Run a vertical live stream and help viewers discover your content in YouTube Shorts.
How to go live on the YouTube Shorts feed
Follow the steps here to connect your YouTube channel to Restream.
Set up a vertical stream.
If you use Restream Studio, select Portrait Orientation.
If you use third-party streaming software, adjust your settings to a 9:16 ratio.
Toggle on your YouTube channel and start streaming.
Requirements
You must stream vertically for your live to show on the Shorts feed.
The vertical live feed is only available on the YouTube app on mobile phones.
Streaming must be enabled for your YouTube channel.
YouTube requires you to verify your phone number and wait 24 hours until you can stream for the first time. Learn how to enable live streaming for your channel here.YouTube has no stream duration limits, but will only archive streams under 12 hours.
YouTube has the following recommended stream settings:
Video Guidelines
Codec: H.264
Resolution: 240p-2160p
Bitrate: 3,000-40,000 Kbps, depending on your resolution and FPS
FPS: up to 60
Rate Control: CBR
Keyframe Interval: 2 seconds (recommended), max 4 seconds
Audio Guidelines
Codec: AAC or MP3
Bitrate: 128-Kbps for stereo or 384 Kbps for 5.1 surround sound
Sample rate: 44.1 KHz for stereo audio, 48 KHz for 5.1 surround sound
FAQ
How do I adjust the settings of my streaming software to a 9:16 ratio?
How do I adjust the settings of my streaming software to a 9:16 ratio?
For a 9:16 ratio, your video needs to be more tall than wide, like your phone's screen. For example, if you stream in HD resolution, instead of using 1280 x 720, you need to adjust the setting to 720 x 1280 so the height is larger than the width.
If I'm streaming horizontally, can I make it appear vertically on Shorts?
If I'm streaming horizontally, can I make it appear vertically on Shorts?
Yes. You can use our transcoding feature if you want to go live horizontally on some platforms but run a vertical stream for YouTube Shorts.
Follow the steps here to purchase transcoding hours and adjust the settings of your YouTube channel to a 9:16 ratio by swapping the width and height of your stream. For example, for an HD stream, instead of 1280 x 720, you need to set 720 x 1280.
Can I send two streams to YouTube, a horizontal and a vertical one?
Can I send two streams to YouTube, a horizontal and a vertical one?
Yes. You can achieve this in one of the following ways:
With our concurrent events feature, you can host two parallel streams from a single Restream account. This is available on custom Enterprise plans. For more details, please contact our Sales team.
Alternatively, you can set up two separate Restream accounts, one streaming vertically and one streaming horizontally.
In both cases, you will send two feeds to your YouTube channel at once, and the vertical one will be discoverable on YouTube Shorts.
Will my viewers be able to chat and interact with the stream on Shorts?
Will my viewers be able to chat and interact with the stream on Shorts?
Yes. When viewers find a vertical stream, they can tap it to enter the live feed and:
Watch the live stream full screen.
Interact with the live stream, including chatting, liking, sharing, and more.
💡 Schedule recorded videos to go live on your YouTube channel automatically.