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Classic BUTT does not have a documented direct output to YouTube Live. It sends live audio from a computer’s microphone or line input to a Shoutcast or Icecast server. To keep using BUTT for your radio server and also stream the station to YouTube, route the station audio into a YouTube-compatible encoder such as OBS, then configure OBS with the server URL and stream key from YouTube Studio.
What BUTT can—and cannot—do for YouTube
BUTT (Broadcast Using This Tool) is documented as a live-audio encoder for Shoutcast and Icecast, not as a direct YouTube RTMP encoder. Its purpose is to send audio from the computer’s microphone or line input to a supported radio server. YouTube’s encoder workflow is different: an encoder sends the stream to YouTube’s server URL using a stream key. The reviewed documentation does not establish a direct BUTT-to-YouTube workflow. BUTT documentation · YouTube encoder setup
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The practical arrangement is two separate outputs: leave BUTT connected to your existing Shoutcast or Icecast destination, and use OBS (or another encoder that supports YouTube Live) for YouTube. The station audio must be available to OBS through a device input or computer audio capture.
Before you configure the stream
- Enable YouTube Live: YouTube requires a verified channel with live streaming enabled. For a channel’s first live stream, activation may take at least 24 hours after the first request; it is not a guaranteed exact wait. Check the current controls in YouTube Studio. YouTube live-streaming help
- Identify where the program audio is: It may be playing through a computer application, entering through an audio device, or coming from an external line-level source. The right capture choice depends on this signal path and your operating system.
- Prepare the visual: YouTube is a video platform, so create an OBS scene with an image source, such as a station logo you have permission to use. Confirm the picture in OBS preview and YouTube’s incoming preview. An image source alone does not establish that a stream satisfies every current YouTube policy or account condition.
- Keep your stream key private: Treat it like a password. Enter it only in the encoder’s stream settings; do not publish it in screenshots, examples, or public configuration files.
Set up the YouTube simulcast in OBS
- Create or schedule the YouTube stream. In YouTube Studio, open the live-stream creation controls, create or schedule a stream, and retrieve the current server URL and stream key shown for the encoder workflow. YouTube’s interface labels may change, so use the current Studio instructions if the menu wording differs. YouTube encoder setup
- Configure OBS for YouTube. Open OBS and go to Settings > Stream. Select YouTube if available, or choose the custom server option and enter the server URL and stream key supplied by YouTube Studio. Do not reuse a key from a different stream unless Studio indicates that it is the intended key.
- Add the station audio. In the OBS scene, add the capture source that matches your setup. OBS documents audio input and output capture sources on Windows and macOS, and ALSA or PulseAudio sources on Linux. A device input can capture a microphone or line input; output or application-audio capture may suit audio already playing on the computer. OBS audio sources
- Avoid capturing the same audio twice. If you add a scene-specific device source, OBS warns against also capturing that same device globally. Duplicate capture can produce echo or doubled audio. Watch the OBS audio meters, listen to a test recording or private test stream, and remove one of the duplicated sources if the signal sounds doubled.
- Add a visual source. In your scene, add an image source and select a station logo or other permitted image. Size it to the canvas and check that it is visible in the OBS preview. OBS documents image sources here: OBS image sources.
- Set output and test. Follow the OBS quick-start guide to check output settings, then run a short test before relying on the stream. Confirm that the correct audio meters move, the visual appears, YouTube receives the preview, and Studio reports healthy incoming video and audio. OBS quick-start guide
- Go live and monitor. Start the YouTube stream from the encoder as required by the Studio workflow, then keep YouTube Studio’s preview and stream-health indicators open while checking the program audio. If the feed is silent, distorted, delayed, or missing its visual, stop and correct the source or output configuration before treating the simulcast as ready.
Route audio based on where the station feed lives
Audio already playing on the streaming computer
If the radio playout software or station feed plays on the same computer, use the appropriate OBS application or output-audio capture source for your operating system. Confirm that OBS meters respond only to the intended program and that system alerts or unrelated desktop sounds will not enter the broadcast.
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Audio entering through a microphone or line input
If the station signal is connected to the computer’s audio input, select that input as an OBS audio source and verify its level. A physical audio interface may be useful when an external line-level output needs a suitable computer input, but it is not a universal requirement; the needed connection depends on the equipment and signal path already in use.
Continue sending audio to your radio server
Keep BUTT pointed at its Shoutcast or Icecast destination if that is how the existing radio stream is delivered. The YouTube output is a separate encoder destination handled by OBS. Do not assume that adding another server in BUTT will create a YouTube output.
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Upload capacity and stream stability
YouTube advises estimating the combined target bitrates when simulstreaming, measuring upload speed under realistic conditions, and monitoring stream health. Its example says that a combined 10 Mbps target suggests 15–20 Mbps of upload headroom on a shared connection. That is general multi-platform guidance—not a radio-specific bitrate recommendation or a universal minimum. YouTube simulstreaming guidance
- Test while the connection is being used normally, not only when it is otherwise idle.
- Leave headroom for other network traffic and watch Studio’s stream-health feedback during the test.
- If you change encoder output settings, test again and confirm that the incoming preview remains stable.
When multiple BUTT instances help
The BUTT developer documents running multiple instances with separate configuration files when sending to multiple traditional radio servers; one instance does not provide simultaneous multi-server streaming by itself. That workaround is for separate Shoutcast or Icecast destinations. It does not turn BUTT into a YouTube-compatible encoder, so OBS or another YouTube-capable encoder is still needed for the YouTube output. BUTT guide to multiple servers
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Troubleshooting the YouTube simulcast
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| You cannot start a live stream | Live streaming is not enabled for the channel yet. | Verify the channel and check YouTube Studio. First-time activation may take at least 24 hours after the initial request, according to YouTube. |
| YouTube receives no signal | The encoder destination, server URL, or stream key may be wrong, or the encoder is not sending. | Compare OBS’s stream settings with the current values in YouTube Studio. Keep the key private. |
| YouTube preview has no audio | OBS may be capturing the wrong device, or the station audio is not reaching that source. | Check the selected input/output or application source and watch its OBS meter while audio plays. |
| Audio has an echo or sounds doubled | The same device may be captured as both a scene source and a global source. | Remove the duplicate capture and test again. |
| Audio is present but the stream is unstable | Available upload capacity may be insufficient under real network conditions. | Estimate the combined target bitrate, measure upload speed during normal use, and monitor YouTube stream health. YouTube’s 15–20 Mbps example applies to a shared connection with a combined 10 Mbps target, not to every setup. |
| The station logo or image is missing | The image source may not be in the active scene, may be hidden, or may be outside the canvas. | Check the active OBS scene, source visibility, placement, and both OBS and YouTube previews. |
| You expect BUTT to send to YouTube as another radio server | Classic BUTT’s documented destinations are Shoutcast and Icecast; the reviewed documentation does not show a direct YouTube encoder output. | Keep BUTT for the radio server and configure a separate YouTube-compatible encoder such as OBS. |
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