Guide

Stream Without OBS: What Works for Reruns and Live

By NONSTOPVOD · Updated 2026-10-06

“Stream without OBS” and “Twitch rerun without OBS” are really two questions. One is how to go live without installing a broadcasting program. The other is how to put old streams back on a channel without running one. The first still needs something that sends video to Twitch. The second does not need OBS at all.

Why streaming usually involves an encoder

Twitch receives a video stream over RTMP. Something has to capture your screen, camera or game, compress it and push it to Twitch. OBS Studio is one free option, and there are others. Other broadcasting programs exist, some capture cards and cameras can stream on their own, and consoles and mobile apps have broadcasting built in. If you want to go live with new gameplay, you need one of these.

Going live without OBS

• Another broadcasting program on your PC. Several exist; pick one that supports your capture setup.
• A console or its capture feature. Some consoles can broadcast to Twitch directly.
• A phone or tablet app for mobile or IRL streams.
• An encoder or capture device that streams without a computer in the chain.

All of these send live video from something you operate. NONSTOPVOD is none of them: it does not let you go live with new gameplay.

Reruns without OBS

A rerun is a recording played back as a stream. If you build it yourself, people commonly use OBS with a media source or playlist, or run ffmpeg on a small server. Both work, and both need a machine that stays on and someone to keep it healthy. Our guide to running a 24/7 Twitch stream compares the routes.

With a replay service there is nothing to install. With NONSTOPVOD you connect your channel, choose which VODs should play and press Start. The stream comes from our servers, so there is no scene to build, no playlist to maintain and no program to keep running on your PC. The video is copied as recorded, without re-encoding, and a schedule is built from your archive so a rerun does not repeat back to back.

What you give up, and what you do not

A replay has no scenes, no webcam, no alerts and no live interaction with the game, because it plays recordings that already exist. If you want those things on a channel, you want a live setup. If what you want is a channel that keeps playing your past streams on a second channel, OBS adds work and nothing you need.

Replays belong on a separate channel, labeled as reruns. Our guide to rerunning streams on a second channel explains why and how.

Before you start

1. Decide whether you want to go live or keep a channel running. Only the second works without an encoder of your own.
2. Save your recordings. Twitch deletes past broadcasts after 7, 14 or 60 days depending on the account; see how to save VODs before they are deleted.
3. Create the second channel and label it as replays.
4. Connect it, choose what plays and start.

Trying it

The free test mode needs no credit card and runs 30-minute replay sessions. Plans and prices are on the home page. If your PC is the sticking point rather than OBS, read keep your Twitch channel live while your PC is off.

Common questions

Can I run reruns without any streaming software on my PC?

Yes, if the replay runs from a service. Then your PC is not part of the chain, and nothing needs to be installed or kept running on it.

Does a replay need new gameplay?

No. It plays recordings of broadcasts you already made, which is why it can run without a capture setup. It cannot show anything you have not recorded.

Will viewers know it is a rerun?

They should. Use a separate channel and put the word rerun or replay in the titles, so no one has to guess whether the stream in front of them is live.