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OBS Video Source Freezes After a Playlist Item Ends: How to Fix It

When OBS stops playing at the end of a video, first identify whether you use VLC Video, Media Source, or the Media Playlist Source plugin. Each has a different fix.
Length4 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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First identify the source: OBS’s built-in VLC Video playlist, a single-file Media Source, and the third-party Media Playlist Source plugin have different controls. For VLC Video, enable Loop Playlist to restart the playlist after its final file. For a Media Source, enable Loop to replay that one file. If the last frame merely stays visible, Show nothing when playback ends hides a completed Media Source; it does not restart playback.

Identify which OBS source is freezing

In OBS, open the source’s properties and check its type before changing settings. The names are easy to confuse, but the controls are not interchangeable:

  • VLC Video: OBS’s built-in source for a playlist of media files. It uses the Loop Playlist option.
  • Media Source: OBS’s source for an individual media file. It uses Loop to replay that file.
  • Media Playlist Source: a third-party plugin that offers an alternative to VLC Video. Its version and compatibility with OBS matter.

OBS documents the built-in source settings on its Media Sources page.

Fix a VLC Video playlist that stops at its last item

  1. In OBS, select the VLC Video source in the Sources panel.
  2. Open its properties.
  3. Enable Loop Playlist if the playlist should start over after its final file.
  4. Apply the change and test the playlist through its final item.

OBS describes Loop Playlist as specifying whether the source should restart when it has run out of media files. It is the relevant setting when the playlist plays through but does not begin again.

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If VLC Video is missing or will not work

VLC must be installed for VLC Video to appear. OBS specifies that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC. Check that both are installed and that their bitness matches before troubleshooting playlist behavior.

Fix a single Media Source that does not replay

  1. Select the Media Source in the Sources panel and open its properties.
  2. Enable Loop if the same file should begin again when it ends.
  3. Apply the change and test the source through the end of the file.

For a single file, Loop is the repeat control. It is distinct from VLC Video’s Loop Playlist.

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If the last frame stays on screen

Enable Show nothing when playback ends in the Media Source properties if you want the source to disappear when its file completes. This hides the completed source; it does not restart a playlist or replay the file. Use Loop when you want the file to repeat.

Troubleshoot the Media Playlist Source plugin

If the source type is the third-party Media Playlist Source, check the plugin’s version and OBS compatibility rather than applying VLC Video instructions. The plugin’s OBS forum resource describes it as an alternative to VLC Video. Its requirements state that versions from 0.1.0 onward need OBS 31 or newer.

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The plugin’s update history records fixes for playback not continuing after a transition and for a video path appearing again. These are specific changelog claims, not a guarantee that the plugin resolves every playlist freeze.

  1. Check your OBS version and the plugin version.
  2. If you use plugin version 0.1.0 or later, verify that OBS is version 31 or newer.
  3. Check the update history for fixes relevant to your symptom, such as a failure after a transition or when the same file path appears again.
  4. Reproduce the problem after confirming compatibility and the applicable update.

Check visibility automation only if it matches the symptom

If a script, hotkey, or scene action hides and immediately shows the source at the moment a file ends, reproduce the issue without that visibility change. An OBS issue report described a restart failure in OBS 30.2.0 when visibility was toggled quickly at playback end. It is a narrow report, marked closed as not planned, and does not establish a general cause for other setups.

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When the documented settings do not fix it

There is no single universal cause established for a playlist that stops at an item boundary. Gather enough detail to distinguish a settings issue, a plugin compatibility problem, and a failure specific to the setup before changing more things.

  • OBS version and operating system.
  • Exact source type: Media Source, VLC Video, or Media Playlist Source.
  • Whether the file is local or network-based.
  • Whether the next playlist item starts, the playlist fails to restart, or the last frame simply remains visible.
  • Whether the problem happens after a transition, when a file path repeats, or when visibility automation runs.
  • A current OBS log that includes a reproduction of the problem.

These details make a support request more useful than describing the source simply as “frozen.”

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