Troubleshooting Tips
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Product forum
Often, issues can be resolved by posting in the products forums. Other users and Google Guides participate in these forums and answer questions.
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Report a bug
To report a bug, please follow these steps:
- Go to the YouTube page where you’re having issues.
- Click Send Feedback found at the bottom of the page.
You’ll be able to take a screenshot, describe the issue you’re experiencing, and submit the problem to our team.
While we may not respond to every report, we are listening and will work to address the issue as soon as possible.
Troubleshooting
If you start to see problems in the stream:
- Verify that the problem is not localized to one user or one network.
- How many users are seeing the problem?
- One –
- Likely user error. Have user try alternative machine and alternative network.
- Many on shared network –
- Likely network issue. Users should check network health to ensure network has the capacity to view stream. Remember, 10 users watching 10 streams requires 10x the inbound bandwidth.
- Many on various networks –
- Possibly source error, proceed to next step.
- One –
- How many users are seeing the problem?
- Verify health of stream on encoder.
- Does the stream look and sound healthy when watching directly from the encoder?
- No –
- Likely source error. Remember, “garbage in, garbage out”. Verify health of all audio and video sources routed to encoder. If all sources are good, check the encoder itself. What is the CPU load on encoder? Is stream healthy on alternative encoder? Be sure to also check your local archive. If you are seeing audio or video problems in your local archive file, the problems are being introduced locally.
- Yes
- Possibly outbound network error, proceed to next step.
- No –
- Does the stream look and sound healthy when watching directly from the encoder?
- Verify health of outbound network.
- Run speed test (speedtest.net) and ping test to a.rtmp.youtube.com and any other external domain (ex: google.com).
- If outbound bandwidth is unstable or inadequate-
- Likely network errors. Contact your local IT support to troubleshoot.
- If outbound bandwidth is unstable or inadequate-
- Run speed test (speedtest.net) and ping test to a.rtmp.youtube.com and any other external domain (ex: google.com).
Restrictions on live streaming
Global Availability
YouTube Live streams cannot be viewed from Germany.
Strikes
Channels that are not in good standing will be automatically disabled for live streaming until the associated issue(s) are resolved. In-progress live events will be stopped if any videos on the channel receive strikes. You can check your channel’s status here.
Ads
It is against Terms of Use to include third-party advertisements in live streams. This includes burned-in commercials (for example, video content from a television feed).
Live Control Room errors
The Live Control Room checks for errors in the stream you are sending to YouTube. These are displayed next to the Health Indicator at the top of the Live Control Room.
There is a timestamp next to each error indicating when it was seen. If the error is not fixed, it will continue to pop-up. Errors in red are critical and may inhibit your event from starting or cause users to see problems. Errors in yellow aremoderate and may cause degraded quality in your event.
The complete list of errors is below:
Incorrect ingestion information
There is a typo in your stream name. Double check your encoder is using the exact stream name from the Ingestion Settings page.
- The stream name is incorrect. Please check that your encoder is using the stream name from the Ingestion Settings page.
Incorrect stream format
Your encoder is set to something other than Flash H.264 video and AAC audio. Adjust to Flash H.264 video and AAC audio for the stream to be properly ingested.
- Please change the container format for the video. The current container format isn’t right for this configuration.
- Please set the audio codec for the stream to AAC. The audio is encoded with the wrong codec.
- Please set the video codec for the stream to H.264. The video is encoded with the wrong codec.
- Please correct the video codec profile for the stream. The video is encoded with the wrong codec profile.
Incorrect bitrates
You must use the exact bitrate for the resolution you chose on the Ingestion Settings page. If you do not have enough bandwidth for the resolution you chose, consider lowering your chosen resolution. The correct bitrates for each resolution are listed in the encoder settings. Using the guidance of these error messages to ensure your video is transcoded and delivered properly.
- We recommend you use an audio stream bitrate value of 128Kbps. The current bitrate for the audio stream is higher than the recommended bitrate.
- We recommend you use an audio stream bitrate value of 128Kbps. The current bitrate for the audio stream is lower than the recommended bitrate.
- Please correct the sample rate for audio in the stream to 44.1KHz. The current sample rate is incorrect.
- We recommend you use a stream bitrate value of X. The current bitrate value for the stream is higher than the recommended bitrate.
- We recommend you use a stream bitrate value of X. The current bitrate value for the stream is lower than the recommended bitrate.
Incorrect audio settings
Your encoder is sending incorrect audio settings. Using the guidance of these error messages to ensure your audio is delivered properly.
- Please provide one audio stream. The ingestion stream contains no audio stream.
- Your encoder is sending no audio. (On some encoders there is a checkbox where you have to actively enable audio). YouTube’s pipeline requires audio on all videos.
- Please provide only one audio stream. The ingestion stream contains multiple audio streams.
- Multiple audio streams will cause the ingestion to fail. If you would like to have multiple audio streams (to offer multiple languages, for example), consider doing a multi-cam event instead.
- Please correct the number of audio channels. The audio has more than 2 channels. Only 1 (mono) or 2 (stereo) are supported.
Incorrect video settings
Your encoder is sending incorrect video settings. Using the guidance of these error messages to ensure your video is delivered properly.
- Please provide one video stream. The ingestion stream contains no video stream.
- Please provide only one video stream. The ingestion stream contains multiple video streams.
- Please do not send interlaced video. The current video is interlaced.
- Make sure your video is progressive. Otherwise you will see artifacts on the video which severely impact the quality.
- Please correct the frame rate of the video. The current frame rate is incorrect.
