How to Use Restream to Air a Pre-Recorded Launch Live

The short answer: encode the launch film to Restream's specification with 15 to 20 seconds of padding at each end, connect your LinkedIn Page, YouTube channel and X account, upload the file, schedule it as a pre-recorded event with an announcement post on each platform, let an AI agent run the pre-flight check through Restream's MCP server, then answer the chat while it airs and export it afterwards.

Disclosure: I may earn a commission through some links on this site. It does not change what this page says.

The job: a finished, approved launch film of about 20 minutes, aired as a live premiere on the company's LinkedIn Page, YouTube channel and X account at a set hour on launch day, while the team answers questions in the chat. Airing a file removes the production risk. It does not remove the platform rules, and those decide most of the steps below. For plans and add-ons, see the Restream glossary entry.

Before you schedule:

• Length and plan. A pre-recorded event can loop up to 10 times within a 40-hour cap, and a launch needs one play (looping guide). For example, a 20-minute film with 20 seconds added at each end runs 20 minutes and 40 seconds. Three destinations fit Standard, $19 a month on monthly billing (pricing, checked on 24 October 2026).
• Accounts that are allowed to go live. LinkedIn wants 150+ followers or connections and an account at least 30 days old (LinkedIn guide); X wants Premium or Premium+ (X guide); a new YouTube channel needs a verified phone number and a 24-hour wait (YouTube setup).
• A free rehearsal. Restream Events work on the free tier, with Restream branding on the thumbnail (LinkedIn events guide). A short test to an unlisted YouTube event a few days ahead checks the file and the timing without an audience.
• Named people in the chat, and a number to beat. Decide who answers which platform, and write down what the last launch produced: live viewers, questions and demo requests in launch week.

Step 1: Prepare the file to the specification

Restream refuses an upload that misses the mandatory settings: MP4, MOV, M4V or MKV, H264 video, AAC audio and a keyframe interval of 2 (file requirements). It recommends 1080p at 30 or 60 fps with constant bitrate, which can mean re-encoding a file exported with a variable rate. Add 15 to 20 seconds of intro and outro, because platforms take a moment to process an incoming stream and the edges are what gets cut.

Step 2: Connect the three channels

From the home screen, click Channels, then Add New, then LinkedIn, choose Page, sign in and click Allow (LinkedIn guide). LinkedIn lets only one LinkedIn channel be switched on per stream. Repeat for YouTube, which Restream only accepts from the channel's owner, not a manager or editor (YouTube guide), and for X.

Step 3: Upload the film to storage

Upload from your computer or phone, or import from Google Drive, Dropbox or Descript (Upload & Stream overview). On paid plans an upload stays until you delete it; on Free it is kept for 30 days (storage guide).

Step 4: Schedule the pre-recorded event

On the home screen, click New Stream, select Pre-recorded livestream, click Video, choose the film from Uploads and click Next (pre-recorded events). Enter the title, description, date and time, and leave looping off. Tick Create an event post in advance, which only Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and X support, and upload a 1280x720 thumbnail. Click Next, switch on the three channels and click Create Event; the event card can also be added to your calendar.

The title field has an AI button that suggests a sharper title and writes a description from it (LinkedIn events guide). Treat its draft as a draft: rewrite it so the description says plainly that this is a premiere of a recorded film and that the team is live in the chat.

Step 5: Let an agent run the pre-flight check

Connect Restream's MCP server: in Claude, open Restream in the connector directory and click Connect; in Claude Code, run claude mcp add --transport http restream https://mcp.restream.io/mcp (MCP FAQ). The day before, ask: "For tomorrow's launch event, confirm my plan allows these destinations, check each channel's connection, and tell me what would block LinkedIn, YouTube or X." Restream's FAQ describes exactly this pre-flight for company and LinkedIn broadcasts.

The agent checks and reports. The person who owns each account fixes what it finds, and any write action, such as rescheduling or removing the event, waits for a human yes, which Restream's FAQ says your assistant should ask for.

Step 6: On air, watch and answer

The event starts by itself at the scheduled time, even if you are offline; only channels with a manual start, such as TikTok or Instagram, need someone to press Go Live on the platform (pre-recorded events). Open the event card with the red LIVE label to monitor it and chat.

In Restream Chat, send a reply to every channel or to one, and a green tick shows where it was delivered (reply guide). YouTube and X support reading, replying and relaying; LinkedIn viewers only see a reply after refreshing the page (chat guide).

Step 7: Export the chat and follow up

After the stream, export the chat from its Analytics page (chat guide), or ask the agent for the full chat log and viewer numbers by platform (MCP FAQ). Turn every question into a follow-up: an answer to the person, a line in the launch FAQ, a note for sales.

Mistakes Restream's guides warn about

• The announcement box, missed. It can only be ticked while creating the event; forgetting it means deleting the event and starting again (pre-recorded events).
• Testing on the LinkedIn event. You can go live to a LinkedIn event only once, between 15 minutes before and two hours after the scheduled start, and LinkedIn allows 10 events a day (LinkedIn events guide).
• X without Premium. The broadcast does not go live on X, while the other channels still connect (X guide).

Restream's own pitch for pre-recorded streams is that platforms prioritise live content over ordinary video posts (Upload & Stream page). That is the vendor's reason to sell you a live label, not a promise of reach, so judge the launch on what it produced.

How to know it worked

Set the launch against the numbers you wrote down: live viewers per platform, questions in the chat, and demo requests in launch week compared with the last launch or an ordinary week. Look again at replays after seven days. If one platform carried almost all of it, the next launch can skip a channel and its add-on cost.

FAQ

Does anyone need to be online when it airs?

No. A pre-recorded event airs at the scheduled time without anyone signed in, apart from platforms that need a manual start (pre-recorded events).

Can I air several videos in one event?

Yes. Upload & Stream can stream a single video or a playlist of several files (Upload & Stream overview).

How do I hold a private screening first?

Schedule the event to YouTube, tick the event post box, click Edit next to the YouTube channel and set Privacy to Unlisted, then share the link from the event card. Only people with the link can watch (unlisted events guide).