How to do a Pre-Recorded Live Stream on YouTube

Many YouTubers often think of uploading high-quality, well-edited videos during live streams. But something always gets off.  What if you can take all the time and create a well-crafted video for live?

Yes, it is possible you can upload a pre-recorded video to YouTube Live. Whether you are hosting an event, covering on-the-spot news, or you want to give your audience a taste of live content. You can add a pre-recorded YouTube live video to bring engagement. You get familiar with the YouTube features. Once you gain a large audience. The content strategy will be easy to make for live streams.

In this article, we’ll outline the steps to upload a pre-recorded live video, discuss its benefits and drawbacks, and explore the tools that can help you schedule a live video effectively.

What is a Pre-Recorded Live Stream

The pre-recorded live stream is a pre-planned, created YouTube video. YouTubers upload and schedule their videos for a specific time. The live YouTube videos are on the “Set to Premiere” option.

An announcement can be made using a pre-recorded live stream. Countdown Premieres are also done using a pre-recorded stream. Highlights of an event or looping content to be. The video can be watched 24/7. The anticipation makes it more dramatic.

How to set up a Pre-Recorded Live Stream on YouTube?

If you have already recorded your YouTube video and want to set it up for a live stream, follow these steps. Before we dive into the steps, note that your video has to be more than a minute. To set the video as a premiere.

First, I’ll start by giving all the steps, and then I’ll explain each step in detail and its purpose.

1. Go to YouTube, click on the channel icon, and tap on YouTube Studio.

2. In the top right corner, you will see the “Create” button; click on it.

3. From the options, select “Upload Videos”

4. Drag or browse your video to upload.

5. In the details section, write the title, description, keywords, Thumbnails, and add to the playlist if it belongs.

6. Choose Audience, whether it is made for kids or not.

7. If the video is a paid promotion, check the box.

8. Choose yes/no if content altered.

9. Add chapters

10. Check the box for the automatic places and automatic concepts YouTube feature.

11. Add Tags

12. Complete the language and captions certification section

13. Add licenses if any

14. Choose Shorts remixing

15. Choose category

16. Complete comments and ratings

Click next, and you will land on the Video Elements tab

17. Add related Video.

18. Add Subtitles

The next tab will do the copyright checks. If it approves, you can jump onto the Visibility tab.

19. Choose Public from (Private, Unlisted, Public) to do a pre-recorded live stream.

20. Schedule the video by selecting the date, duration, and time zone.

21. Keep the “Set as Premiere” option

22. Click on the “Schedule” button.

Let’s understand the terminology of pre-recorded live stream steps.

There may be some steps that are new or complex, so I am trying to explain them in an easy manner.

Once you add Title, Description and Thumbnail. Select the playlist that the video belongs to. If it’s a sole video, leave it as it is.

In the audience segment, it is mandatory to select whether it is made for kids or not. In the advanced tab, you can also set the audience to 18+ only.

Also, you have to check the box if your video contains a paid promotion.

Additionally, there is a check box to tell YouTube if the video is altered. The altered content means that a person appeared in the video, said something that they didn’t say in real life. Or the video footage is altered or adds a scene that didn’t actually occur. All this has to be marked to follow YouTube guidelines.

The automatic chapters box can be marked, or you can manually add the chapters.
If Featured places are locations that you have visited in the video. The viewers will not see your location. But they can see key locations such as shops and restaurants.

The automatic concepts allow users to learn unfamiliar terms without leaving the video. The terms or concepts mentioned in the video automatically appear in the description.

You can also add the language of the video for better YouTube localization and caption certification. The audience can search a video by location if you add recording date and video location.

Add a license if you own the content. You can also grant users permission to embed the content. Additionally, use can let others create Shorts using content from your video.

Lastly, some standard terminologies, categories, comments, and ratings features. Add relevant videos that will appear at the end of the video or in suggestions.

Keep the video public and schedule the post as “Set as premiere” and click on Schedule post. The pre-recorded live stream on YouTube will be available at that time.

Why Do You Need a Pre-Recorded Live Stream on YouTube?

There are many reasons YouTubers do pre-recorded live streams on YouTube. Let’s see some examples so that you get context. If you are planning to live stream, these reasons may help you create a better live stream.

Perfect content: You get time to polish your content. You can edit the unwanted part. If there is a glitch or any mistake, such as audio issues or the need for subtitles, these can be addressed in the editing space.

Flexibility:  You get time to schedule a pre-recorded live stream based on your audience’s preference. A perfect time can bring more engagement.

Content hype: If the content is presented with anticipation, it can generate more curiosity, thus leading to more engagement.

Real-time interaction: Although it’s a pre-recorded live stream. Still, it can give a real-time live experience to people living in other regions.

Live stream on YouTube is one of the most used techniques to bring maximum engagement and build a loyal community. The more viewers you have, the better the chances of engagement. You can promote your YouTube videos with VeeFly. Connect your channel, set the budget, and let us do the complex task of promotion.

Conclusion

By presenting the pre-recorded live stream to your audience, you are providing a quality experience. The pre-recording gives you a chance to edit the irrelevant parts of the video. Saving the time of the audience by removing unnecessary disturbance, such as noise or unclear sound. In the article, we have seen detailed steps to set up a pre-recorded video to be scheduled as a YouTube live.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Can I live-stream a pre-recorded video on YouTube?

You can schedule a video to live by selecting “Set as premiere” when publishing.  Also, you use streaming software to do a pre-recorded live stream.

Q2. What is a pre-recorded live stream?

A pre-recorded live stream is like broadcasting a video, at a scheduled time, to create a live event using YouTube or streaming software.

Q3. How to set up a 24/7 pre-recorded live stream video on YouTube?

There are two methods: manual and cloud-based. First, use software like OBS Studio to arrange files, and then add the YouTube stream key in the software to loop continuously. Then, the second is cloud-based automation for continuously streaming videos.

Q4. Can a YouTube live stream be recorded?

Yes, YouTube allows you to add archived videos that are less than 12 hours old. YouTube also archives files in resolutions ranging from 144p to 1080p.

Q5. What is the difference between live and pre-recorded?

Live streams are a real-time interaction that is raw, spontaneous, and without retakes. On the other hand, pre-recorded live videos are edited before streaming.

Ujwal: Crafting content for creators. As a content writer immersed in the YouTube universe, I create insightful, actionable blogs that empower YouTubers to grow, engage, and thrive. Whether it's algorithm updates, audience building, or monetization hacks—I write keeping creators in mind