You can run a continuous YouTube Live broadcast from an Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Always Free virtual machine by looping video through an encoder such as FFmpeg and sending the feed to YouTube. It is not guaranteed to stay free of interruptions: Always Free capacity is limited, instances can be reclaimed under Oracle’s idle-compute policy, and the encoder and YouTube broadcast both need monitoring.
This guide covers the OCI limits, YouTube ingest settings, an FFmpeg setup to adapt and test, and recovery checks. The FFmpeg commands and service example are implementation guidance, not a configuration validated by Oracle or YouTube.
What you need before setting it up
The workflow has three parts: an OCI virtual machine (VM), an encoder that continuously produces a video signal, and a YouTube Live broadcast that ingests it. For a pre-recorded documentary stream, the encoder can loop one video or a playlist. The VM must remain provisioned and the encoder must keep sending a valid feed.
- An OCI account with an Always Free eligible compute shape available in its home region.
- A video file or playlist you have the rights to stream, stored on the VM or otherwise accessible to the encoder.
- A YouTube channel enabled for live streaming, a scheduled or active broadcast, and its stream key.
- An encoder such as FFmpeg, plus a way to supervise the process, inspect logs, and check YouTube’s stream health.
For documentaries, confirm that you have permission to broadcast the footage, music, narration, and any other included material. YouTube’s copyright and monetization policies apply to continuous streams just as they do to other uploads or live broadcasts; looping a recording does not grant rights or guarantee monetization.
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Understand the Oracle Cloud Free Tier limits
Oracle documents the Always Free Ampere A1 allowance as equivalent to 2 OCPUs and 12 GB of memory, with 200 GB of combined boot and block volume storage and 10 TB per month of outbound data transfer. These are Oracle service quotas, not a promise that a suitable VM will be available in every region or that a stream will run without interruption. Free resources must be provisioned in the tenancy’s home region. See Oracle’s Always Free resources documentation and Free Tier overview.
Capacity, trial credits, and deletion risks
- If OCI reports “out of host capacity,” Oracle says the home region may temporarily lack capacity for Always Free shapes. Try another availability domain if one is available, or wait and retry.
- Oracle’s launch tutorial shows a sample A1 VM with 1 OCPU and 6 GB of memory. That is an example configuration, not a required size for a stream. Choose an Always Free eligible shape and leave enough resources for the operating system and encoder.
- Oracle’s Free Tier documentation describes $300 of trial credits for up to 30 days. Those temporary credits are separate from eligible Always Free resources, which may remain available after the trial expires.
- Oracle warns that excess A1 resources may be disabled and deleted after 30 days unless the account is upgraded. Check the account’s status and the resources you have actually provisioned rather than assuming trial or free-tier eligibility will preserve every resource.
Oracle’s idle-compute policy can also put an Always Free VM at risk of reclamation. Oracle describes an idle instance as one whose CPU and network utilization are each below 20% at the 95th percentile over a seven-day period; for A1, memory utilization below 20% is also part of the condition. A looping encode-and-upload workload may produce activity, but do not treat streaming as an exemption from this policy. Review Oracle’s current terms at the Always Free resources page.
Create an Always Free eligible VM
- Choose the home region. In the OCI Console, select the region associated with your tenancy. Always Free resources must be created there.
- Open the compute instance workflow. Follow OCI’s current instance creation flow and select an Ampere A1 shape marked Always Free eligible. Oracle’s tutorial uses 1 OCPU and 6 GB memory as an example; it is not a mandatory configuration. Console labels and available capacity can vary.
- Configure access and storage. Add an SSH public key so you can administer the Linux VM. Keep the boot volume and any media storage within the applicable Always Free storage allowance.
- Set up network access. Ensure you can connect to the VM over SSH. The encoder needs outbound connectivity to YouTube’s ingest endpoint. Restrict inbound access to what you need; do not expose the stream key or administrative access publicly.
- Launch and verify. Connect by SSH, update the operating system using its documented package manager, and confirm that the VM has the expected shape, storage, and region before transferring large media files.
If capacity prevents creation, do not substitute a paid shape on the assumption it will remain free. Wait or try another availability domain in the home region where OCI offers one.
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Prepare YouTube Live for a continuous feed
In YouTube Studio, create or schedule a live broadcast and configure its stream. Exact labels can change, but YouTube’s model distinguishes the broadcast (the event viewers see) from the stream (the incoming encoded feed). The YouTube Live API documentation discusses this separation and 24/7 broadcast scenarios: YouTube Live Streaming API documentation.
