You can loop a video from a USB drive to YouTube Live with FFmpeg on a Raspberry Pi, but a dependable 24/7 broadcast takes more than a looping command: confirm the drive and FFmpeg build work, use YouTube’s current ingest settings, supervise restarts, and plan around YouTube’s under-12-hour automatic archive rule. This guide shows the workflow and the checks to complete on your own board; it does not assume a particular Pi model, operating system, or encoder is suitable.
What you need before you start
- A Raspberry Pi with a stable power supply, network connection, and an installed FFmpeg build. The board and build must be able to read your media and sustain the chosen stream settings; compatibility cannot be assumed across models or installations.
- A USB drive containing the video file. Use a drive and connector supported by your setup, with enough capacity for your media library. No particular filesystem, mount path, drive speed, or model is established here.
- A YouTube channel enabled for live streaming and access to YouTube Studio’s Live Control Room.
- Your YouTube server URL and stream key. Treat the key like a password: do not publish it in a script, screenshot, image, or repository.
For a video library kept on removable storage, a USB flash drive is the simple option; a USB SSD may suit a larger library if the board and installation support it. Choose based on capacity, connector, and power arrangement rather than assuming a drive will mount at a particular path.
Get the YouTube ingest URL and stream key
- Open YouTube Studio and go to the Live Control Room. Create or open a live stream using the encoder workflow.
- Copy the server URL and stream key shown for the stream, then enter them in FFmpeg’s output address. YouTube documents the setup in its encoder setup guide.
- Keep the key private. If it is exposed, replace or reset it in YouTube Studio before using the stream again.
YouTube recommends RTMPS, describing it as a secure extension to RTMP. Use the RTMPS URL supplied for your stream when supported by the selected endpoint and your FFmpeg build. Google’s RTMPS ingestion guide specifies a correct RTMPS ingest URL and port 443. Verify that your network permits the connection and that your installed FFmpeg supports the protocol.
Prepare and verify the USB video
- Connect the USB drive and confirm that the operating system has mounted it. Do not assume its mount point; inspect the paths available on your Pi.
- Check that the video’s full path is correct and that the user launching FFmpeg can read it. Resolve spaces or special characters in the path before building the command.
- Check that the file itself plays or can be probed by your installed FFmpeg. If it cannot be read locally, YouTube settings will not fix the problem.
- For unattended operation, configure and test what happens if the drive is disconnected or fails to mount after a reboot. A restart mechanism should not start FFmpeg against a missing file.
Choose stream settings the Pi can sustain
YouTube Help’s encoder guidance, checked 2026-10-03, lists RTMP/RTMPS, H.264/H.265/AV1, up to 60 fps, constant bitrate (CBR), and a recommended keyframe interval of two seconds, not over four seconds. Available encoding options depend on the installed FFmpeg build and the Pi’s ability to produce them in real time. These are platform recommendations, not evidence that a particular Pi can encode at a given resolution.
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| Target | YouTube-recommended H.264 bitrate | Keyframe interval | Practical check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 720p at 30 fps | 3 Mbps | 2 seconds recommended; no more than 4 seconds | Confirm the Pi can sustain the chosen video and audio settings and that your upload has headroom. |
| 1080p at 30 fps | 5 Mbps | 2 seconds recommended; no more than 4 seconds | Confirm both real-time encoding capability and stable upload capacity before relying on it. |
The bitrate figures are YouTube Help recommendations for H.264, not guarantees of stream quality or Pi performance. Choose the resolution and frame rate based on the source file, the Pi’s verified capacity, and the available upload connection. Use CBR where supported, set a two-second keyframe interval, and monitor YouTube Studio’s stream-health diagnostics. See YouTube’s encoder settings and bitrate guidance for current platform requirements.
Build and test the FFmpeg stream
FFmpeg documents real-time pacing with -re and RTMP output using FLV. An RTMPS endpoint uses the same general live-ingest workflow when supported by the build and the URL provided by YouTube. Because the right input, codecs, audio handling, and output options depend on the file and installed build, treat the outline below as a command shape—not a tested, copy-paste command for every Pi.
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ffmpeg -re -i "/path/to/video-file" -f flv "[YouTube RTMPS ingest URL]/[STREAM_KEY]"Replace the input path and bracketed placeholders with the real values, and add options appropriate to the source and target. Do not put a real stream key into a public script or repository. If you save a command or service configuration, restrict access to it and use a method that keeps the key private. Confirm option availability in the installed FFmpeg build and consult the FFmpeg protocol documentation and FFmpeg documentation.
- Start with a short test broadcast rather than relying on the first run as a 24/7 stream. Set the broadcast to private or unlisted as appropriate.
- Use representative audio and movement in the video. YouTube advises testing these, watching stream health, and responding to messages in the Live Control Room.
- Check that YouTube’s preview appears, the viewer-facing playback works, and audio, motion, resolution, and stream health are acceptable.
- Only after a successful test, arrange for the process to start and recover after the failures you expect, then test those recovery paths on the selected Pi.
A successful test does not establish 24/7 reliability. Continuous operation also depends on power, the USB drive remaining mounted and readable, network availability, process supervision, and YouTube’s broadcast lifecycle.
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Plan for reboots, dropped connections, and replay archives
FFmpeg’s documentation describes an output FIFO that can attempt recovery after temporary errors, but it does not promise uninterrupted service. Check which recovery options your build supports and test them. Use process supervision so FFmpeg can be restarted after a process exit or reboot, and make startup wait until the USB source is available. A restart loop cannot repair a bad file path, failed drive, lost network, or invalid stream key; monitor those separately.
YouTube Help states, “All streams under 12 hours will be automatically archived.” That does not establish that one uninterrupted 24-hour stream will be saved as one complete replay. If preserving replays matters, schedule intentional broadcast segments shorter than 12 hours and verify the current behavior in Studio. See the YouTube encoder setup guidance.
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Troubleshoot common failures
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| FFmpeg says the input cannot be opened | The USB drive is not mounted, the path is wrong, or the process lacks read permission. | Confirm the mount and exact file path, then verify readability as the same user that runs FFmpeg. |
| YouTube does not show an incoming stream | The server URL or key is incorrect, the key is stale, or the endpoint/protocol is unavailable. | Recheck the values in Live Control Room, keep the key private, and confirm RTMPS support and outbound access to port 443 where required. |
| Stream health reports instability | Upload capacity may be insufficient or inconsistent, or the Pi may not sustain the selected encoding settings. | Check Studio diagnostics; lower the target resolution or bitrate and test again. Compare against YouTube’s H.264 recommendations rather than assuming the Pi can meet them. |
| FFmpeg exits after a network or storage interruption | A transient error, drive disconnect, or other failure stopped the process; retry behavior may not be enabled or sufficient. | Check FFmpeg’s error output and build-supported recovery options, then test process supervision and source-availability checks. |
| The stream works but no complete 24-hour replay appears | YouTube’s stated automatic archive condition is for streams under 12 hours. | Use planned shorter broadcasts if archive preservation is important and confirm current Studio behavior. |
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