For continuous background audio while an OBS video playlist changes clips, add a separate Media Source for the audio file, enable Loop, and keep it active in the scene. If you want only that background audio, mute the playlist source in the OBS mixer. This setup does not guarantee seamless transitions between the videos’ own soundtracks; test the boundaries before using it live.
Choose the setup that matches the audio you mean
“Continuous audio” can mean either a music bed that plays independently of the playlist, or the sound embedded in each video carrying seamlessly into the next clip. A separate looping Media Source addresses the first goal. OBS documents playlist playback through its VLC Video source, but does not promise gapless audio transitions between playlist items. OBS Project’s Media Sources guide describes the relevant controls without establishing that guarantee.
Set up a looping background-audio source
- Add the audio file: In your OBS scene’s Sources area, select + and add a Media Source. Choose the audio file in its properties. OBS lists MP3, AAC, OGG, and WAV among the supported formats. If you already have a Media Source for the file, edit that source instead of adding another.
- Enable Loop: In the Media Source properties, turn on Loop. OBS describes this option as replaying the file after playback completes. If the audio should restart when the source is reactivated, set Restart playback when source becomes active as appropriate for your scene. The loop setting repeats the audio file; it does not synchronize it to each video boundary.
- Set up the video playlist: Add or retain a VLC Video source and configure its playlist. OBS says VLC Video can play a playlist and offers controls including loop, shuffle, visibility behavior, caching, and audio tracks. VLC must be installed for the source to appear; use a VLC installation that matches OBS’s architecture—for example, 64-bit VLC with 64-bit OBS.
- Keep both sources active: Leave the looping audio source and VLC Video source in the scene while the playlist runs. Adjust their levels in the OBS mixer. If you do not want the clips’ embedded sound, mute the VLC Video source in the mixer; if you do want both, balance their levels to avoid unwanted doubling or clipping.
- Test the actual scene: Record a short sample that includes several playlist changes, then listen at the end and start of each clip. Check for gaps, overlaps, or silence already present in the audio file. The separate-source arrangement follows OBS’s documented controls, but the guide does not guarantee gapless playback at VLC playlist boundaries.
If you need the videos’ own soundtracks to join seamlessly
Do not assume that changing VLC’s loop or shuffle setting will remove every cutout. The OBS guide explains that VLC Video supports playlists, but does not specify sample-continuous or gapless audio transitions between items. If clip-native sound must flow continuously, a practical alternative is to prepare a single continuous audio track—or join the media into a suitable edited asset—and test the finished file in the intended scene. These are workflow options, not an OBS-documented guarantee.
Would a playlist plugin solve it?
The community Media Playlist Source resource is an alternative for playlist management, not a documented fix for audio gaps. Its listing says it uses Media Source internally and supports playlist editing and item selection. It lists OBS 30.0.0 as the minimum version and Windows, macOS, and Linux as supported platforms; it also says audio-track and subtitle selection are not supported. The listing does not claim gapless audio.
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Troubleshoot common problems
- The audio stops when the video changes: Check that the background audio is a separate Media Source and remains active in the scene, rather than being part of a source that changes with the playlist. Confirm that Loop is enabled.
- You hear silence at a boundary: Listen to the source file itself around its beginning and end, then make a test recording across the playlist change. OBS’s documented VLC playlist controls do not guarantee gapless clip-native audio.
- You hear two soundtracks at once: Mute the VLC Video source in the mixer if you want only the separate music bed. If both sources are intentional, lower and balance their mixer levels.
- VLC Video is missing from the Sources menu: Install VLC and make sure its architecture matches OBS. Restart OBS after installation if the source still does not appear.
- The audio restarts unexpectedly: Review the Media Source’s visibility behavior and the Restart playback when source becomes active setting. Keep the source active through the playlist if the bed should not restart at clip changes.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is to keep uploaded videos playing on a YouTube channel 24/7, StreamNeo is a separate cloud option—not an OBS setting or a repair for gaps in an OBS playlist. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. StreamNeo loops the uploaded videos from the cloud, so nothing has to stay on at home. It streams each upload as made, up to 4K 60fps, at one price per slot; it also automatically recovers if YouTube drops the stream. The first day is free with no card. Monthly billing is $9.99 per month. StreamNeo is for uploaded video streams to YouTube, not camera-based live video. See StreamNeo or start the free first day.
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