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- Create or schedule the broadcast and set its visibility, title, description, and other viewer-facing details.
- Open the broadcast’s stream settings and copy the server/ingest address and stream key. Treat the key like a password: anyone with access may be able to send video to your channel.
- Keep the broadcast configured consistently with the persistent feed. Test whether the broadcast remains usable after a disconnect or VM restart; do not assume reconnection will automatically recreate or resume the same event.
YouTube recommends RTMPS for live ingestion: “We recommend streaming to YouTube Live with RTMPS, a secure extension to the popular RTMP streaming video protocol.” Use the RTMPS ingest address shown for your broadcast rather than guessing a server URL. Read the current YouTube encoder settings and bitrate recommendations.
Choose encoder settings for the source video
Match the output resolution and frame rate to the material. Higher resolutions and frame rates require more bitrate, and the recommended bitrate depends on the codec. YouTube’s guidance supports H.264, H.265/HEVC, or AV1 video, AAC or MP3 audio, constant bitrate (CBR), frame rates up to 60 fps, and a keyframe interval of 2 seconds that must not exceed 4 seconds. For stereo audio, its advanced settings recommend 44.1 kHz and 128 Kbps.
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| H.264 output | YouTube recommended bitrate |
|---|---|
| 240p–720p at 30 fps | 4 Mbps |
| 720p at 60 fps | 6 Mbps |
| 1080p at 30 fps | 10 Mbps |
| 1080p at 60 fps | 12 Mbps |
These figures are YouTube’s displayed H.264 recommendations, not universal settings for every codec or source. Its page gives separate ranges for AV1/H.265 and higher resolutions; use the matching codec column on the current page rather than combining figures across codecs. In particular, follow YouTube’s live table if a displayed recommendation appears inconsistent with another codec’s range.
Allow for audio and protocol overhead when estimating network use. A 10 Mbps video stream sends roughly 4.5 GB of video data in an hour before audio and overhead; at that rate, a continuously running stream can consume a substantial share of Oracle’s 10 TB monthly outbound allowance. Actual transfer depends on bitrate, audio, and connection behavior. YouTube recommends a test broadcast and ongoing checks of stream health and messages rather than relying on a successful encoder launch alone.
Install FFmpeg and prepare a looping source
Install FFmpeg using the package instructions for the operating system image you chose, or use a trusted build compatible with that system. Confirm the binary is available with ffmpeg -version. Upload the media file to a protected directory on the VM and check that its audio and video streams decode correctly before starting a long-running broadcast.
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The following is an illustrative FFmpeg command for a 1080p30 H.264/AAC source. Replace the ingest URL and key with the values YouTube provides. This command is not an officially validated YouTube or Oracle configuration; test it with your own source and broadcast settings.
ffmpeg -re -stream_loop -1 -i /path/to/documentary.mp4
-c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -b:v 10M -maxrate 10M -bufsize 20M
-pix_fmt yuv420p -r 30 -g 60 -keyint_min 60 -sc_threshold 0
-c:a aac -b:a 128k -ar 44100 -ac 2
-f flv "rtmps://YOUR_INGEST_ADDRESS/YOUR_STREAM_KEY"-rereads the file at its playback rate rather than encoding as fast as possible.-stream_loop -1loops the input indefinitely. To loop a playlist, create a compatible concat input or manage the playlist with a separate process; test transitions and durations before using it live.- The example uses H.264 at 10 Mbps for 1080p30, with a 2-second GOP at 30 fps. If you change frame rate, adjust the keyframe interval to preserve a 2-second spacing, and keep it no longer than YouTube’s 4-second maximum.
- The example sets AAC stereo audio to 128 Kbps and 44.1 kHz. If the source has no audio or uses a different layout, adapt the command and test the result.
-preset veryfasttrades compression efficiency for lower encoding demand. If the VM cannot encode smoothly, lower the output workload or choose a preset that fits its available CPU; a preset does not change YouTube’s ingest requirements.
For a video that already matches the desired resolution and frame rate, avoid upscaling merely to label it 1080p. Monitor CPU, memory, and network usage during the test. Do not place a real stream key in shell history, public logs, screenshots, or shared scripts. Prefer a restricted configuration file or service environment file with permissions limited to the account that runs FFmpeg.
