The Tool Desk
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Find where the audio disappears
Work through the signal path in order. The first point where the expected audio is missing narrows the likely cause; a moving meter or a successful preview at one stage does not prove every later stage is working.
- Media file: Play the exact prerecorded video locally and confirm its intended audio track is audible. If it has multiple tracks, identify which one contains the program audio.
- OBS input: Play the media in the scene and source you use for the stream. Watch the relevant mixer meter while it plays.
- OBS output: Check that the source is not muted from output. Listen using OBS Audio Monitoring as a diagnostic, then make a short local recording with the same scene and output configuration.
- Encoder and YouTube: Check the encoder output, the local recording, and YouTube Live Control Room’s preview, stream health, and error messages.
YouTube recommends checking the encoder output, local archive, and live stream health when troubleshooting a stream: Troubleshoot your YouTube live stream.
Check that OBS receives the media audio
In OBS, start playback of the prerecorded video and watch the meter for the source that should carry its sound. OBS’s mixer displays source levels, and its mute control affects output. If the meter does not move, audio is not reaching that point in OBS. Playback may not have started, the wrong source may be active, or a device-based source may be disconnected or not selected. See the OBS Audio Mixer Guide and Audio Mixer Technical Details.
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- No meter activity: Confirm the video is playing, the intended media or capture source is active, and any audio device is connected and selected.
- Meter activity: Audio is reaching that OBS source, but this alone does not prove that it is included in the stream output. Continue to check mute state, routing, recording, and YouTube ingest.
Check OBS output and make a local test recording
Confirm the relevant source is not muted to output. OBS Audio Monitoring can help you hear audio as it enters OBS, but hearing monitored audio does not establish that YouTube is receiving it. Make a short local recording using the same scene and output configuration, then listen to it. OBS recommends recording and listening to a session before going live in its Audio Mixer Guide.
- The recording is silent: Focus on OBS source selection, capture, mute state, and routing.
- The recording has audio but YouTube does not: Compare the live output and its settings with YouTube’s ingest status and preview. This comparison helps locate the divergence; it does not by itself identify one universal cause.
Read YouTube Live Control Room’s audio errors
YouTube’s live-stream error guidance distinguishes an ingest stream with no audio from one with multiple audio streams. If Live Control Room reports either condition, follow the displayed guidance and provide one audio stream; adding extra tracks speculatively can make the problem worse. The same guidance identifies unsupported codecs and incorrect audio settings as possible issues: Live streaming error messages.
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YouTube’s error guidance lists AAC or MP3 as supported audio codecs. Its encoder-settings page recommends, rather than universally requires, 44.1 kHz and 128 Kbps for stereo audio; for 5.1 surround it recommends 48 kHz and 384 Kbps. Check the settings and error shown for your current stream instead of treating these recommendations as a fix for audio that never reaches OBS: Choose live encoder settings, bitrates, and resolutions.
What to check in FFmpeg
Do not copy a fixed FFmpeg audio-map index without first identifying the streams in the input. Files can differ in the number and order of audio tracks, language, channel layout, codec, and other properties; the appropriate selection also depends on the installed FFmpeg version. Identify the stream containing the intended program audio and consult documentation matching your FFmpeg version before changing mapping or encoding. A command chosen without those details may select the wrong track or omit audio entirely.
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If OBS is producing the stream, use the staged checks above to determine whether the loss occurs before OBS, in its output, or at YouTube ingest. If FFmpeg is producing it, compare the source file’s audible playback with the encoder output and YouTube’s preview and error messages; do not assume an OBS-specific setting applies to an FFmpeg workflow.
Separate an audio fault from a broader stream problem
YouTube advises inspecting output directly in the encoder. If audio or video is already wrong there, check the media sources routed to the encoder, encoder errors, CPU load, and local archive. If the encoder output looks and sounds healthy but the YouTube stream does not, YouTube identifies the outbound internet connection as a possible issue. Follow YouTube’s troubleshooting guidance rather than changing audio settings at random: Troubleshoot your YouTube live stream.
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Preflight before the next live event
- Play the exact prerecorded media and confirm the intended audio is audible.
- Start it in the OBS scene you will use and check the corresponding mixer meter.
- Check output mute and routing, then make and listen to a short local recording.
- Preview the stream in Live Control Room and review stream health and any ingest error before going live.
- During the event, monitor audio and video. YouTube also recommends verifying the local archive and that its file size is growing: YouTube live streaming tips.
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