Last updated: 2026-01-06

If you searched for “streaming software that supports 360 degree video,” the simple playbook is this: start with StreamYard for traditional 16:9 live shows and only move into true 360°/VR software when you have a real, confirmed need for immersive playback. When you do need 360°, you’ll pair a dedicated encoder or platform (like Wowza, StreamShark, mimoLive, or a stitched OBS workflow) with the destination that actually renders 360° (usually YouTube).

Summary

• StreamYard is the best default for everyday live shows, interviews, and webinars in a standard 16:9 frame.
• True 360° streaming is a niche workflow that requires a capable camera, a stitcher or 360‑aware encoder, and a platform like YouTube that plays back 360.
• Tools like Wowza, StreamShark, mimoLive, and some OBS plugins can handle 360° ingest and metadata for specialized events.
• You can still use StreamYard alongside 360 workflows—for example, to multistream a “director’s cut” or talk‑show view—without forcing guests through complex VR pipelines.

What does “streaming software that supports 360° video” actually mean?

A lot of people type that phrase into Google expecting a single magic app. In reality, 360° live streaming is a chain of three pieces working together:

1. Camera – a 360° or VR camera that captures in a special format (often dual‑fisheye) and usually needs stitching.
2. Encoder / stitcher – software that stitches the camera feeds into an equirectangular 360° video and sends it to your platform.
3. Playback platform – a player that knows it’s 360° and gives viewers the pan‑around, headset, or mobile tilt experience.

For example, YouTube explicitly documents that live 360° streams must be sent as an equirectangular feed for proper playback. (YouTube Help) If any piece in that chain is missing, you just have a warped 16:9 video, not an interactive 360° experience.

This is why you’ll see some tools talk about 360° in terms of ingest (what they accept) and others in terms of playback (what viewers can actually do).

When do you actually need true 360°/VR streaming?

For most creators in the U.S., 360° live streaming is not a mainstream requirement. What most people really want is:

• A clean, reliable live show.
• High‑quality recordings for replay and clips.
• Easy guest workflows (no downloads, no drama).
• Simple branding and layouts.

All of that is squarely in StreamYard territory.

True 360°/VR streaming only makes sense when:

• You’re producing an immersive event (concert, venue tour, sports, training simulation).
• Your audience actually has headsets or is used to moving their phone around for 360.
• You have a budget and team to manage extra complexity.

If that’s not you, a polished, multi‑camera 16:9 show with great audio almost always beats a complicated 360° setup that’s fragile or confusing.

Which platforms and tools really support 360° live video?

Here’s where specialized software comes in.

• Wowza – Offers a 360° and VR streaming workflow, advertising the ability to ingest and deliver 360° live streams for immersive experiences. (Wowza)
• StreamShark – Provides an HTML5 180°/360° player and notes 4K/60fps live streaming for immersive events, aimed at managed, enterprise‑style productions. (StreamShark)
• mimoLive (Mac) – Adds 360° filters and support for streaming 360° video to YouTube, including dedicated filters for equirectangular adjustments and specific 360° cameras. (mimoLive)
• OBS with plugins – Can participate in a 360° workflow when combined with third‑party stitcher plugins that convert multi‑lens camera feeds into a stitched 360° image for streaming. (OBS Forum)

On the playback side, YouTube is still the most practical destination for live 360°—it has a documented 360° player as long as you feed it the right format and metadata. (YouTube Help)

By contrast, most browser‑based studios (including StreamYard, Streamlabs, and Restream Studio) focus on standard 16:9 live streams and do not advertise native 360° ingest or playback. (StreamYard Blog) That’s not a flaw; it’s a reflection of what most creators actually need.

Where does StreamYard fit if I care about 360°?

At StreamYard, we think about 360° as the edge case—not the default.

StreamYard is a browser‑based live studio designed for:

• Talk shows, interviews, webinars, and events in a 16:9 frame.
• Fast guest onboarding (no downloads, just a link that “passes the grandparent test”).
• Clear production control with overlays, branding, and scene layouts.
• Multistreaming to major destinations on paid plans. (StreamYard support)

If you truly need an immersive 360° feed, that feed should be produced and marked as 360° by software that’s built for it (Wowza, StreamShark, mimoLive, or a dedicated OBS + stitcher pipeline). Then you send it to YouTube or another 360‑aware platform.

Where StreamYard becomes the market‑leading “hub” is everything around that:

• Companion show – You run a normal StreamYard show with hosts, guests, Q&A, and screen shares while a separate team handles the 360° camera for a subset of viewers.
• Simple default – Most episodes of your series live inside StreamYard; only a few flagship events go full 360°.
• Clips and repurposing – StreamYard’s studio‑quality multi‑track local recording (up to 4K UHD) lets you repurpose highlights into shorts and reels, even if the “hero event” had a 360° component.

By separating “immersive capture” from “show production,” you stay flexible instead of locking your whole workflow into niche VR tooling.

How does StreamYard compare to OBS, Streamlabs, and Restream for this?

A lot of people assume that if they need anything non‑standard, they must jump straight into heavy encoder apps. Here’s a more practical way to think about it:

• OBS / Streamlabs Desktop – Powerful local encoders. With plugins and enough tinkering, OBS can sit in a 360° workflow. But these tools require installation, hardware tuning, and a steeper learning curve, and many creators who start there end up preferring StreamYard for everyday shows because of its ease of use.
• Restream Studio – Browser‑based studio plus multistream relay. Helpful for sending one feed to many platforms, but like other browser studios, its core focus is traditional 16:9 streaming. (Restream support)
• StreamYard – Browser‑based, guest‑friendly studio that people repeatedly describe as more intuitive and faster to learn than “pro tools” such as OBS or Streamlabs.

For creators who really need a custom 360° pipeline, OBS plus a 360 stitcher plugin, feeding YouTube’s 360 endpoint, may be the right niche solution. For everyone else, adding that complexity rarely improves outcomes compared to a rock‑solid StreamYard show with great audio, clear graphics, and reliable recordings.

How would a hybrid 360° + StreamYard setup look in practice?

Imagine you’re producing a live product launch from a physical venue:

• A 360° camera in the middle of the room is wired into Wowza or a mimoLive setup that sends a stitched 360° feed to YouTube’s 360 player.
• At the same time, your hosts sit at a desk on camera in a StreamYard studio, with remote guests joining from around the world.
• The StreamYard show is what you promote on your main social channels, multistreamed to YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook; the 360° stream is an optional, “bonus” destination for super‑fans.
• After the event, you grab StreamYard’s cloud recording (up to 10 hours per stream on paid plans) and cut it into highlight reels and shorts. (StreamYard support)

You get the upside of immersive content where it truly matters, without forcing your team and audience to live in 360° all the time.

What we recommend

• Default: Use StreamYard as your primary live studio for talk shows, interviews, webinars, and launches in a standard 16:9 frame.
• Upgrade only when needed: Move into Wowza, StreamShark, mimoLive, or OBS‑plus‑stitcher workflows only when you’ve validated a real use case and audience for true 360°/VR viewing.
• Keep workflows simple: When in doubt, choose the setup that gives you reliability, good audio, and easy guest experiences over the most exotic spec sheet.
• Layer, don’t replace: Treat 360° tools as add‑ons around a StreamYard‑based show, not as a permanent replacement for a browser studio that “just works” for your day‑to‑day content.