How do I stream to multiple platforms at once?
Streaming to more than one platform at once — “multistreaming” or “simulcasting” — lets you reach your audience wherever they are without picking a single home. The catch is doing it without a second PC, a melted upload connection, or three separate encoders to babysit. Here’s how it works and the simplest way to set it up.
The hard way: one output per platform
Your streaming software (OBS, Streamlabs, vMix) sends video to a platform over RTMP. The obvious approach is to add an output for each platform — but every output re-uploads the full stream from your machine. Three platforms means roughly three times the upload bandwidth and extra CPU, and a single dropped connection can stutter your whole encode.
Most home and even venue connections don’t have the spare upload headroom for that, which is why DIY multistreaming so often ends in buffering and dropped frames.
The easy way: send one feed to a relay
A restreaming service fixes this. You send a single stream from your encoder to the service, and it relays a copy to each destination from its own servers. Your machine only ever uploads once, no matter how many platforms you add.
Because the relay happens server-side, adding a fourth or fifth destination doesn’t cost you any more upload bandwidth or frames — and each outbound connection is supervised independently, so one platform hiccuping doesn’t take down the rest.
What you need to get started
Encoding software or hardware that can publish over RTMP, RTSP or SRT (OBS is free and works perfectly), the stream key for each platform you want to reach, and a restreaming service to fan it all out.
- Point your encoder at the relay’s ingest URL and key.
- Add each platform as a destination with its own stream key.
- Go live once — the relay pushes to every enabled destination.
Frequently asked questions
Can I stream to Twitch and YouTube at the same time?
Yes. Send one feed to Stream Repeater and add both Twitch and YouTube as destinations; we relay a copy to each from our servers.
Will multistreaming slow down my internet?
Not with a server-side relay. Your encoder uploads a single stream once; the relay handles the duplication, so adding platforms doesn’t increase your upload.
Do I need a separate encoder for each platform?
No. One encoder publishing to the relay is enough — the relay fans the stream out to every destination you configure.