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How to Change the Video While Keeping a 24/7 YouTube Live Stream Online

Switch the video sent by OBS without stopping your YouTube broadcast—or learn what it takes to run a separate broadcast alongside a 24/7 stream.
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To change what viewers see in an existing 24/7 YouTube live stream, keep your encoder connected and switch the media source or scene it sends. In OBS, use a Media Source for one video or a VLC Video source for a playlist. Do not stop the encoder or end the YouTube broadcast if you need that same broadcast to stay online. If you mean publishing a separate YouTube live video while the 24/7 broadcast continues, that is a different, API-based workflow—not a simple source switch.

First decide what “change the video” means

There are two different operations that can sound like “changing the video.” The right method depends on whether viewers should remain on the same YouTube live video.

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What you want What changes What stays live
Show a different clip or playlist on the current watch page The content sent by your encoder, such as the active OBS media source or scene The existing encoder feed and YouTube broadcast
Publish a distinct live video, such as an interview, while the 24/7 video continues A second YouTube broadcast is created and associated with a stream through the YouTube Live Streaming API The existing 24/7 broadcast and encoder feed

For most creators replacing or rotating prerecorded material, the first option is the one they mean. YouTube associates an encoder’s feed with a broadcast; changing the media being sent does not require changing the stream key. YouTube describes the stream key as the credential used by the encoder to send the feed for YouTube to accept. Treat it as sensitive, like a password and address.

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Change the content in OBS without ending the broadcast

Prepare the next video

  1. Make sure the next file is available on the computer running OBS and plays correctly. OBS Media Source supports MP4, TS, MOV, FLV, MKV, AVI, GIF, and WebM files.
  2. If you want to verify it before showing it to viewers, add it to a test scene or source and check playback there first.
  3. Confirm that the content is yours to use or that you have the necessary rights. A live format does not remove copyright concerns; YouTube’s encoder guidance does not establish that a particular video is cleared for streaming.

Choose a source type

  • One clip: Use an OBS Media Source and enable its Loop property if that clip should repeat.
  • A playlist: Use OBS’s VLC Video source, configure the playlist, and enable playlist looping if it should restart after the last item. VLC must be installed for the source to appear. OBS specifies that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC.

Switch what the encoder is sending

  1. Leave your existing YouTube service, stream URL, and stream key configured in OBS. Do not reset the key just to change a video source.
  2. While OBS continues streaming, make the prepared media source or its scene the content being sent to the live output. OBS documents the media-source and playlist options; the exact controls and scene arrangement depend on how your OBS project is set up.
  3. Check YouTube Live Control Room to confirm that the stream is still receiving the encoder feed and that the intended content is appearing. A source change is not a documented guarantee of a gap-free picture on every computer, file, encoder, or network.

Do not click a control that stops the encoder or ends the YouTube stream if you need the current broadcast to remain online. YouTube’s encoder guidance says that stopping the content sent from the encoder ends the stream.

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Keep one broadcast live while publishing a separate one

If you need a second YouTube live video—not just different content on the existing watch page—Google’s YouTube Live Streaming API documentation describes binding two broadcasts to the same stream. In its example, the 24/7 broadcast remains live while a separate broadcast is made live and later completed; the encoder keeps sending video. Google’s documentation states: “However, you don’t stop streaming video since the 24/7 broadcast continues.”

This is an API-resource workflow, not a promise that YouTube Studio has a single button to create and bind a second broadcast. If you are not building or using an integration that works with the Live Streaming API, do not assume you can reproduce that workflow from a standard Studio screen. For a simple change in what viewers see on the ongoing broadcast, switch the encoder’s media source instead.

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Settings and YouTube details that can affect a change

  • Stream URL and key: YouTube says the encoder uses the stream URL and stream key to send the feed. Keep the current settings for an in-place source change. If you reset the key, update the encoder with the newly generated one.
  • Reused settings: YouTube’s option to reuse stream settings can copy metadata, settings, and the stream key. Check the copied details before relying on them for a new broadcast.
  • Auto-start and auto-stop: YouTube’s controls determine whether streaming can be started or stopped from the encoder. These settings can also be copied when reusing stream settings. Avoid stopping the encoder when the current broadcast must stay live.
  • Latency: YouTube notes that lower latency can mean more playback buffering. Latency is the delay between capture by the encoder or camera and display to viewers; it is not a setting you need to change merely to switch media sources.
  • Archives: YouTube says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived. That statement does not promise automatic archiving of a 24/7 stream’s complete feed.

When a computer-based setup is not the right fit

OBS runs on your computer, so this approach depends on that computer and its connection remaining available to send the feed. YouTube also lists cloud services for continuous prerecorded-video streaming, as well as standalone hardware encoders; those are different operating models, not prerequisites for changing a source inside an existing OBS feed. YouTube’s encoder directory describes Gyre as a cloud option for 24/7 prerecorded streams and AJA HELO Plus as hardware with a PlayToStream feature for scheduling prerecorded media to YouTube Live. Those listings do not establish that either product can change media within your existing broadcast in a particular way.

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Or let it run in the cloud

If you want a YouTube channel to keep looping uploaded videos without leaving a computer running at home, StreamNeo runs the stream from the cloud. The three steps are: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. It plays uploaded videos, not a live camera feed.

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