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First, check YouTube Studio for the broadcast archive, then check the encoder computer for a local recording. If the event is still active, reconnect the encoder in Live Control Room using its configured stream URL and key. None of these steps can restore footage that was never recorded: YouTube does not document a power-outage recovery or a way to merge a missing interval back into one continuous broadcast.
Check YouTube for the live archive
- Open YouTube Studio and select Content, then the Live tab.
- Find the interrupted broadcast and open it. Check whether the archive is available and whether its playback includes the period before and after the outage.
- If the archive is present but private or otherwise not visible as you expect, review its visibility settings in Studio. YouTube says eligible streams are automatically archived and their privacy can be changed in Studio. See YouTube’s archive guidance.
YouTube describes automatic archiving for streams under 12 hours, including 1440p and 2160p (4K) streams. Streams longer than 12 hours may not be captured at all. That duration guidance is not a guarantee that an interrupted stream will have a complete archive.
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Check whether the event can still continue
- Open Live Control Room and inspect the stream’s state and preview.
- If the event is still active, restore the encoder’s connection using the stream URL and key configured for that broadcast. Check that the encoder is sending video and that the preview appears in Live Control Room.
- If the encoder cannot start, verify that it is using the intended stream key. YouTube’s guidance says to check the key and update it if needed; follow the instructions in Manage live stream settings and Troubleshoot your YouTube live stream.
A reconnect may restore video sending if the event and setup still permit it, but YouTube does not promise that an event can resume after a power outage or that the archive will remain one continuous recording.
Look for a separate local recording
- On the encoder computer, check the recording destination configured in the streaming software or hardware.
- Open any candidate file and verify that it plays, has a plausible file size and duration, and actually contains the missing interval. A file that exists may still be incomplete or damaged.
- If recording was not enabled, the destination drive was unavailable, or the file does not contain the interval, it cannot supply that missing footage.
YouTube recommends keeping a local archive as a backup and checking that the recording file is intact and growing during a stream. Its advice is in Archive live streams and YouTube live streaming tips.
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What DVR and a playlist can—and cannot—recover
DVR lets viewers pause and rewind while a live stream is running; it is not a documented way for the creator to reconstruct video lost in an outage. YouTube says DVR may be limited or unavailable on streams longer than 12 hours, and viewers cannot seek to a point before the stream began. See Turn on DVR on live streams.
A playlist or stream URL is not a copy of the broadcast footage. If neither YouTube’s archive nor a local recording contains the interval, the official guidance cited here describes no way to recreate frames that were never recorded.
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Reduce the chance of losing footage next time
Record locally and check the file
Enable a local recording before the broadcast, choose a destination with adequate free space, and confirm that the file is being written and grows while streaming. Afterward, verify that it opens and plays. YouTube recommends a local archive backup and checking its integrity.
Prepare for encoder and network failures
Check the preview in Live Control Room before the event and test backup-encoder failover in advance. YouTube also recommends leaving 20% upload-bandwidth headroom; this is preventive network advice, not an outage-recovery specification. A network disruption can break a stream, as noted in YouTube’s streaming tips.
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Keep the recording setup powered
For a power outage, the encoder and the storage receiving the local recording both need power if they are to keep recording. That is a practical consequence of the setup, not a YouTube guarantee. Consider how the computer, network equipment, and recording drive will behave if household power is lost.
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