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How to stream horizontal and vertical at the same time

Twitch, YouTube and Kick are watched on wide screens; TikTok LIVE, Instagram and YouTube Shorts are watched on phones held upright. One widescreen stream sent everywhere shows as a thin strip on the phone platforms, and a vertical one wastes most of a TV. The fix is two pictures from the same OBS: 16:9 for the wide platforms and 9:16 for the phone ones.

This guide adds the vertical picture with the free Multistream Vertical tool, then sends each platform the right one with Multistream Cloud or the free Multistream app. The example uses Twitch and TikTok; the same steps work for any mix.

Step 1: add the vertical picture to OBS

Add the free Multistream Vertical tool to OBS (it's offered after the settings check in the Studio's step 2, and in the app's setup guide). It sends a second, 9:16 picture next to your main one, and Multistream sends each platform the picture that fits it.

Without it, a vertical platform gets your widescreen picture, which still works but shows as a thin strip on a phone held upright.

Step 2: choose what the vertical picture shows

Out of the box, the tool shows what your viewers see, cropped to 9:16: Fill covers the frame and crops the sides, and the crop position picks which part shows. Fit shows the whole picture with bars above and below instead.

For a picture made for phones, build a scene for it in OBS and pick that scene in the tool. A common layout puts your camera on the top half and the most important part of the game or screen below it, with text kept large and inside the middle of the frame, where phone buttons don't cover it.

Method 1: Multistream Cloud (one upload for every platform)

Multistream Cloud takes one stream from OBS and sends a copy to Twitch and TikTok, and to up to 12 platforms in all. Your internet only uploads that one stream, so adding a platform doesn't need a faster connection. It comes with Pro, $10/mo.

  1. Create your Multistream account, then get Pro on your Account page.
  2. In the Studio, step 1 (Pick platforms), click Add a platform and add each one:
    • Twitch: click Sign in with Twitch, then Authorize in the Twitch window. Multistream reads your stream key for you.
    • TikTok: paste the server URL and stream key from TikTok LIVE Studio or TikTok's LIVE settings. TikTok only gives a stream key to accounts it has allowed to go live from streaming software.
  3. Install Multistream for OBS (Windows 10 or 11, OBS 31 or newer) and open OBS. The Multistream dock opens on the right.
  4. In the dock, click Sign in with your browser and approve it.
  5. The dock's pre-flight check looks at your OBS settings, Multistream Cloud, your platforms and where OBS sends. If OBS isn't sending to Multistream yet, click Point OBS at Multistream.
  6. Click Go live on 2. After a 3, 2, 1 countdown, OBS starts streaming and Twitch and TikTok go live.

If OBS or your internet drops, Pro keeps your platforms live on your BRB clip for up to 30 minutes, and when OBS is back you carry on in the same broadcast, with the same chat. Turn it on under Disconnect protection.

Method 2: the free Multistream app (from your own PC)

The free Multistream app for Windows can send the copies from your own PC instead. Your upload then carries one copy for each platform, and if your PC's internet drops, your platforms drop with it. Run the app's Speed test first to see what your connection can carry, or work it out with the free upload calculator.

  1. Download the Multistream app for Windows 10 or 11 and open it.
  2. Go to Multistream → Go live and set Where the relay runs to This PC.
  3. Open Setup guide and click Add a platform for Twitch and TikTok. Twitch, YouTube and Kick accounts you've connected in the app add in a click; the others take their stream key.
  4. Install Multistream for OBS and open OBS. Without Pro, the Multistream dock sends your stream through the app on this PC, so keep the app open.
  5. Click Go live on 2 in the dock. Your PC uploads one copy for each platform.

Good to know

Kick Partners and vertical platforms. Kick asks Partners to turn on its Multistreaming toggle (which halves that stream's payout) when they also stream to a long-form platform like Twitch or YouTube. Kick says vertical platforms such as TikTok LIVE, Instagram Live and YouTube Shorts don't need it.

TikTok's rules on screen. TikTok's LIVE rules forbid showing another platform's info, like a merged chat overlay or an "also live on" banner, so keep those off the vertical scene. Multistream's pre-stream check reminds you.

Twitch's simulcasting rules. Don't point Twitch viewers to your other streams, keep Twitch's stream at least as good, and don't show other platforms' chat on your Twitch stream.

Your PC does two pictures. The vertical picture is a second encode in OBS. It uses your graphics card's encoder when you have one, so check your GPU has room for both.

Questions, answered

Can OBS stream horizontal and vertical at the same time?

Yes, with a vertical tool: the free Multistream Vertical tool adds a 9:16 picture next to your 16:9 one, and Multistream sends each platform the one that fits.

Which platforms should get the vertical picture?

The ones watched on phones held upright: TikTok LIVE, Instagram Live and YouTube Shorts. Twitch, YouTube and Kick get the 16:9 picture.

Does a vertical stream count against Kick's Partner payout?

No. Kick says vertical platforms such as TikTok LIVE, Instagram Live and YouTube Shorts don't need its Multistreaming toggle.

Is the vertical tool free?

Yes. Multistream Vertical is free. Sending the streams is free with the Multistream app from your PC, or one upload with Multistream Cloud on Pro ($10/mo).

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