How to Live Stream with Pre-Recorded Video

In this tutorial, we’ll look at how to live stream with pre-recorded video as a part of your broadcast.

Pre-recorded videos can be a great way to add multimedia to your live video streaming broadcast. Some use cases for videos in your broadcast are introduction videos, ad reels, sponsored content, guest bios and intros, training videos, reaction live streams, and highlight videos.

Pre-recorded live streams are excellent for people who get nervous in front of a live audience or when you have hours-long live streams and need to give your speakers some rest in between. 

Most live streaming software these days offer the feature to add pre-recorded videos to your live stream or make the entire live stream one big prerecorded video. But the process to do so varies between software. With Dacast, you’re able to accomplish this with our VOD2Live feature.

Table of Contents 

This article will show you the processes to live stream with pre-recorded videos using eight different apps and software. Now Dacast allows you to broadcast a pre-recorded live stream within your account.  

• Wirecast 
• Xsplit 
• vMix 
• Restream Studio 
• Prism Live Studio 
• Splitcam
• OBS
• Zoom 
• In Summary

1. Wirecast

Here’s how you can add pre-recorded video(s) to your live stream in Wirecast

• Go to the “+” icon
• Click on “shots” and “new playlist shot” 

You can add multiple video files here and double-click on any of them to shuffle the sequence of your playlist (that’s what it’s called when you add multiple pre-recorded videos), snip them, pause and play, and manage audio. 

By default, a video in Wirecast will play as soon as it goes live and will remember your position if you switch to a different source. The video will also continue playing until it finishes.

To change these settings, go to the “source properties” in the top left-hand corner of your screen. Wirecast’s video source settings allow you to make changes live, such as playing and pausing the video. In this menu, you can also set a video to loop, or select a specific part of the video to play.

2. Xsplit

To add a video source in Xsplit, click on:

• “Add Source”
• Then “General widgets” 
• Then “Video playlist”  
• Now click on the “Add” button at the bottom. 
• Then choose the video file(s) you want to add

You’ll need to have a “video playlist” plugin installed for that. Here’s a guide on how to do that. 

In Xsplit, you can easily drag and resize sources to your desired location and size before live streaming pre-recorded videos. Right-click on the video source under “Scenes” or the video in the preview area to open video options.

This will allow you to play/pause the video, and to move forward/backward in the timeline. You can also set a selection of the video to play, whether the video loops or freezes at the end of playback.

By default, a video in Xsplit will play when the scene loads and will remember your playback position. You can change this in the video options.

3. vMix

To add a video as a source in vMix, click:

•  “Add Input” in the bottom left corner 
• Then “Video,” which is at the top left corner of the screen that pops up
• Select the video you want to use from your local storage.

The video will be ready by default, but will not begin playing until you click the “Play” button below. However, the video will automatically begin playing if you switch from the preview to the live area. vMix will also remember the position of the video by default.

To change these settings, go to the video source in the bottom left, and click on the ‘Cogs’ icon to open up the settings. In this menu, you can stop a video from playing as soon as it goes live, and you can also tell vMix not to remember your position in the video. 

A feature exclusive to vMix is that you can switch out the video from the live broadcast and have it continue to play. You can even move forward and backward in the playback, and go live again, continuing from your new position in the video.

4. Restream Studio

Broadcasting pre-recorded live streams on Restream Studio is a simple process. Here’s the step-by-step guide for it: 

• Log into your account 
• Click on “enter live studio” 
• Click on the “+” sign, which is located in the lower middle portion of your screen
• Click on “Add to the stream” 
• Select “local video” 
• Browse to the file where your video is and click on it. 

Image Source 

Now, the video will appear on the left-hand side of your screen. You can play it live by clicking on the toggle button. Feel free to adjust the layout using the options next to the “+” sign underneath your live broadcast window. 

Resteam.io offers some graphics and pre-recorded files to its users, which you can access under the “video clips” tab on the right side of your dashboard. You can play a video from here, but this approach has some limitations. For example, it will instantly mute you, and you can only play up to 150 MB per file. 

5. Prism Live Studio

Broadcasting pre-recorded live streams on Prism Live Studio is as easy as possible. The process is similar for both its mobile app and the PC version. 

• Log into your account 
• Go to “My Studio” 
• You’ll see an option to add “media” to your studio. Click on that and add a video from your local storage. 
• Your video will become a part of “My Studio Assets,” and you can play them during your live stream

Image source

You can edit your video in “Studio Mode,” but only after logging in from a desktop device. 

6. Splitcam

This is a live-streaming software that offers the feature to live-stream pre-recorded videos. 

Here’s how you can do it: 

• Open the Splitcam dashboard on your computer
• Click on the “+” sign next to the words “Media Layer” on the left side of your screen 
• Click on “video” from the drop-down menu that opens up 
• Browse through the folders in your local storage and click on the pre-recorded video you want to broadcast live 

Your video(s) will show up in the form of a playlist in the left-hand column. You’ll notice an “eyes” icon and three dots next to the video in the left-hand column. Clicking on the “eyes” icon will make your video go live on your broadcast, and clicking it again so that a line appears across the “eyes” icon will remove the video from your live stream. 

You can click on the three dots to change the settings, such as flipping it, changing its location and size, and placing it on top of another layer. 

Since you can stream your Splitcam broadcast through Dacast, you can also show your pre-recorded video content through our platform with additional security and HD video quality. You can add video from your local storage or cloud storage.

7. OBS

You can add one or multiple pre-recorded videos to your live stream using OBS software. Here’s the process for it: 

• Log into your account and open the dashboard 
• Go to the sources section at the bottom 
• Click on the “+” button
• Select “media source” from the menu that opens up and select “VLC video source” 

This process adds a pre-recorded video to your OBS account. You can broadcast it in a live stream by setting up your live streaming output, choosing the destinations you want to go live on, and clicking on “start streaming”.

If you want to switch between your webcam and a pre-recorded video while streaming, then you can set that up in the “scenes” tab. Add your webcam as the first scene and then the video, if that’s the order you want to broadcast in. 

8. Zoom

You have two options to add pre-recorded videos to your live broadcast on Zoom. The first is through screen sharing, and the second is by playing the video in Zoom. 

You can access the “screen share” option in the meeting controls. It is located in the bottom taskbar. To show the pre-recorded video, click on “screen share” and choose the window where the video is playing. 

Some people report issues with audio when they use this approach. That’s why we recommend using the second approach to play a recorded video in Zoom: 

• Start a Zoom meeting with your desktop client 
• Click on “Share Screen” and then “Advanced” options 
• Browse to select the video you want to include in your live stream 
• Click on “Open,” and it will begin playing in the Zoom software 

You will see various playback options that your audience won’t see. You also have the freedom to change the video’s screen size and audio settings. If you’ve integrated your Zoom live stream with Dacast, the pre-recorded video will also show in your Dacast broadcast without hiccups. 

You can schedule your pre-recorded live streams with Zoom. Still, you’ll have to manually add the video before starting the broadcast because the process is not as automatic as starting a regularly scheduled meeting. 

In Summary

Adding pre-recorded videos to your live streams can significantly improve the experience for your audience, but only if it adds value to the content and plays without buffering. 

If you’re adding high-definition videos, ensure you have the bandwidth to support them. If you have any questions or suggestions for future tutorials, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

If you’re not already a Dacast member, sign up today for our 14-day free trial to enjoy our streaming solutions and unique perks, such as broadcasting pre-recorded videos. No credit card information is required! 

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Article by Eliot Miller.