- Remember that your frame rate and keyframe frequency are linked. If you adjust your frame rate, you will also need adjust your keyframe frequency so that keyframes are delivered every 2 seconds.
Incorrect video keyframe frequency
Your encoder is sending keyframes too frequently or not frequently enough. Adjust so keyframes are sent every 2 seconds. At 30fps, that is every 60 frames.
- Please use a keyframe frequency of 2 seconds or less. Keyframes are not being sent often enough, this may cause buffering.
- Please use a keyframe frequency of 2 seconds or less. Keyframes are being sent too often, this may reduce image quality.
- Please change the configuration of your video encoder to closed Group of Pictures (GOP). It appears to be currently set to open GOP, which will not work.
- Some encoders allow you to adjust the “GOP” to Open (variable) or Closed (fixed). YouTube’s pipeline requires a Closed GOP for optimal transcoding.
Incorrect video size (resolution)
Your video must be the height and width of the resolution you chose on the Ingestion Settings page. The correct sizes for each resolution are listed in the encoder settings as “width x height”.
- Please set the video resolution to X. The current resolution, is larger than the expected.
- Please set the video resolution to X. The current resolution is smaller than the expected.
- Please correct the aspect ratio for the video resolution. The current aspect ratio is incorrect.
- Please correct the width of the video. The current width of the video is incorrect, and will result in black bars at the left and right of the video.
- Please correct the width of the video. The current width of the video is incorrect, and will result in black bars at the top and bottom of the video.
- Please correct the height of the video. The current resolution is high and may cause problems.
- Please set the height of the video to X. The current resolution is low, no video will be streamed.
Mismatched primary and backup streams
Your primary and backup streams must have the exact same settings for failover to work properly. Using the guidance of these error messages to ensure your primary and backup streams are matched.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same resolution. The streams have different resolutions in the current configuration.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same video codecs. The streams have different video codecs in the current configuration.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same interlacing. The streams have different interlacing in the current configuration.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same profile. The streams have different profiles in the current configuration.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same bitrate. The streams have different bitrates in the current configuration.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same framerate. The streams have different framerates in the current configuration.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same keyframe frequency. The streams have different keyframe frequencies in the current configuration.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same audio sample rate. The streams have different audio sample rates in the current configuration.
- Please configure both primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same channel. Both of them should have mono or stereo audio, but not different.
- Please configure the primary stream and backup stream of the video to have the same audio codecs. The streams have different audio codecs in the current configuration.
- Please configure both primary and backup streams correctly. The comparison of the streams failed because one of the streams has invalid configuration.
Content ID claims on live streams and Hangouts on Air
Content ID scans all live streams and Hangouts on Air for third party content. When Content ID identifies third party content, a placeholder image may replace your live broadcast until Content ID no longer detects third party content. In some cases, it may terminate your live broadcast. Live streams and Hangouts on Air can also be terminated if they receive a copyright strike or a Community Guidelines strike.
If your live stream or Hangout on Air stops, the quickest way to confirm whether you have received either type of strike is to check your Account Standing.
How to tell if Content ID interrupted your live broadcast
If your live broadcast was terminated and you did not receive a strike, Content ID has identified copyrighted content owned by a third party in your video.
Before your live broadcast is terminated or replaced with a still image, you will be warned to stop broadcasting the third-party content our system has identified. If you comply with this warning, your broadcast will be allowed to continue. If you do not, it will be temporarily replaced or terminated, and you may lose access to this feature.
If Content ID terminates three of your live broadcasts within a six-month period, you will lose access to live streaming and Hangouts on Air for six months. You can check the number of live broadcasts blocked by Content ID in your Live Events.
What to do if you believe a Content ID claim was made in error
If you believe the system has misidentified the content in your video, or you are authorized to use the content in a YouTube live stream, you may dispute the claim. You should not dispute Content ID claims unless you have reason to believe they were made in error or are otherwise invalid. You will only be able to dispute a Content ID claim on a live stream if you have archived the video. Please note that YouTube does not mediate copyright disputes.
Please understand that a Content ID claim may interrupt your live broadcast even if you licensed the third-party content in question, or even if you restricted your broadcast to a territory in which you own all the necessary rights. If a third party has claimed the content in your video through Content ID, you may ask the content owner to whitelist your channel to facilitate future live streams and Hangouts on Air.
My live stream ingestion is struggling and I’d like to switch to Google Public DNS
If your live stream ingestion is struggling, it may be due to a misconfigured DNS sending the stream to a distant geographical location. Follow these instructions to configure your network to use Google Public DNS.
Tricaster settings
Green screen in video player
Some videos on YouTube are streamed through Adobe Flash Player, a plug-in for your web browser. Hardware acceleration is a feature in Adobe Flash Player that usually delivers a better video playing experience; however, sometimes it may cause issues.
The option to disable hardware acceleration is only available for certain versions of Adobe Flash Player system plug-in and operating systems (OS). Follow these steps to see if the option is available:
- Right-click on the on the video you’re having issues with
- Click Settings
- If you see the option Enable hardware acceleration, uncheck it. If you don’t see it, the option is not available for you.
- Click Close
- Refresh the page and check whether the video is working
Once you disable hardware acceleration, the setting will apply across all internet browsers on your computer.
Updating your computer’s graphics driver may correct many of the problems listed above.
For PC users: visit the website of your computer manufacturer to download the latest driver.
For Mac users:
- Click the Apple logo.
- In the Apple menu, click Software Update.
- Install the Mac OS update if available–it will include the graphics driver update.
If you’re having problems playing the video itself, try these playback troubleshooting steps.
