Can You Pre-record On StreamYard? Read This First (Solved)

StreamYard’s browser-based streaming studio allows its users to create content and broadcast it to the most important platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

StreamYard has made live streaming a piece of cake, but what if you’re not able to go live this week – what if you want to broadcast pre-recorded footage instead?

In this article, you can get the full picture about pre-recorded videos whilst using StreamYard.

Here’s If You Can You Pre-record on StreamYard and Broadcast it:

Broadcasting a pre-recorded video live on StreamYard is possible and easy. StreamYard has given its users the ability to either upload a file from their computer or to take a video created in StreamYard and then schedule it to broadcast at a particular time or date.

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The pre-recorded video can be up to 10GB for basic and pro members and up to 25GB for those on a Business plan.

The user does not even need to be present whilst it streams live and they can even schedule an announcement to let audiences know when and where the video will be streamed.

How do you Livestream a Pre-Recorded File with StreamYard?

By live-streaming a pre-recorded file you are taking a video that you’ve made previously and then choosing to broadcast that video to audiences live on a particular day.

You may be wondering what the purpose of doing this is and there are many valid reasons, such as:

The ability to have an edited and polished video product
- - - - Live videos cannot be edited and so by using a pre-recorded video you can re-shoot and edit the footage until it has both the production quality and the execution you desire.
Free from technical issues
- - - - Nothing can ruin a live stream faster than technical hiccups such as Wi-fi issues and glitches. With a pre-recorded video you know exactly what you’re putting out and that it’s free from any embarrassing mishaps.
Opens up creative space
- - - - A pre-recorded video can incorporate a range of visual techniques such as scene changes and graphics.
You can keep to a schedule
1. 1. 1. 1. Pre-recorded videos can be scheduled on Streamyard to go out at a certain time – even when you’re not around. This means that life doesn’t have to get in the way of you ensuring your content goes out on time and the audience is never disappointed.

So now you understand some of the key features and benefits of live streaming a pre-recorded video it’s time you get to grips with how to make all this work for you.

With these simple steps, you’ll be reaping the rewards in no time:

Once you’ve logged into your account on StreamYard, navigate to the Broadcast page.
Now choose to ‘Create a broadcast’ followed by ‘Use pre-recorded video’ which you will find in the drop-down menu.
Select ‘Choose a recording’.
Click ‘Past Broadcasts’ if the recording that you want to use was made on StreamYard.
If you are using a file that was not recorded on StreamYard then select ‘Upload’ and choose the video from the computer’s hard drive.
Decide which destinations you wish the pre-recoding to go live from (YouTube, Facebook, etc).
Choose the ‘Start time’ – whether that’s in a couple of days’ time or in 5 minutes.
Next, decide on the ‘Title’, and the ‘Description’ for your video by entering the information in the relevant fields.
If you wish you can also make audiences aware beforehand that your video will go live at the set time by choosing to ‘Schedule an announcement post’.
The last step is to select ‘Create and schedule broadcast’. Now you’re pre-recorded video is scheduled to go live.

Check out our blog about can OBS record multiple video tracks?

Can You Use Pre-recorded Videos During a Livestream?

To ensure your live stream has that professional style that gives your content the edge, it may be worth your while learning how to incorporate pre-recorded footage.

Pre-recoded footage can be used in a number of ways, including, but not limited to:

Intros and outros
Countdown timers
B-roll and video clips that you can cut away to and speak over whilst it plays

How to Upload Your Videos for Playback Whilst you Stream Live

Your video needs to be below 200MB and under 10 minutes to proceed with the following steps and upload it to the StreamYard studio:

On the StreamYard website select the ‘brand’ tab from the right-hand bar.
From the ‘Video Clips’ section choose to add a video to upload.
Remember, any videos you decide to use whilst you are live-streaming must be under 10 minutes. Anything over this length will have to be streamed with the local video file sharing feature.
To do this, select ‘Share’ whilst in StreamYard studio.
Now choose the video file from your computer (You can use MP4 and MOV files only)

The benefits of uploading pre-recorded video files whilst live streaming are as follows:

You can pause, play, and scroll through the video live as you stream. You can even modify the volume and mute the audio.
They are automatically added to your broadcast.
You can talk in-depth about the video content whilst your audience watches the video with you.
You can set up videos in a playlist ready to go for your stream (maximum 10).
There’s no limit on the length of your videos or the file size.

