The Tool Desk
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Find where the bars enter the picture
Check the source or encoder preview first, then compare Livepush’s incoming and output previews if you use its transcoder. The first view where bars appear is the best clue to their cause.
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- Bars already visible in the source or encoder preview: They are likely part of the produced frame. Correct the source canvas, scene layout, or upstream composition.
- Incoming preview is clean, but Livepush’s output preview has bars: A transcoder orientation or fit choice may be adding space around the image.
- Livepush’s output preview is clean, but bars appear around the video in a viewer’s player: YouTube adapts its player to the video’s shape and the viewer’s device. The player alone cannot establish that black pixels are in the encoded stream.
Livepush says its transcoder output is what downstream destinations receive, so compare its incoming and outgoing previews when transcoding is active.
Set a standard frame for horizontal streaming
YouTube identifies 16:9 as the standard aspect ratio for its computer player and lists 1920×1080 for 1080p and 1280×720 for 720p. For an ordinary horizontal broadcast, set the source and outgoing frame to the same 16:9 geometry, at a resolution appropriate to your production.
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Livepush’s January 25, 2025 live-settings guidance says its accepted input can use any resolution and aspect ratio, with a maximum height of 2,160 pixels. That flexibility does not mean every source shape will fill every destination frame without padding or cropping.
Remove padding that is part of the source
If the black pixels are embedded at the edges of the source, changing YouTube’s player or destination settings will not remove them. Adjust the source canvas, scene, or composition so the image fills the frame you intend to send.
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- Crop: Can fill a differently shaped output frame, but removes some of the source’s edges. Use it only if losing that detail is acceptable.
- Pad or fit: Keeps the complete source visible, but can leave unused space around it.
- Stretch: Changes the image’s proportions. It may hide bars, but distorts the picture and is not a quality-preserving fix.
YouTube Help advises: “For best results, avoid adding padding or black bars directly to your video.” Its guidance explains that padding interferes with the player’s ability to adapt to the video and viewer’s device.
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If Livepush transcoding is in your stream path, inspect the orientation and scaling behavior before changing other encoder settings. Livepush documents “Original/Default (padded),” “Cropped,” and “Rotated” behavior under its orientation choices. Exact controls can vary by workflow or account; the available documentation does not establish universal click-by-click navigation, so consult Livepush support if you cannot locate the relevant setting.
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- Choose landscape output when you want a conventional horizontal YouTube presentation.
- Choose a padded fit when preserving every edge matters more than filling the output frame.
- Choose a cropped fit only when filling the frame is more important than retaining the source edges.
- Use rotation only when you intend to change the presentation orientation.
Preview the output after changing the fit. Do not assume a setting has fixed the stream until you can see the outgoing frame.
Distinguish video bars from YouTube player space
YouTube changes the player shape to suit the video and viewing device. Its guidance notes that some formats, including vertical 9:16 video in desktop browsers, can have padding around the image; that padding is white by default and dark gray in Dark theme. A dark area around a video in a player is therefore not necessarily black padding encoded into the stream.
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Use the source and Livepush output previews to diagnose the frame itself. If those previews are clean but a particular viewer sees space around the picture, the player or device presentation may explain the difference.
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Test the stream before broadcasting publicly
- Make one change at a time to the source frame or Livepush fit setting, so you can identify which change affected the result.
- Inspect the source or encoder preview and, when applicable, Livepush’s incoming and output previews.
- Run a test stream and check the preview in YouTube Live Control Room before starting a public broadcast.
- Monitor video quality during the event; if bars reappear, compare the outgoing frame with the source again.
Keep aspect ratio separate from bitrate and keyframes
Bitrate and keyframe interval affect stream configuration, but they do not change the geometry that causes bars. Livepush’s 2025 live-settings guidance lists a general recommended bitrate of 4.5 Mbps and a maximum of 16 Mbps, and recommends a 2-second keyframe interval with a 4-second maximum. YouTube also recommends a 2-second keyframe interval and says not to exceed 4 seconds. Treat these as separate streaming settings, not as remedies for padding or aspect-ratio mismatch.
Troubleshoot by symptom
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Bars are visible in the source or encoder preview. | The source composition or canvas includes them. | Correct the source layout or crop the image upstream, accepting that cropping removes edge detail. |
| The incoming preview is clean, but the transcoder output has bars. | The output orientation or padded fit is adding space. | Review Livepush’s orientation and scaling choice; compare padded and cropped behavior according to whether full image retention or a filled frame matters more. |
| The output preview is clean, but one player shows space around the video. | YouTube’s adaptive player or the viewer’s device may be presenting space around the frame. | Check the YouTube Live Control Room preview and another display before altering a clean outgoing frame. |
| The image looks stretched after a change. | The source has been forced into a different shape rather than fitted proportionally. | Restore the correct proportions, then choose padding to preserve the whole image or cropping to fill the frame. |
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