The Tool Desk
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Choose portrait-only or portrait and landscape
Decide what viewers should receive before building the FFmpeg command:
- Portrait only: Send one 9:16 output to the selected stream’s ingestion destination. This is the simpler route for a mobile-first presentation. Confirm the stream is configured and previewed as vertical in YouTube Studio.
- Portrait and landscape together: YouTube’s Live Control Room can publish horizontal and vertical formats together. For third-party encoder output, use the vertical preview’s Auto menu, choose Encoder, select RTMP(S), and choose a second stream key for the vertical feed. Send the appropriate composition to each key.
YouTube may use a center crop or another Studio-managed layout for the vertical preview. The encoder route is different: it expects you to send the formats that correspond to the selected keys. Check the preview rather than assuming one 9:16 FFmpeg output creates a second format. See YouTube’s vertical live-streaming guidance.
Get the YouTube stream destination and key
- In YouTube Studio, open Live Control Room and create or select the scheduled stream.
- Copy the stream URL and stream key shown for that stream. For simultaneous encoder-based vertical and horizontal output, also select the second key for the vertical feed as described in the vertical preview settings.
- Keep the key secret. It is account-specific and lets an encoder send video to your channel; do not publish it, commit it to a public repository, or include a real key in a shared command.
The actual endpoint and key depend on the selected stream. YouTube’s Live Streams API documentation describes stream states such as created, ready, active, inactive, and error; use Live Control Room to check the status and stream health while troubleshooting.
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Prepare a deliberate 9:16 composition
If your source is already portrait, preserve its intended framing and verify the output dimensions. If it is landscape, decide how to adapt it before encoding:
- Crop: Fills a portrait frame but removes content from the sides. A fixed center crop can cut off a person or important action that moves across the landscape frame.
- Fit or pad: Preserves more of the source, typically leaving unused space that you can fill or design around.
- Stacked or designed layout: Repositions content to use the vertical canvas without relying on a narrow center crop.
YouTube’s vertical layout controls describe center crop, fit-to-phone-width, and stacked layout options. In FFmpeg, the crop filter takes width, height, and x/y position; if you do not set a position, the crop is centered. Preview the result with representative footage before streaming. See the FFmpeg crop filter documentation.
This illustrative filter crops a landscape input to a centered 9:16 region based on its height, then scales it to 720×1280:
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-vf "crop=ih*9/16:ih:(iw-ih*9/16)/2:0,scale=720:1280"
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It is a template, not a guaranteed fit for every source. Check that the source dimensions, pixel format, and installed FFmpeg build support the filter chain, and adjust the crop position or output dimensions to suit the footage. The crop can discard off-screen material.
Set encoder parameters for YouTube Live
Choose the codec, resolution, frame rate, and bitrate together. YouTube supports RTMP/RTMPS ingest, H.264, H.265, and AV1 video, up to 60 fps, and AAC or MP3 audio. Its published bitrate table varies by codec, resolution, and frame rate; consult the current YouTube encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions page for the exact combination you intend to send.
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- Rate control: Use CBR.
- Keyframes: YouTube recommends a two-second interval; do not exceed four seconds.
- Example only: For 1080p30, YouTube lists H.264 at 5 Mbps minimum and 14 Mbps recommended. For AV1 or H.265 at 1080p30, it lists 4 Mbps minimum and 10 Mbps recommended. These are YouTube’s published encoder recommendations, not a guarantee that a connection can sustain the chosen rate.
- Upload capacity: Pick a bitrate your connection can reliably upload. YouTube recommends running an upload-speed test.
- Other output details: Check supported audio/video codecs and use progressive, square-pixel output where applicable.
YouTube recommends RTMPS, a secure extension to RTMP. Its RTMPS instructions specify the secure endpoint and port 443; use the endpoint provided for your stream and verify the scheme, host, path, and port. See YouTube’s RTMPS guidance.
Build and run an FFmpeg command
There is no universal command that can be pasted unchanged: the input, crop, available encoder, resolution, frame rate, YouTube endpoint, and key vary. Use this schematic to understand the output structure, then replace every placeholder and confirm your FFmpeg build supports the selected encoder and protocol:
ffmpeg [input options] -i INPUT [filter and encode options] -f flv 'RTMP_OR_RTMPS_INGEST_URL/STREAM_KEY'
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For a file input, a common pattern uses -re to read at the file’s native rate, an H.264 encoder, AAC audio, FLV muxing, and the selected RTMP destination. The following is still a template, not a tested copy-paste command; set the video filter, bitrate, keyframe interval, audio settings, endpoint, and key for your setup:
ffmpeg -re -i INPUT -vf "YOUR_PORTRAIT_FILTER" -c:v libx264 -b:v YOUR_VIDEO_BITRATE -g YOUR_KEYFRAME_INTERVAL -c:a aac -f flv 'YOUR_INGEST_URL/YOUR_STREAM_KEY'
FFmpeg documents its input/output command structure and an RTMP streaming example. The way the stream key is included can depend on the endpoint URL format and FFmpeg build. Use the destination format shown for your stream, protect the key, and do not assume the illustrative slash-separated form is correct for every endpoint.
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- Choose the input and confirm it plays locally. For landscape footage, preview and adjust the portrait crop or layout.
- Select the codec, frame rate, resolution, bitrate, CBR, keyframe interval, and audio codec. Check the values against YouTube’s current table for that combination.
- Substitute the stream’s actual ingest destination and key using the URL format YouTube displays for your setup. Prefer RTMPS where available.
- Start FFmpeg and check that it is sending data. In Live Control Room, inspect the preview, stream health, and any error messages before making the stream public.
Test the portrait stream before going public
Test with footage that includes the movement and sound you expect in the live output. Confirm that the subject stays inside the crop, audio is present, the image is portrait, and YouTube reports a healthy incoming stream. If sending both formats, check both previews and make sure each feed goes to its corresponding key.
Troubleshoot common FFmpeg portrait-streaming problems
| Symptom | What to check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The stream does not appear in Live Control Room. | Whether FFmpeg is sending data, whether the URL and key are exact, and the stream status or health shown in YouTube. | Use the destination and key for the selected stream, correct any endpoint/key formatting issue, and check for a YouTube status or health error. |
| RTMPS will not connect. | The protocol scheme, secure ingestion host and path, and port. | Use the correct RTMPS endpoint for the stream and verify port 443, as described in YouTube’s RTMPS guidance. |
| The output is not portrait. | The encoded output dimensions and aspect ratio, plus whether Studio is using the encoder path or a Studio-managed vertical layout. | Verify the FFmpeg output is 9:16 and confirm the vertical preview configuration in Live Control Room. |
| The crop cuts off the subject or important action. | The crop’s x/y position and whether the subject moves outside a fixed center crop. | Adjust the crop position, preview with representative movement, or choose a fit, pad, or stacked composition instead. |
| YouTube reports unstable stream health or dropped frames. | Whether the upload connection can reliably sustain the selected bitrate and whether codec, frame rate, CBR, and keyframe interval match YouTube’s guidance. | Recheck the current bitrate table for the chosen output, lower the bitrate if the connection cannot sustain it, and verify the encoder settings. |
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