Last updated: 2026-01-10

For most virtual conferences, use StreamYard as your primary browser-based studio to host sessions, manage guests, brand the show, and multistream to your main platforms. When you truly need advanced scene control or a cloud relay, layer in tools like OBS, Streamlabs, or Restream around that core workflow.

Summary

• StreamYard gives you a browser-based studio that non-technical speakers can join with a link—no downloads or complex setup.
• You can host, brand, record, and multistream conference sessions from a single studio, then reuse those recordings later. (StreamYard paid features)
• OBS and Streamlabs are helpful add-ons when you need highly custom scenes; Restream is useful when you need an extra multistream relay or to pair with encoders. (OBS overview, Restream + encoders)
• For most U.S.-based teams, prioritizing ease of use, reliability, and fast onboarding makes StreamYard the everyday default.

How should you choose your "home base" studio?

When you’re running a virtual conference, you want one place where everything feels coordinated: speakers, slides, branding, and destinations. That’s your home base studio.

For most organizers, StreamYard is the most practical home base because it runs in the browser, lets you invite speakers with a link, and keeps the tech overhead low for everyone involved. Guests simply open the link, allow camera and mic access in the browser, and they’re in—no software to install. (StreamYard virtual conferences guide)

Desktop tools like OBS or Streamlabs can produce beautiful scenes, but they require installation, hardware tuning, and a steeper learning curve. (OBS feature overview, Streamlabs intro) Many conference teams decide that saving dozens of hours of speaker onboarding is worth far more than the extra 5–10% of visual flexibility.

A simple rule of thumb:

• Default to StreamYard for multi-speaker sessions, panels, and keynotes.
• Add OBS/Streamlabs later if you find yourself craving highly custom layered scenes or intricate game-style layouts.

How do you set up StreamYard for a virtual conference?

Think of your conference as a series of shows. Each session—keynote, panel, workshop—can be its own broadcast in StreamYard.

1. Create your studio and destinations

   • Sign into StreamYard in your browser and connect your main channels (YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). On paid plans, you can multistream to multiple destinations from a single broadcast. (Multistream destinations per plan)

2. Design your conference look

   • Upload your logo, brand colors, overlays, and background images.
   • Pre-build layouts you’ll reuse: full speaker, side-by-side, picture-in-picture for slides.

3. Set up each session as its own broadcast

   • Create scheduled broadcasts for each talk with titles, descriptions, and thumbnails.
   • If you’re using pre-recorded content, paid plans support pre-recorded streams up to multiple hours, which auto-start at the scheduled time even if you’re offline. (Pre-recorded streaming limits)

4. Invite your speakers

   • Send each speaker their guest link and a simple checklist (headphones, quiet room, browser choice).
   • Because everything runs in the browser, speakers don’t need to install an app—huge for executives and subject-matter experts who are allergic to tech setup. (Virtual conference guest experience)

5. Run the show with confidence

   • Have a producer in the StreamYard studio controlling layouts, banners, and intro/outro videos.
   • Use comments and private chat to coordinate with speakers behind the scenes.

Many organizers also lean on StreamYard’s multi-track local recording in high resolution so they can clean up individual speaker tracks after the event without re-recording.

When do you also need OBS or Streamlabs?

You rarely need OBS or Streamlabs for a straightforward virtual conference. They become useful when:

• You want complex animated scenes with many layers and filters.
• You’re mixing gameplay or very specific screen capture requirements.
• You need fine-grained encoder settings and you’re comfortable with bitrate, keyframes, and GPU/CPU usage.

OBS is a free, open-source desktop encoder with deep control over scenes and sources. (OBS overview) Streamlabs Desktop builds on similar workflows but adds integrated alerts and overlays, mainly aimed at creators on Twitch or YouTube. (Streamlabs getting started)

A common hybrid workflow:

• Use OBS or Streamlabs to build your highly customized program feed.
• Send that feed into StreamYard via a virtual camera or RTMP input.
• Let StreamYard handle guest management, multistreaming, and recording.

This keeps your speakers in a simple browser-based environment while your technical team gets the creative control they want.

