YouTube Live Setup Guide

A complete walkthrough for connecting ScoreCam to YouTube — from enabling live streaming on your account to sharing your broadcast link with viewers.

Overview

YouTube requires live streaming to be enabled on your Google account before you can broadcast. This is a one-time step that can take up to 24 hours. Once enabled, ScoreCam offers two connection methods:

  • Stream Key mode — Manual copy/paste of your stream key from YouTube Studio. Works immediately after enabling live streaming. You set the broadcast title, visibility, and description directly in YouTube Studio before going live.
  • YouTube API mode — OAuth sign-in with Google. ScoreCam automatically creates the live broadcast when you tap Go Live. No copy/paste required. Broadcast visibility, description, and stream latency are configurable directly in ScoreCam.

Both modes produce the same result for your viewers: a live stream on your YouTube channel with the ScoreCam scoreboard visible in real time.

Step 0: Enable Live Streaming on YouTube

Before you can broadcast on YouTube for the first time, you must enable live streaming on your Google account. This only needs to be done once.

1

Go to YouTube Features

In a browser, go to youtube.com/features while signed in to your Google account.

2

Enable Live Streaming

Under the "Live streaming" section, click Enable. If you do not see this option, your account may already have it enabled.

3

Verify Your Phone Number

YouTube requires your phone number to be verified before enabling live streaming. If prompted, complete the phone verification step.

4

Wait for Activation

Activation usually takes less than an hour for established accounts, but YouTube states it can take up to 24 hours. You will receive a confirmation in YouTube Studio when it is ready.

This only needs to be done once. Once live streaming is enabled on your account, it stays enabled — you do not need to repeat this step before each game.

Stream Key Setup

This covers stream key mode — copy/paste a key from YouTube Studio. For automatic broadcast creation with no copy/paste, see YouTube API mode below.
1

Open YouTube Studio

Go to studio.youtube.com on a desktop browser and sign in. On mobile, tap your profile picture in the YouTube app → Your channel → the camera icon → Go live → Streaming software.

2

Select Streaming Software

In the Live Control Room, click Streaming software in the left panel — not "webcam" or "mobile". This reveals the stream key settings.

3

Copy the Stream Key

The Stream URL (rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2) and Stream Key are shown under "Stream settings". Click Copy next to the stream key and paste it into ScoreCam. The server URL is already pre-filled in ScoreCam.

Things to Know

  • Live streaming must be enabled on your YouTube account before your first broadcast — activation can take up to 24 hours after requesting it (see Step 0 above).
  • Enable Reusable stream key (the default in YouTube Studio) so the same key works for every broadcast without re-copying.
  • Set your stream title, description, and privacy in YouTube Studio before going live — these are not set automatically in stream key mode.
  • YouTube API mode handles all of that automatically and is generally the easier option if you stream regularly.

YouTube API Mode

When YouTube API (OAuth) mode is selected in the ScoreCam setup wizard, ScoreCam signs in with your Google account and creates the live broadcast automatically when you tap Go Live — no YouTube Studio access required.

The wizard's Broadcast Options screen includes additional YouTube-specific settings. These are applied automatically when ScoreCam creates the live event at go-live time.

Visibility
Controls who can see the live broadcast on YouTube.
PrivateOnly you (and users you explicitly invite) can see the stream
UnlistedAnyone with the direct link can watch, but it does not appear in search or your channel feed — good for team-only streams
PublicVisible to everyone, appears in search and your channel
Default: Unlisted
Description
An optional text description attached to the YouTube Live event. Shown on the video's watch page below the player. Use it for team name, league, date, or any info viewers should see.
Default: Empty
Stream Latency
Controls the delay between what is happening at the venue and what viewers see on YouTube.
NormalHighest quality, full DVR rewind support. Viewer delay is typically 20–30 seconds.
LowGood balance for sports — reduced viewer delay (~10–15 s) with DVR support still available. Recommended for most games.
Ultra-LowShortest possible delay (~2–5 s). DVR rewind is disabled. Best when viewer interaction (play-by-play chat, goals) needs to feel immediate.
Default: Low
Category
ScoreCam automatically tags every YouTube API broadcast with the Sports category. This helps YouTube recommend the stream to sports viewers and does not require any configuration.
Broadcast title: The broadcast title is set separately in App Settings under Live Streaming → Event Title. You can also choose to append the current date to the title automatically.
Editing after setup: Visibility, Description, and Stream Latency can be changed at any time — not just during the wizard. Go to App Settings → Live Streaming, tap your YouTube API account in the Accounts list, and the YouTube Broadcast Settings section will appear at the top of the account editor.

Connecting to a Scheduled YouTube Event

If you pre-schedule a broadcast in YouTube Studio, ScoreCam can connect directly to that existing event instead of creating a new one. This keeps your viewer link, title, description, and scheduled time exactly as you set them up in Studio.

How to use it

  1. Tap Go Live in ScoreCam to open the YouTube pre-stream sheet.
  2. At the top, switch to the Scheduled tab. ScoreCam fetches your channel's upcoming events.
  3. Tap the event you want to stream to — a checkmark appears on the selected row.
  4. Tap Connect to Event. ScoreCam links to that broadcast and retrieves the RTMP stream credentials.
  5. Tap Start Streaming to go live.
Stream binding: If the scheduled event already has a stream bound (created when you set it up in YouTube Studio), ScoreCam reuses that stream's RTMP URL and key. If no stream is bound yet, ScoreCam creates one automatically and links it to the broadcast.
Your scheduled event is never deleted. Tapping Cancel after selecting a scheduled event leaves the broadcast intact on YouTube. ScoreCam only deletes a broadcast on cancel if it created a brand-new one in the Create New tab.

Finding and Sharing Your Stream Link

In YouTube API Mode

ScoreCam creates the broadcast automatically when you tap Go Live. The broadcast link is available in a couple of places:

  • In the YouTube app: tap your profile picture → Your channel → Live tab. The active broadcast is listed there with a share button.
  • In YouTube Studio (studio.youtube.com): go to Live Control Room → find the active stream → tap the share icon to copy the watch URL.

In Stream Key Mode

Before going live, create the stream in YouTube Studio and copy the watch URL from the Live Control Room stream preview page. You can set the title, description, and privacy there before ScoreCam starts sending video.

Using Your Channel URL

Your YouTube channel URL (e.g., youtube.com/@yourchannel) always works as a viewer link — when you are live, viewers who visit your channel will see the live stream at the top automatically.

Share the link in advance. YouTube notifies subscribers when you go live. For Public broadcasts, viewers can also set a reminder if you schedule the stream in advance in YouTube Studio.