 Mbps |
| 2160p (4K), 30 fps | 42 Mbps | 30 Mbps |
These are platform recommendations, not results from a comparative test. If your sustained upload capacity cannot reliably support the selected bitrate with headroom, reduce resolution, frame rate, or both rather than choosing a rate your connection cannot maintain. Check upload speed and run a test stream before an important event.
Live encoder settings
- Rate control: CBR (constant bitrate), YouTube’s recommended mode.
- Keyframe interval: 2 seconds recommended; YouTube says not to exceed 4 seconds.
- Protocol: RTMPS is YouTube’s recommended ingest protocol. YouTube also lists RTMP.
- Video codec: YouTube lists H.264, H.265, and AV1. Which choices appear in OBS depends on the operating system, hardware, and encoder in use.
- Audio: AAC or MP3; YouTube recommends 128 kbps stereo audio.
- Color for SDR: Rec. 709.
For a standard H.264 setup, CBR with the matching H.264 bitrate from the table is a straightforward baseline. Do not copy quality-based recording controls such as CQP or CRF into the live stream’s CBR configuration.
Set OBS video resolution and frame rate
- Open Settings → Video.
- Set Base (Canvas) Resolution to the workspace resolution that fits your sources and scene layout. It describes the canvas OBS uses to arrange sources.
- Set Output (Scaled) Resolution to the resolution you intend to send to YouTube. This is the delivered stream size; choose it based on the desired viewing quality and what your connection and system can sustain.
- Choose Common FPS Values of 30 or 60 according to content and available resources. Fast motion, gameplay, or sports can benefit from 60 fps; relatively static presentations may be well served by 30 fps. OBS notes that 60 fps can be substantially more demanding, so test it rather than assuming the computer can handle it.
Canvas and output need not match. For example, a scene arranged on a 1920×1080 canvas can be scaled to a lower output when performance or bandwidth is constrained. Scaling may affect sharpness, so inspect a test stream at the intended output size.
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Configure the YouTube stream in OBS
- In YouTube Studio, create or schedule a live stream and retrieve its stream key and server details from the live control room. Use the ingest information YouTube provides; keep the stream key private because anyone with it may be able to broadcast to your channel.
- In OBS, open Settings → Stream, choose YouTube or the appropriate YouTube ingest option, and connect the account or enter the stream key as prompted by your version of OBS. Interface choices vary by OBS version and setup.
- Open Settings → Output. Simple mode is a reasonable uncomplicated starting point. In Advanced mode, configure the streaming encoder, set rate control to CBR, enter the table’s bitrate for your chosen codec and output, and set the keyframe interval to 2 seconds.
- In Settings → Audio or the relevant output controls, confirm the intended audio source and stereo output. Use AAC or MP3 with 128 kbps stereo as YouTube’s recommendation where those settings are available.
- Start a private, unlisted, or otherwise appropriate test stream and check both the OBS statistics and YouTube’s stream health before broadcasting to your audience.
OBS encoder choices depend on the operating system and available hardware. Modern hardware encoders usually reduce CPU work and can deliver very good quality with minimal performance impact, but older generations may produce lower quality at a given bitrate. No encoder is universally best: use one available on your system and judge it in a representative test, including OBS stats and logs.
Choose settings for the content and computer
Resolution, frame rate, codec, bitrate, and reliability trade off against one another. Use these checks when deciding between options:
- Motion detail: 60 fps captures smoother motion than 30 fps, but requires more system resources and more bitrate at some resolutions.
- Encoder and codec: Match the YouTube table to the codec actually selected in OBS. Hardware availability and quality vary by system and encoder generation.
- Upload headroom: The stream needs sustained upload capacity, not merely a brief peak. Favor a lower, stable output over a higher setting that fluctuates or drops.
- Local recording: Recording while streaming can add encoding, storage, and disk-write demands. Configure it separately if you need a different quality target.
OBS settings for recording YouTube videos
A local recording that you will edit and upload is not governed by YouTube’s live-ingest bitrate table. In OBS, Settings → Output can use Simple or Advanced output mode. Advanced mode allows separate streaming and recording configurations, including a different encoder and quality target; a separate encoder or a recording setting other than “Same as stream” can require additional system resources.
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Quality-based recording starting points
OBS’s Advanced Recording Settings guide gives the following encoder-specific examples. Treat them as OBS baselines to test on your setup, not universal prescriptions. For each quality-control range below, a lower number means higher quality and larger files.
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These are local recording examples, not live bitrate settings. OBS also provides recording presets such as Same as stream, High Quality, Indistinguishable, and Lossless. Higher-quality options can increase file size or resource needs; OBS describes lossless recording as capable of producing extremely large files, approximately 7 GB per minute in its guide. That is an approximate guide figure, not a universal file-size prediction.
Use MKV, then remux if necessary
In Settings → Output → Recording, choose MKV as the recording format when available. OBS recommends MKV because an unexpected stop is less likely to corrupt the entire recording. If your editor or upload workflow needs MP4, use OBS’s File → Remux Recordings option to convert the completed MKV recording to MP4. Remuxing changes the container without re-encoding the video.
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Use YouTube’s separate recommendations for uploads
If you record locally and later upload the finished video, use YouTube’s upload-encoding guidance rather than the live-ingest table. For SDR, YouTube’s guide recommends 8 Mbps for 1080p at standard frame rates and 12 Mbps at high frame rates; for 720p it recommends 5 Mbps and 7.5 Mbps respectively. It recommends BT.709 for SDR uploads. These are upload recommendations, not settings for sending a live stream to YouTube.
Test before going live
- Set the target output resolution, frame rate, codec, and live bitrate before the test; do not test a lighter scene and assume a more complex event will behave the same way.
- Run representative motion and audio through the stream. Include the sources, transitions, overlays, and sound you expect to use.
- Check OBS for rendering or encoding pressure and review YouTube’s stream health. Look for dropped frames, stuttering, audio problems, or buffering.
- If the test is unstable, adjust one major factor at a time—first output frame rate or resolution, then scene complexity or bitrate—and test again.
YouTube’s live guidance recommends checking upload capacity, testing before going live, and monitoring stream health during the event. A preflight test is especially important when encoder, codec, or network conditions differ from one broadcast to another.
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Troubleshooting common OBS and YouTube problems
OBS reports rendering or encoding lag
The computer may not be rendering the scene or encoding frames quickly enough. Try 30 fps instead of 60, lower the output resolution, and simplify the scene or reduce the size and number of expensive sources. Scene composition uses GPU resources, so a complex layout can contribute to rendering pressure. Reducing Base (Canvas) Resolution should not be the first fix because it complicates source layout; reserve it for severely resource-constrained cases.
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Viewers see buffering, but OBS appears to run correctly
Investigate sustained upload stability and whether the selected bitrate is too close to your available bandwidth. Run an upload speed check, lower the output bitrate by choosing a lower output target if needed, and repeat a representative test while watching YouTube’s stream health. Increasing bitrate is not a fix for an unstable connection.
The recording is damaged after an interruption
Use MKV for future recordings, since OBS recommends it to reduce the risk that an ungraceful stop corrupts the whole file. Remux a completed MKV to MP4 inside OBS when the editing or delivery workflow requires MP4.
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