A 24/7 stream, with your PC off.
Three ways to keep a Twitch channel live around the clock. One of them does not involve your machine, and it is the one where the chat picks what plays.
Three ways to stay live.
The free way works. Here is exactly where it stops working.
| OBS on your PC | Rented server | VOD247 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your PC stays on | 24/7 | ||
| Cut between two videos | At every file | ||
| Restarts after a crash | If you script it | ||
| Pulls new VODs from Twitch | |||
| Title and category follow the VOD | |||
| Chat votes on what plays next | |||
| Public catalogue site | |||
| Monthly cost | Electricity | 20 € to 60 € | from 49 € |
What runs, and where.
Nothing on your side. Every piece runs on VOD247 servers.
- 01
Archive
The catalogue syncs from Twitch. Each new VOD is downloaded at full quality before the 14-day deadline and stored as is, no re-encoding.
- 02
Playout
One publisher per channel reads the queue and pushes one continuous RTMP stream to Twitch. The next VOD is prefetched while the current one plays: no cut, no black frame.
- 03
Chat and cycle
A bot joins the chat. 20 minutes before the end of a VOD, requests open; 10 minutes before, a poll; the winner is queued. Title, category and tags follow.
- −20:00
!request <vod>Requests open
One request per person. The bot confirms in chat, the site shows the count.
- −10:00
!vote 1-5Poll opens
A Twitch poll with 5 options: the natural next VOD, plus the most supported requests.
- −5:00
winner queuedPoll closes
The winner is queued. Zero votes? Option 1 plays. The channel never goes black.
- 0:00
title · category · tagsNext VOD starts
Title, category and tags are updated on Twitch. No cut in the stream between two VODs.
Setting up.
Two Twitch accounts: the one that broadcasts, and the one whose VODs are replayed.
- 01
Sign in and authorize the channel
Sign in with Twitch, then authorize the account that will broadcast 24/7. Create it if you do not have one yet: yourname_247 is the usual name.
- 02
Declare the source
Tell VOD247 which account the VODs come from. Usually your main channel. The catalogue syncs within minutes.
- 03
Start the channel
Once the first VODs are archived, press start. The bot joins the chat, the stream goes up, the first cycle opens.
The parts that matter.
What a 24/7 channel breaks on, and what is done about each.
No re-encoding
Twitch stores your VOD in the format you streamed. VOD247 replays it bit for bit. The quality on the 24/7 channel is the quality of the original stream.
The 48-hour cap
Twitch caps one broadcast at 48 hours. The session is recycled about every 12 hours, only between two VODs. A VOD is never cut in two.
Empty queue
If nothing is queued, a filler loop keeps the session open. The channel never drops off the directory.
Crash recovery
Every 30 seconds a controller checks that each live channel has its workers. A dead one is restarted from the state in the database.
Labelled as a rerun
Tags Rediffusion and replay, and the mention in every title, on every VOD. What Twitch asks for replayed content.
Not affiliated yet
Native polls need Affiliate status. Without it, the bot counts !vote 1 to 5 in chat. Same cycle, same result.
Questions.
Do I need to leave my PC on?
No. Playout, archiving, the chat bot and the site run on VOD247 servers. Once the channel is authorized, nothing on your machine is involved.
Can I just loop a video in OBS?
Yes, and many people start there. It needs your PC on around the clock, it cuts the stream at each file change, it does not restart after a crash, and nobody picks what plays next.
Does it work with a Kick or YouTube channel?
Not today. VOD247 is built for Twitch: the archive comes from Twitch, the polls are Twitch polls, the chat is Twitch chat.
Which VODs can I replay?
Your own, or those of a source that has given you a written licence. Replaying someone else’s content without it is against Twitch’s rules and against ours.
Your channel, live tonight.
Authorize the account, let the archive fill, press start.
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