Here’s the shortest, least-technical way to buy a domain on Cloudflare at cost and connect it to an Open.video channel using records provided by Open.Video.
This allows your video channel or YouTube channel imported to Open.Video live on a domain name you own and provide a sharable url with your brands namesake init; like BobsAdventures.com for example.
No technical knowledge needed.
Buy a domain on Cloudflare at-cost (no markup, no upsells).Copy/paste two 'CNAME records' (text) that Open.video provides when you add your own hosting in your channel dashboard.Change a setting after pasting the text in Cloudflare.
Wait a few minutes (tops) and your done.Step 1 — Buy the domain (at cost)
You may already haver a domain or want to buy or register a domain elsewhere. I'm using Cloudflare in this case because they allow you to create a FREE account and register domains at cost (they make no money and domain registration has a small fee; usually less than $12/year).
Create a free Cloudflare account / Sign in to Cloudflare, go to Register Domains, search the name, and complete checkout. Some domains and extensions (.org or .net etc.) may not be available and some require higher costs than others; the price is whatever cost is on the official registry/ICANN fees with no Cloudflare markup.After purchase, the domain appears in the Cloudflare dashboard ready for DNS changes.Step 2 — Get the two CNAMEs from Open.video
In Open.video, login to your dashboard (or create a new account) and click on Hosting Options or select custom domain name during channel setup. open the channel’s custom domain settings.
Enter the domain name you just bought as the custom domain name (i.e. BobsAdventure.com - no www or https, etc. ). Click through the rest of the setup until Open.Video provides directions that include "CNAME" records you can copy from the screen (it will tell what to copy).Copy both CNAME values it shows. There will be:The name (host) to create (for example, videos or a specific label Open.video tells to use). This will be the address of your channel home page (i.e. videos.BobsAdventure.com)4The target (the destination hostname Open.video provides).Note: Open.video provides two separate CNAMEs. Plan on entering both exactly as shown.
Step 3 — Add the two CNAMEs in Cloudflare
In Cloudflare, open the domain. you just registered, then go to DNS > Records.Click “Add record” and choose CNAME from the drop down as shown above."Name:" paste the host Open.video gave (for example, videos or whatever is listed)."Target:" paste the exact target host Open.video gave.
Toggle Proxy status off to DNS -only-- will show as "DNS only (Not Proxied)".Repeat for the second CNAME record from Open.video, also setting Proxy status to DNS only (Not Proxied).Save.Gotcha moment: DNS only is important to toggle and if you forget, just edit the record and toggle Proxied to off.
If you care: Why “DNS only”? The orange cloud (proxy) must be off so Open.video can see the real CNAME and issue HTTPS correctly. If a record shows as proxied, click it to switch to DNS only.
Step 4 — Wait for it to go live
Give it a few minutes. Then visit the custom domain (for example, https://videos.example.com).Open.Video provides a way to check if records are correct but records can take hours in rare cases to propogate; but you'll likely be able to check and confirm in a few minutes.If it’s not live yet, wait up to 15–30 minutes and try again. Open.Video sets up secure web best practices by issuing a secure certificate for your viewers. This is called an SSL certificate and can sometimes take an additional 15-30 minutes. Quick checks if anything feels stuck
Confirm both CNAMEs exist, with the exact names and exact targets from Open.video.Make sure both are DNS only (Not Proxied).Use the Open.video 'check domain status' button in the channel hosting area of your Open.Video dashboard.That’s it: one at-cost domain purchase, two CNAMEs added as DNS only, and the channel will serve on the custom domain once validation and SSL complete.