What are the Potential Problems with Live-streaming a Pre-recorded Video?

As you’ve seen, there are plenty of positives for using pre-recorded videos and broadcasting them live, but let’s take a look at the potential downsides:

Are you playing by the rules? It’s worth noting that not all destinations will appreciate you using pre-recorded content and showing them as live. It is essential, therefore, that you check the Terms of Use of the platforms you’re choosing to stream to.
Are you staying trendy? By pre-recording your video you cannot keep your finger on the pulse of current trends and events in the same way as if you are streaming live on that day. Even publishing a week later may mean you’re already out of touch. Remember, editing and post-production takes time.
Is it worth your time or money? When you simply click to stream live it doesn’t cost you anything, but the time you spend then and there streaming your content. However, editing and producing content will take time, and if you employ others to help you, then money too.
Are you ready to plan? Sure, there is some preparation that takes place before a live show, but that usually consists of getting some key points of discussion to cover. Pre-recording comes with a multitude of tasks such as developing scripts, utilizing graphics, and integrating creative visual techniques. This means that time management will be the key to your streams going out on time.

Do People Notice That it’s Not Live?

To put it simply, yes. People will be aware when it is a pre-recorded video, so if you were planning on uploading pre-recorded content and passing it off as live then think again.

There are obvious reasons, such as not reacting to anything happening in the live chat or not vocally answering questions.

This is a dead giveaway.

The main reason is that many social media platforms have different policies when it comes to streaming pre-recorded videos as live content and you must read over these terms so as not to violate the channel’s guidelines.

Facebook Live Conditions

Here are Facebook’s guidelines on pre-recorded videos:

“All pre-recorded content contained in a broadcast streamed to Facebook Live must be clearly marked as pre-recorded. For broadcasts that contain a mixture of live footage and pre-recorded footage, only the pre-recorded footage must be marked as pre-recorded.”

How to solve this and adhere to Facebook’s guidelines:

Use a graphic to indicate a specific segment of footage is pre-recorded.
Ensure that you insert a disclaimer within the video description that outlines that the content is pre-recorded. This can also be added to the title, too.
Whatever technique you use will allow your audience to be fully aware that the content they are viewing isn’t actually being created live.

LinkedIn Conditions

LinkedIn’s guidelines show they are strongly against streaming pre-recorded videos, so it’s advised you don’t do this otherwise you will violate their terms.

“Do not use pre-recorded content. All streams should be live and happening in real time, or you may confuse members and potentially betray their trust.”

YouTube Conditions

Back in 2018 YouTube announced a new feature called YouTube Premier. This feature gave creators the ability to pre-record content for their live streams, meaning they could focus on answering the in-chat questions instead of focusing on their performance.

Much like with Facebook, audiences will need to be aware that these videos are not being streamed live.

Can You Manage a Chat Live When Streaming a Pre-recording?

Whether you are streaming to YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitch, StreamYard makes it easy to view live comments even during a pre-recorded video.

Comments on your broadcast will be available to view in StreamYard’s comments section, located on the right-hand side of your StreamYard studio, as long as they are made through one of the supported platforms mentioned above.

Comments from YouTube will have a small YouTube logo next to the user’s profile picture, the same applies to Facebook and Twitch, etc.

If you want to display the comment on your broadcast then simply click on it and it will appear on your stream – this is a great way to engage your audience and keep them watching for longer!

Read this blog about can OBS record audio & video separately?

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