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A terminal session is not a reliable supervisor for a 24/7 process: disconnecting SSH or rebooting the VM may stop it. Use a process supervisor or service manager with restart-on-failure behavior, and direct output to logs you can inspect. The example below is a starting point for a Linux system using systemd, not a tested service unit. Adapt it to the VM’s user, file paths, secret handling, and systemd version.
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[Unit]
Description=YouTube Live FFmpeg stream
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=simple
User=stream
ExecStart=/usr/bin/ffmpeg -re -stream_loop -1 -i /srv/video/documentary.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -b:v 10M -maxrate 10M -bufsize 20M -pix_fmt yuv420p -r 30 -g 60 -keyint_min 60 -sc_threshold 0 -c:a aac -b:a 128k -ar 44100 -ac 2 -f flv rtmps://YOUR_INGEST_ADDRESS/YOUR_STREAM_KEY
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.targetPutting the key directly in a unit file can expose it to users who can read that file. A safer deployment keeps secrets in a root-readable environment file or another protected secret store and references them without printing them in routine logs. After installing a unit, reload the service manager, enable the service at boot, start it, and inspect its status and logs. Exact commands depend on where you install the unit and how your distribution manages services.
- Use restart-on-failure to relaunch FFmpeg after a process failure; it does not prove that the next connection will be accepted by YouTube.
- Check the encoder process, VM resource usage, logs, OCI instance status, and YouTube stream-health messages on a regular schedule.
- Test recovery by restarting the service and, separately, rebooting the VM. Verify whether the feed returns and whether the intended YouTube broadcast is still active.
- Set an alert for a stopped process or lost ingest if you need timely notice. A local process supervisor alone cannot alert you if the VM is unreachable or reclaimed.
- Keep a recovery note with the media path, service name, broadcast settings, and the steps to rotate the stream key if it is exposed.
Neither Oracle’s cited documentation nor YouTube’s encoder guidance establishes that a particular FFmpeg unit will reconnect uninterrupted, automatically recreate a broadcast, or prevent OCI reclamation. Treat recovery as something to design and verify, not a guarantee.
Estimate transfer and storage before leaving it live
Oracle lists 10 TB per month of outbound transfer and 200 GB of combined boot and block storage for Always Free resources. The outgoing video bitrate is the main variable in transfer use; audio and network overhead add to it. A constant 10 Mbps video rate alone is about 3.24 TB over 30 days (10 megabits per second divided by 8, multiplied by 2,592,000 seconds), before audio and overhead. That arithmetic is an estimate, not an OCI usage measurement or assurance that all account traffic is covered identically.
Keep the source file size, operating system, logs, and any additional media within the storage allowance. If you store multiple documentaries locally, check space before copying them; a full disk can prevent logs, temporary files, or the encoder from operating as expected.
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| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| OCI cannot launch the instance | Temporary lack of Always Free host capacity in the home region | Try another availability domain where available or wait and retry; confirm you are selecting an Always Free eligible shape. |
| FFmpeg exits immediately | Bad file path, unsupported or damaged media, invalid options, or malformed ingest URL/key | Read the FFmpeg error output, verify the file and stream metadata, and re-enter the exact ingest details from YouTube. |
| YouTube receives no video | Wrong stream key or server address, outbound connectivity issue, or encoder not producing a supported signal | Check the broadcast’s current stream settings, VM network access, FFmpeg logs, and YouTube stream-health messages. |
| Ingest connects but is unstable | Bitrate too high for the available outbound connection, encoding overload, or mismatched settings | Compare actual output to YouTube’s codec-specific guidance; inspect VM CPU and network use; test a lower resolution or frame rate. |
| Broadcast ends after a disconnect | The broadcast lifecycle may not resume automatically when ingest returns | Inspect the event in YouTube Studio, test reconnect behavior before relying on it, and configure the broadcast and feed lifecycle appropriately. |
| Stream stops after VM reboot or process crash | Encoder was started only in a terminal, or supervision/restart is misconfigured | Check the service manager’s status and logs, confirm startup enablement, and perform a controlled reboot test. |
| VM disappears or resources become unavailable | Instance may be affected by account limits, eligibility, capacity, or Oracle’s idle-compute policy | Check OCI account notifications, instance state, current Free Tier terms, and the utilization policy. Do not assume a stream prevents reclamation. |
Or let it run in the cloud
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