To play different prerecorded videos during one YouTube Live event, put them in sequence in your encoder or playout software and send that software’s continuous output to YouTube. In OBS Studio, the VLC Video source can play an ordered playlist and loop it. That feature does not guarantee a perfectly gapless transition, so test the actual files and setup before going live.
What “playlist” means for a YouTube Live stream
A YouTube Live event receives an audiovisual feed from an encoder. To change which prerecorded video viewers see within that event, the encoder or playout software must switch between the files while continuing to send the feed. This differs from a YouTube channel or watch-page playlist: that playlist organizes videos for viewers; it does not sequence local media files inside one live encoder feed.
YouTube’s API documentation distinguishes the broadcast—the event viewers watch—from the stream, the audiovisual content sent to YouTube. Its recurring-event example reuses stream settings across broadcasts, with one event live at a time in that example. It does not describe using a YouTube playlist to switch local files within one live event. For this workflow, playlist sequencing belongs in production or playout software.
Set up an ordered playlist in OBS
1. Prepare and check the files
- Put the video files on the computer running OBS and decide their playback order.
- Check that picture and audio play as expected at the end of each clip and the start of the next. Consistent audio levels and compatible media behavior can make transitions easier to assess, but no setting guarantees a gapless boundary.
2. Add the VLC Video source
- Install VLC on the computer. OBS’s official “Media Sources” documentation says VLC must be installed for the VLC Video source to appear.
- In OBS, select the scene that should carry the prerecorded video. Add a VLC Video source and add the media files in the order you want them played.
- Leave shuffle off for a fixed sequence. Turn on Loop Playlist only if the list should repeat after its final item.
OBS documents VLC Video as a playlist-capable source, similar to an image slideshow, with loop and shuffle controls. Its documentation establishes playlist playback, not frame-perfect or pause-free transitions. See the OBS Project’s Media Sources page (dated January 11, 2022) for its source and playback details.
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Connect OBS to the YouTube event and preview
- In YouTube Studio’s Live Control Room, create or schedule the event and obtain its stream URL and stream key.
- Enter the event’s stream URL and stream key in OBS’s streaming configuration, then start the encoder output.
- Check the Live Control Room preview before making the event public or otherwise going live. Confirm the right scene and playlist content appear, then monitor the stream while it runs.
YouTube’s encoder workflow uses a server URL and stream key to receive the feed. YouTube recommends testing and previewing a stream before an event and monitoring quality while live. Its guidance says professional-grade hardware encoders are recommended for higher-production-value events; that is an optional production choice, not a requirement for this OBS playlist setup. For the official workflow, see Create a YouTube live stream with an encoder.
Test for gaps before relying on the playlist
Run the complete sequence in a private or unlisted test when appropriate. Watch and listen at every file boundary, including the end of the final item if looping is enabled. Pay attention to blank or frozen frames, audio pauses, unexpected source behavior, and whether OBS keeps sending the feed between items.
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If a gap appears, investigate the transition in the playout setup and the media files themselves. A YouTube event switch is a different workflow; switching events does not establish seamless playback between files in one event. Neither the cited OBS nor YouTube documentation promises a perfectly gapless transition.
Troubleshooting playlist playback
VLC Video is missing from OBS
Install VLC on the same computer as OBS and reopen OBS, then check the source list again. OBS states that VLC is required for the source to appear.
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The files play in the wrong order
Check the file order in the VLC Video source and make sure shuffle is off. If the list should run only once, do not enable Loop Playlist.
A blank frame or audio pause appears between videos
Test the affected boundary in the playlist, then inspect the two files’ playback and audio behavior in the playout setup. The playlist feature confirms that OBS can sequence media; it does not certify a gapless result for every file or system.
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The YouTube preview does not show the playlist
Confirm that OBS is sending the intended scene and that its VLC Video source is playing. Check that the event’s stream URL and key are the ones configured in OBS, then inspect the Live Control Room preview before going live.
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