Platform capability

How to schedule prerecorded videos as live streams

Choose an eligible prerecorded source, set its timezone and run it once or on a recurring schedule. Playlist order, stable shuffle, whole-playlist repeats and looping are supported; external video links are not supported sources.

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The broadcast plays in the DynTube player, or in an embed on your own page

The short answer

What a schedule does

A schedule binds videos you already host to a live stream and starts that broadcast for you at a time you set.

Running a repeating broadcast by hand is the part that breaks. Somebody has to be awake at the right hour, in the right timezone, to start an encoder for content that was finished weeks ago — and a missed start is visible to everyone who showed up on time.

A schedule removes the person from that step. You select videos from your own library, pick the timezone the broadcast belongs to, and choose between a single dated run and a repeating pattern. DynTube validates the whole definition when you save it, then starts the stream at each occurrence without anyone present.

The source is your own hosted, published video — one item or an ordered playlist.
The timezone is part of the schedule, so occurrences are computed in that timezone rather than in UTC.
A one-time schedule takes a single start time; a recurring schedule takes a repeating pattern with a start date and an optional end date.
Playlist behaviour is yours to set: authored order or a stable shuffle, whole-playlist repeats, or continuous looping.
A schedule can be disabled and re-enabled without deleting it.

Sources

Which videos you can schedule

Every item in a schedule is resolved against your own library when you save it, so an unusable source is rejected then rather than at broadcast time.

Your own published videosAccount-owned: A scheduled item has to belong to your account and be published. A draft, a still-processing upload or a video from another account is refused when the schedule is saved.
A playable rendition your plan includesHLS or MP4: The video needs an HLS or MP4 rendition that your plan entitles. If neither is available for that item, the schedule is not accepted and the reason names the video.
An ordered playlistOne or many: A schedule can carry a single video or a list of them, played in the order you set unless you turn shuffle on. Repeated selections of the same video are collapsed to one entry.

One-time schedule

Scheduling a single broadcast

Five decisions, validated together when you save.

01
Pick the live stream
The schedule broadcasts to one of your existing live streams on the current live system, so viewers arrive at the player and the live-stream access rules configured for that stream.
02
Choose the videos
Select the published videos you want played, in the order you want them. Each one is checked against your account and plan as you save.
03
Set the timezone
The schedule carries its own timezone from the standard IANA list, rather than inheriting whichever machine happens to save it.
04
Set the single start time
A one-time schedule takes one dated start time and no repeating pattern. Supplying both is rejected, which keeps a one-off from silently becoming a series.
05
Save, then leave it enabled
Saving validates the source list, the timezone and the timing together. An enabled schedule runs at its occurrence; disabling it stops future runs without deleting the definition.

Recurrence and timezone

Making a broadcast repeat

A recurring schedule replaces the single start time with a repeating pattern, a start date and an optional end date.

Recurrence is expressed as a standard five-field cron pattern, so the common cases — hourly, daily, weekdays only, weekends only, a chosen weekday, a chosen day of the month — are available alongside a custom expression for anything else. The expression is validated on save: shorthand aliases such as @daily and six-field expressions that include seconds are rejected rather than quietly reinterpreted.

One-time and recurring schedules compared
	One-time	Recurring
Timing input	A single dated start time	A repeating pattern plus a start date
End of the series	Not applicable — it runs once	Optional end date, which must be later than the start date
Timezone	Required	Required
Mixing the two	A repeating pattern is rejected	A single start time is rejected

Occurrences are computed against the schedule's own timezone, not against UTC and not against the browser that created it. During a spring daylight-saving gap, a requested wall-clock time that does not exist advances to the next valid local instant. During the autumn overlap, an ambiguous wall-clock time runs once rather than twice.

Playlist controls

Repeat, shuffle and loop

The controls apply to either schedule type: a stable shuffle can be combined with finite whole-playlist repeats, or with continuous looping.

OrderAs selected: By default the playlist plays in the order you built it, which is what a session with a deliberate running order needs.
ShuffleStable scheduler order: Shuffle plays the same selection in an order the scheduler works out from the schedule and the videos themselves, independent of the order you authored — for some selections the two coincide. It is not re-rolled per broadcast: the same schedule and the same videos give the same order at every occurrence.
RepeatWhole playlist: A repeat count adds extra passes over the whole playlist rather than repeating each video in place, so two videos at a repeat count of one run A, B, A, B and not A, A, B, B. Leave it at zero to play the playlist once.
LoopContinuous: Looping runs those passes without end instead of a fixed number of them, which is how a continuous channel is built from a finite library.

Scope and limits

What live streaming includes

RTMP ingest, HLS playbackCompatible RTMP encoder: Point an encoder that accepts a custom RTMP server and key at your DynTube ingest endpoint; viewers watch over HLS in the DynTube player, in an embed on your own page, or through the direct URL. Compatibility with every encoder or capture device is not claimed.
SchedulingOne-off and recurring: Prerecorded videos from your own library can be scheduled as a single dated broadcast or on a repeating pattern. The videos you select and the timing are checked when you save the schedule.
RecordingOpt-in and plan-gated: Recording is a per-stream choice. When enabled and included in your plan, each completed segment is uploaded into the video project you select.

Troubleshooting

Verify the schedule before broadcast

Most rejections happen at save time and name the thing that failed.

Why was one of my videos rejected when I saved the schedule?

A scheduled video has to belong to your account, be published, and have an HLS or MP4 rendition your plan entitles. A draft, a video still processing, an item from another account or one with no entitled playable rendition is refused, and the message identifies the video.

Can I schedule a video hosted somewhere else?

No. Schedules play videos hosted in your own DynTube library. External video URLs are not supported as a scheduled source.

Why will my live stream not accept a schedule?

Schedules attach to live streams on the current live system. A stream created on the legacy system cannot take one; create the stream on the current system and schedule against that.

What happens to a recurring schedule at a daylight-saving change?

Occurrences are computed in the schedule's own timezone. In a spring gap, a requested time that does not exist advances to the next valid local instant. In the autumn overlap, an ambiguous time runs once rather than twice.

Does shuffle give a different order every broadcast?

No. Shuffle is a stable ordering the scheduler works out from the schedule and the videos themselves rather than a fresh random draw, so the same schedule and the same videos give the same order at every occurrence, and for some selections that order coincides with the one you authored. Change the selection if you need the running order to change.

My recurring series stopped a run earlier than expected. Why?

The end date is exclusive, so an occurrence landing exactly on it does not run. Move the end date past the last run you want to keep.

Can I pause a schedule without losing it?

Yes. A schedule can be disabled and later re-enabled; the definition, its sources and its timing are kept while it is disabled.

Is a scheduled broadcast recorded?

Only when recording is enabled for that stream and included in your plan. Streams are not recorded automatically, and you choose the destination project.

Put the broadcast on your own pages

Host, deliver and measure your video, and embed it where your audience already is.

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