You can broadcast an existing portrait video through YouTube Live by sending a vertical feed from an encoder to YouTube’s vertical stream key. That can make the live broadcast eligible to appear in YouTube’s vertical live-feed experience while viewers browse Shorts—but it is still a live stream, not an uploaded Short, and appearance in the feed is not guaranteed. YouTube’s vertical live feed is available in the YouTube app, not on tablets; scheduled live streams and Premieres do not appear in it.
What “a YouTube Shorts live stream” means
You are broadcasting a video file through YouTube Live in a vertical format. YouTube may surface vertical live streams in its vertical live-feed experience while people browse Shorts. This is different from uploading a finished video as a Short: the file is being transmitted as a live broadcast, and the vertical-feed placement is a discovery opportunity, not a promise of views. YouTube says the vertical live feed is available in the YouTube app and not on tablets; scheduled live streams and Premieres are excluded. YouTube Help: Watch & interact with vertical live streams
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Before you start: check channel eligibility
- Your channel must be verified and have live streaming enabled.
- Your channel must not have had a live-streaming restriction in the preceding 90 days.
- You must be at least 16 years old to stream.
- First-time activation of live streaming can take up to 24 hours, so enable it ahead of the planned broadcast.
Check the current status and any account-specific prompts in YouTube Studio. Requirements and interface labels may change. YouTube Help: Get started with live streaming
Prepare the vertical video and encoder
Make the output portrait
Use a genuinely vertical video feed rather than sending a landscape frame with empty space around a small portrait image. Set the encoder’s output canvas to match your portrait video and check that the subject, captions, and important details remain inside the frame. If you want to send both landscape and vertical outputs using YouTube’s dual-stream setup, configure the two feeds before going live; YouTube says you cannot add the vertical format after the stream has started.
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Use the vertical stream key for the vertical feed
For a third-party encoder’s dual-stream configuration, YouTube’s instructions say to choose RTMP(S) in Live Control Room and select a second stream key for the vertical output. Send the vertical version to that key and the horizontal version to its matching key. Do not assume that a single landscape key will automatically create a vertical feed. Follow the current Live Control Room prompts for your selected setup. YouTube Help: Get started with live streaming
Set a compatible video and audio format
YouTube’s current encoder guidance lists H.264, H.265, or AV1 video and AAC or MP3 audio. Use constant bitrate (CBR), and set a two-second keyframe interval where possible; YouTube recommends two seconds and says the interval should not exceed four seconds. Use RTMPS where your encoder supports it. Choose a bitrate your internet upload can sustain consistently at the selected resolution and frame rate. YouTube’s streaming tips recommend keeping 20% bandwidth margin above the stream’s bitrate. YouTube Help: Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions · YouTube Help: Streaming tips
Start the prerecorded video as a YouTube Live stream
- Open Live Control Room. In YouTube Studio, select Create → Go live, then create or select the stream. Choose the encoder workflow. For a dual-stream vertical setup, select RTMP(S) and configure the vertical stream key before starting.
- Copy the connection details. Copy the YouTube Live server URL and the appropriate stream key into the encoder. Treat the key like a password: do not show it in screenshots or share it publicly. If it is exposed, reset it in Live Control Room and update the encoder.
- Load the prerecorded file. In the encoder, select the file as the video source and configure playback or looping as needed. YouTube’s encoder instructions explain connecting a stream, but do not prescribe a particular encoder program or file-looping method.
- Check the output and stream health. Start the encoder and inspect the Live Control Room preview before publishing. Confirm the image is portrait, the correct audio is present, and the stream health is acceptable. Check that your upload connection has the recommended bandwidth headroom.
- Publish the event. For a scheduled stream, wait until the preview appears in Live Control Room, verify the feed, then click Go live. Do not expect to switch a running horizontal dual stream to vertical after it has started.
- End the broadcast deliberately. Stop the encoder when the event is over and confirm the stream has ended in Live Control Room. YouTube says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived.
YouTube Help: Create a YouTube live stream with an encoder
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Preflight checklist for a vertical prerecorded broadcast
- The channel is eligible, verified, and live streaming is activated.
- The feed is portrait and the subject, text, and graphics fit the vertical frame.
- The vertical feed is assigned to the vertical stream key; any landscape feed uses its matching key.
- The encoder uses an accepted codec, CBR, a two-second keyframe interval where possible (never above four seconds), and RTMPS where supported.
- The video and audio play correctly in the Live Control Room preview, and the stream health is stable.
- Upload capacity can sustain the chosen bitrate with the 20% margin YouTube recommends.
- The prerecorded video and audio are cleared for use. YouTube’s technical setup does not grant permission to use copyrighted material; review the rights for every clip, song, and other included content before broadcasting.
- The stream key is private and the event is being started as a live stream, not a scheduled stream or Premiere if vertical-feed discovery is the goal.
Local encoder or cloud streaming?
Local encoder
A local encoder gives you direct control over playback and encoding, but you operate and monitor it yourself. The computer, encoder, and internet connection must remain available for the duration of the broadcast. YouTube’s instructions establish the server URL and stream-key workflow; they do not require a particular software package for looping a prerecorded file.
Cloud service
YouTube’s encoder listing names Gyre as a cloud-based option for 24/7 prerecorded-video live streaming. That listing alone does not establish its current pricing, terms, vertical-output support, scheduling controls, or reliability; check those details with the provider before choosing it. A cloud service is optional—YouTube’s encoder workflow can also be used with a local setup. YouTube Help: encoder options
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Troubleshooting common problems
The stream does not appear in the vertical live feed
Confirm that the event is a vertical live stream, not a scheduled live stream or Premiere, and that viewers are using the YouTube app rather than a tablet. Feed appearance is not guaranteed, even when the format is correct.
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Check that the encoder is using the current YouTube server URL and the correct stream key. Verify that the encoder is running and that the channel has live streaming enabled. If the key was exposed, reset it in Live Control Room and replace it in the encoder.
The feed is landscape, cropped, or letterboxed
Inspect the encoder’s output canvas and source framing, and confirm the vertical version is sent to the vertical key. In dual-stream mode, verify that the landscape and vertical outputs have not been assigned to each other’s keys. Make configuration changes before starting the broadcast.
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The stream is unstable or drops frames
Compare the chosen bitrate with the available upload bandwidth and reduce the stream settings if the connection cannot sustain them. Keep YouTube’s recommended 20% margin, use CBR, and check the stream-health indicators in Live Control Room. A variable or shared connection may fluctuate even when a speed check initially looks sufficient.
Audio or video format is rejected
Use a listed video codec—H.264, H.265, or AV1—and AAC or MP3 audio. Set CBR and a keyframe interval of two seconds if possible, without exceeding four seconds. Confirm the encoder is actually applying the selected output settings.
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Sources and current details
- YouTube Help: Watch & interact with vertical live streams on the YouTube app
- YouTube Help: Get started with live streaming
- YouTube Help: Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions
- YouTube Help: Create a YouTube live stream with an encoder
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