To keep clips with different dimensions centered in an OBS scene, give the VLC Video source a fixed bounding box and set its alignment to the center. Then choose whether to fit each whole clip inside the canvas, crop its edges to fill the canvas, or stretch it—with distortion—as needed. Check the result using representative clips from your playlist.
Set up the VLC playlist source
- Install VLC. OBS makes the VLC Video source available when VLC is installed; on 64-bit OBS, install 64-bit VLC. OBS describes VLC Video as similar to Media Source, with support for a list of items. OBS: Media Sources
- In your scene, add a VLC Video source and populate its playlist with the clips you want to play.
- Select the source in the preview or Sources list, then open Transform → Edit Transform. Set a fixed bounding box that matches the OBS canvas, and set alignment to center. This gives differently sized playlist items a consistent area and centered position. The recommendation for a centered bounding box in a changing playlist comes from OBS community guidance, so verify it in your own preview. OBS forum: Help getting videos from VLC playlist to be centered and sized properly
- Choose the bounding-box fit behavior that matches your goal, then preview clips with different dimensions before streaming or recording.
Choose how each clip should fit
Aspect ratio is the relationship between an image’s width and height. Common examples include 16:9 and 4:3. Fitting, cropping to fill, and stretching each make a different trade-off between showing the complete frame and preserving its proportions. OBS: Aspect Ratio Guide
| Framing choice | What you see | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fit inside the canvas | The entire video frame, scaled proportionally to fit. | May leave empty space or bars where the video and canvas have different aspect ratios. |
| Crop to fill | The canvas is covered while the video’s original proportions are preserved. | Edges extend beyond the canvas and are cropped, so some image content is lost. |
| Stretch to fill | The source is forced to the canvas width and height. | Changes the video’s proportions and distorts the image. OBS says stretching is generally not recommended. |
For example, a portrait clip fitted inside a landscape canvas can leave substantial empty space at the sides. Cropping it to fill hides some of its top and bottom instead; stretching it fills the frame but makes the picture look wider. Choose based on what should remain visible, rather than expecting one setting to show the whole image and fill the canvas without distortion.
Crop edges manually
- Select the VLC Video source in the preview.
- Hold Alt while dragging an edge on Windows or Linux, or hold Option on macOS, to crop that side.
- For precise crop amounts, open Transform → Edit Transform and set the crop values there. OBS indicates cropped edges in green in the preview. OBS: Move and Transform Sources
Manual crop values apply to the source transform. If playlist items have different framing or dimensions, inspect each one: a crop that suits one clip may remove important content from another.
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Check the playlist as it changes clips
A VLC playlist can move between videos with different resolutions and aspect ratios. OBS forum users discussing this issue recommend a fixed bounding box and centered alignment to reduce position changes when the item changes. Community advice is not a guarantee for every OBS or VLC version, codec, or playlist item. OBS forum: vlc playlist resolution
- Preview at least one landscape clip, one portrait clip, and any other notably different dimensions in the playlist.
- Watch the transition when the playlist advances. Check both centering and whether the chosen fit or crop keeps the intended content visible.
- If a clip looks wrong, revisit the bounding-box fit behavior and alignment, then inspect its crop values in Edit Transform.
Some OBS forum replies suggest a Scaling/Aspect Ratio filter for playlists with varying dimensions, but the official guides cited here do not establish it as a guaranteed solution. Treat it as an alternative to try and verify with your clips, rather than a required setting. OBS forum: vlc playlist resolution
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Common problems and fixes
- The VLC Video source is unavailable: Install VLC. If OBS is 64-bit, use the 64-bit VLC installation.
- A clip is off-center after the playlist advances: Set a fixed bounding box and centered alignment in Transform → Edit Transform, then check the preview with the clips that change position.
- Bars appear around a clip: That is expected when fitting the complete frame inside a canvas with a different aspect ratio. To cover the canvas, choose crop-to-fill and accept that edges will be lost.
- The image looks unnaturally wide or tall: The source is being stretched. Use a proportional fit or crop-to-fill instead if preserving the original proportions matters.
- A crop hides important content in another playlist item: Recheck the crop when that item is selected; a manually chosen crop may not suit every clip.
The official OBS transform and aspect-ratio guides cited above date from 2021 and 2022; the related forum discussions date from 2018–2020. They do not establish identical behavior across every current OBS/VLC build, codec, and playlist item, so confirm the outcome in the version you use.
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