Last updated: 2026-01-14

For most people in the U.S., the easiest way to schedule streams is to use a browser-based studio like StreamYard that lets you schedule live and pre-recorded broadcasts directly to platforms like YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and StreamYard On‑Air.StreamYard Help Center If you run an encoder-heavy setup with OBS or Streamlabs, you’ll usually schedule events on the platform (or via a service like Restream) and then connect your encoder at go‑time.

Summary

• StreamYard lets you schedule streams in a few clicks inside your browser—no downloads or complex encoders required.StreamYard Help Center
• You can also schedule pre‑recorded videos to go live automatically, up to 365 days in advance, which is powerful for repurposed content.StreamYard Help Center
• Other tools like Restream and Streamlabs add different scheduling flows, while OBS typically relies on platform or third‑party scheduling.
• For most creators, simplicity, reliability, and time-to-value matter more than ultra-complex encoder setups—this is where StreamYard tends to be the fastest path to consistent shows.

How does scheduling a stream actually work?

Before choosing software, it helps to understand what “scheduling” really does.

When you schedule a stream, you’re typically doing two things:

1. Creating an event on your destination (YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) with a title, thumbnail, date, and time.
2. Linking a broadcast source (your browser studio or encoder) to that event so when you go live, the event starts.

Browser-based studios like StreamYard do both steps for you in one place: you choose the destinations, set the time, and then simply enter the same studio when it’s time to go live.StreamYard Help Center Encoder-based tools (OBS, Streamlabs) usually need you to create or select the event on the platform or through a relay service, then paste in a stream key.

If you care about things like:

• Audience seeing the event ahead of time
• Having a URL to share
• Avoiding last-minute setup panic

…then you want a scheduling flow that feels boring and reliable. That’s where browser-based studios have a real edge for most people.

How do you schedule a stream in StreamYard?

Here’s the typical flow in StreamYard for U.S. creators streaming to mainstream platforms:

1. Connect your destinations (one-time): You link your Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or StreamYard On‑Air destination to your account.StreamYard Help Center
2. Create a scheduled broadcast: Inside your dashboard, you create a new broadcast, choose your destination(s), and set the date and time.
3. Add details that sell the stream: Title, description, thumbnail. These get pushed to the platform event so your stream looks professional before you even go live.
4. Invite guests early: You can grab the guest link and send it to speakers days in advance so they can test their setup. Because StreamYard runs in the browser, guests don’t have to install anything—this is why many users say guests “can join easily and reliably without tech problems.”
5. Go live from the same studio: At start time, you enter that scheduled studio and hit “Go Live.” StreamYard handles sending the signal to each destination, so you’re not juggling multiple dashboards.

This workflow lines up with what most creators actually want: high-quality live video, recordings ready to reuse, and a link they can confidently promote ahead of time.

Where can StreamYard schedule streams—and where can’t it?

According to our scheduling docs, you can schedule streams in advance on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and StreamYard On‑Air.StreamYard Help Center

There are also some clear limitations:

• If you’re streaming to X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or a custom RTMP destination, StreamYard can’t create the scheduled event itself.StreamYard Help Center

In those cases, typical workflows are:

• Schedule on the platform directly (if supported), then go live from StreamYard at that time.
• Or treat it as an unscheduled, instant stream and rely on your other social channels and email list for promotion.

For most U.S. creators whose main destinations are YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn, these limitations don’t block day-to-day use. You get the reliable, one-click scheduling where your audience already is.

How do you schedule pre-recorded broadcasts as “live”?

There are two big reasons people want to schedule pre‑recorded streams:

• They want “always-on” content without being on camera every time.
• They want to repurpose polished recordings as live events for new audiences.