How does multistreaming change your conference strategy?

Most conferences only need to reach a handful of major destinations: YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, maybe one extra.

On paid plans, StreamYard supports multistreaming to multiple destinations at once (for example, three destinations on many mid-tier plans, more on higher tiers). (StreamYard multistream counts) That usually covers your main hubs without adding more tools.

Other options like Restream focus heavily on relaying one encoder feed out to many channels—often 2–8 or more, depending on plan. (Restream channel limits) Restream is commonly paired with OBS or Streamlabs: you stream once to Restream, and they handle the fan-out to 30+ platforms if you truly need that reach. (Why pair encoders with Restream)

For most U.S.-based conferences, though, that level of distribution is overkill. The bigger wins tend to come from tighter production and better speaker prep, not from adding five more obscure destinations.

How do you bring streaming software into Zoom, Teams, or other meeting tools?

Sometimes your “virtual conference” happens inside a meeting platform (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet), but you still want studio-level control and branding. This is where virtual camera workflows help.

OBS Studio has a Virtual Camera feature that lets you send its output into any app that accepts a webcam. (OBS Virtual Camera guide) The basic approach:

1. Build your scenes in OBS (slides, lower thirds, sponsor logos).
2. Enable OBS Virtual Camera.
3. In Zoom or Teams, pick “OBS Virtual Camera” as your webcam source.

Now your meeting participants see your produced output instead of a raw webcam. This works well for breakout-style workshops or internal sessions where you can’t move everyone into a studio like StreamYard but still want a polished look.

You can also invert the relationship: use StreamYard as the main studio and send its program feed into a meeting via a virtual camera or RTMP, depending on your toolset and plan.

How do you coordinate pre-recorded and live sessions?

Most virtual conferences use a mix of live and pre-recorded content:

• Pre-recorded keynotes to eliminate risk.
• Live Q&A so attendees still get interaction.

With StreamYard, paid plans allow you to upload a video and schedule it as a pre-recorded stream; at the scheduled time it goes live automatically to your chosen destinations. (Pre-recorded streaming) You can then:

• Be in the comments live while the “session” plays.
• Follow immediately with a live broadcast for questions.

Alternatives like Restream offer “Upload & Stream” features with per-file limits on duration and size, which can be helpful if you’re already invested in their relay stack. (Restream Upload & Stream limits) But many organizers prefer having scheduling, hosting, and guest workflows unified in one studio.

A simple pattern that works well:

• Use StreamYard to record clean versions of your talks ahead of time.
• Use StreamYard again to schedule and air those recordings as pre-recorded sessions.
• Use the same studio for your live segments so everything feels consistent.

What about budgets and plan choices?

If you’re comparing costs, it helps to look at what you actually need:

• OBS is free to download and use; it doesn’t have paid tiers. (OBS on Steam)
• Streamlabs offers a free tier plus an optional Streamlabs Ultra subscription for more apps and effects. (Streamlabs FAQ)
• StreamYard uses a free tier plus paid plans; U.S. users see pricing in USD and can pay monthly or annually. (StreamYard pricing)

The key trade-off: free desktop tools usually cost you more in setup time, training, and speaker friction. A browser-based studio like StreamYard reduces that time dramatically, which is why many organizers default to it for anything involving multiple non-technical speakers.

If you’re running a larger conference with sponsors and multiple tracks, you can start on StreamYard’s free tier to learn the workflow, then move to a paid plan once you’re ready to multistream, remove branding, or schedule pre-recorded sessions.

What we recommend

• Make StreamYard your primary studio for virtual conferences so speakers can join in the browser, you can multistream to your main channels, and you get reliable recordings out of the box.
• Layer in OBS or Streamlabs only when needed for very advanced scenes or encoder tuning—treat them as power tools, not the starting point.
• Use Restream selectively if you truly need additional multistream fan-out or already rely on desktop encoders for other parts of your workflow.
• Keep your stack simple: the fewer tools you juggle, the more attention you can put into content, speakers, and audience engagement—where conferences actually win.