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OBS Playlist Loop Skips the First Video on YouTube Live: How to Fix It

Troubleshoot an OBS playlist that skips its first video by checking the source type, loop controls, transitions, plugin version, and local playback.

By VGSources Team 3 min read
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First identify which OBS source is playing the playlist, then test the sequence in OBS before blaming YouTube. For a playlist in OBS’s built-in VLC Video source, check Loop Playlist, the item order, and Shuffle Playlist. A single file in Media Source uses a different Loop setting. If OBS plays correctly but YouTube appears to skip an item, troubleshoot playback separately.

First determine when the first video is skipped

“Skips the first video” can describe different problems: the first item is missing when playback starts, it is skipped after a transition, or it disappears only when the playlist wraps around. Those symptoms do not necessarily share a cause.

  1. In OBS, open the scene containing the playback and inspect its Sources list.
  2. Identify whether the source is Media Source, VLC Video, or the third-party Media Playlist Source plugin.
  3. Note when the omission occurs: at initial start, after an item or scene transition, or after the end of the playlist.
  4. Check the source’s item order and whether the same file path occurs more than once.

Check the loop setting for the source you use

For a single file in Media Source

Open the source’s properties and check Loop. Media Source is for an individual file; its Loop option repeats that file. It is not the playlist control.

For a playlist in VLC Video

Open the VLC Video source’s properties. Check Loop Playlist, review the displayed playlist order, and make sure Shuffle Playlist is off if you expect items to play in sequence. OBS defines Loop Playlist as the setting that “Specifies whether the source should restart when it has run out of media files.” OBS Project, “Media Sources”.

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VLC Video requires VLC to be installed. If you use 64-bit OBS, OBS’s guide specifies that you need 64-bit VLC. If VLC Video is missing or behaving unexpectedly, verify the installation and architecture match before changing other settings. The OBS guide covers Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Test locally before diagnosing YouTube

  1. Reproduce the same playlist sequence in the OBS preview or make a short local recording.
  2. Watch for the exact point where the first item goes missing, including any scene or source transition.
  3. If the local preview or recording skips too, focus on the source type, its settings, playlist order, transitions, and software versions.
  4. If the OBS output is correct but YouTube playback appears to skip, investigate the stream and viewer playback separately. YouTube’s player loop instructions describe looping a video in the YouTube player; they do not diagnose an OBS playlist source. See YouTube Help: Loop videos or playlists on YouTube.

If you use Media Playlist Source, check its version notes

The third-party Media Playlist Source plugin has a specific relevant update. Version 0.1.3, published by CodeYan on the OBS Project Forum on April 13, 2025, lists fixes for continuing after a transition and continuing when the next file path is unchanged, including the single-file looping case. These are relevant checks if your symptom matches; they do not establish that every first-item skip has the same cause. Read the plugin’s update notes.

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The update notes say plugin versions from 0.1.0 require OBS 31 and that the change was merged in OBS 31. Although the plugin resource page lists a 30.0.0 minimum, use the version-specific release notes when checking compatibility for those versions. The resource page lists Windows, macOS, and Linux, and a 64-bit build. Check the Media Playlist Source resource page.

Change one thing at a time and keep a useful record

After each relevant setting or version change, repeat the same local sequence. If the problem persists, record the source type, OBS version, plugin version if applicable, playlist order, whether file paths repeat, and whether the skip appears in OBS or only in YouTube. That information helps distinguish a source or transition problem from a playback issue downstream.

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