On StreamYard, you can upload a video and schedule it to stream as if it were live. Our docs note that:

• Video length can be up to 2 hours on one paid tier, 4 hours on another, and 8 hours on higher tiers.StreamYard Help Center
• You can schedule these pre‑recorded streams up to 365 days in advance, which is powerful for long-term campaigns.StreamYard Help Center

If you’re choosing between tools for pre‑recorded scheduling:

• StreamYard keeps everything in one place: live studio, guests, pre‑recorded scheduling, and cloud recordings up to 10 hours per live stream on paid plans.StreamYard Help Center
• Restream also supports scheduled pre‑recorded events; on supported channels, the event will “automatically air at the scheduled time” without you taking action.Restream Help Center

If your priority is running a show with guests today and scheduling repurposed versions for the next few months, StreamYard’s all-in-one approach usually means less tool-hopping.

How do you schedule a live stream with Streamlabs Desktop?

Streamlabs Desktop is a downloadable application aimed at creators who are comfortable with encoder-style setups. Their support docs show a built-in scheduler for YouTube:

• Inside Streamlabs Desktop, you can click a scheduler option in the lower right corner to create or manage scheduled YouTube streams.Streamlabs Support
• From there, you fill in the title, description, date, and privacy settings.

This can be convenient if you’re already committed to using Streamlabs Desktop and want everything inside one app. Plan-level access to the scheduler isn’t specified in that article, so you’d want to confirm in your account.

Compared with StreamYard, this approach:

• Assumes you’re handling encoding locally.
• Relies more on your hardware and network stability.
• Involves guests joining through separate tools (like Discord or Zoom) and being captured into the stream.

Many creators who “prioritize ease of use over complex setups like OBS or StreamLabs” end up defaulting to StreamYard for anything guest-heavy or time-sensitive.

How do you connect OBS to a pre-scheduled event (with or without Restream)?

OBS itself does not provide automatic scheduled start/stop for streams; encoders generally must be started manually by a human operator.Vimeo Livestream Help

So the typical pattern is:

1. Create the event on YouTube, Facebook, or another platform, or inside a relay tool like Restream.
2. Copy the RTMP URL and stream key from the event.
3. Paste those into OBS as your stream settings.
4. At the scheduled time, click Start Streaming in OBS to activate the event.

If you add Restream into the mix:

• You can create a scheduled RTMP event in Restream, then copy the URL and stream key into OBS.Restream Help Center
• Restream then fans that signal out to multiple destinations.

This workflow is flexible but also the most technical path in this article. It makes sense if you truly need highly customized scenes and advanced encoder control, and you’re comfortable spending time wiring it all together. For most people just trying to show up consistently, StreamYard’s in-browser scheduling is faster to teach, easier on guests, and more forgiving when something changes last minute.

How do you schedule pre-recorded multistreams across platforms?

If your goal is: “I have a finished video and I want it to premiere as a live stream in multiple places,” you have two broad options:

1. Use StreamYard’s pre‑recorded streaming to send that video live to several destinations at once, within the length limits for your plan.StreamYard Help Center
2. Use a multistream relay like Restream, which lets you upload and schedule a pre‑recorded video and then distributes it to your connected channels; Restream notes that scheduled events are available on all plans, including free.Restream Help Center

Both approaches can work. In practice:

• If you already run your live shows in StreamYard, keeping pre‑recorded streams in the same place reduces friction.
• If you use OBS or another encoder, Restream can act as a central hub—but you’ll manage uploads, encoder settings, and scheduling in separate tools.

Most creators don’t actually need to hit dozens of long-tail destinations; they care about YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, and maybe one or two more. For that mainstream use case, StreamYard’s built-in pre‑recorded scheduling usually covers the need without extra subscriptions or complexity.

What we recommend

• Default choice for most people: Use StreamYard to schedule your live and pre‑recorded streams to the major platforms you already care about.
• If you love local encoders: Pair OBS or Streamlabs Desktop with platform-native scheduling (or a relay like Restream) but be prepared for more setup and maintenance.
• If pre‑recorded automation matters most: Lean on StreamYard’s ability to schedule pre‑recorded videos up to 365 days out, and combine that with live shows for a consistent cadence.StreamYard Help Center
• Optimize for real outcomes, not feature lists: Choose the workflow that lets you schedule confidently, add guests without drama, and focus on delivering a great live experience—not debugging your tools on air.