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Most often, the gap is a source handoff problem: OBS’s Media Source hides itself when its file ends if Show nothing when playback ends is enabled, while the next video may not yet be visible. If you use a VLC playlist or multiple scenes instead, check those setups separately—the title alone does not identify which configuration is in use.
First identify how the videos are playing
In OBS, look at the scene’s Sources list. Your videos may be one Media Source, a VLC Video playlist, or multiple sources and scenes. The right check depends on which arrangement you have.
| Setup | Check first | What the evidence establishes |
|---|---|---|
| One Media Source file | Show nothing when playback ends | OBS documents that this setting hides the source at the end of its file. It does not establish that this is your setup or the cause of your gap. OBS Media Sources documentation. |
| VLC Video playlist | Loop Playlist, playlist contents, VLC installation, and visibility behavior | OBS documents VLC Video playlist settings and its VLC dependency. OBS Media Sources documentation. |
| Multiple scenes or sources | Whether the next source is visible and ready, and whether it restarts when activated | A community forum example describes a black transition when an incoming source activates, but it does not establish the cause of a gap between playlist items. OBS forum discussion. |
| Possible delivery issue | Whether the picture is black locally and OBS’s dropped-frames counter | OBS’s dropped-frame guidance concerns connection and bitrate performance; it does not identify the cause of a local source handoff gap. OBS Help Portal. |
Check a single Media Source
- In the scene’s Sources list, select the Media Source that plays the video and open its properties.
- Inspect Show nothing when playback ends. OBS documents that this option is enabled by default and hides the source at the end of its file. If the next clip is a different source that has not become visible yet, that behavior could leave a black interval.
- If you prefer the last frame to remain visible during a handoff, test the setting with a representative clip and inspect a local recording. Changing it changes the source’s end-of-file behavior; verify that the result suits your scene before applying it to a continuous broadcast.
Check a VLC Video playlist
- Select the VLC Video source and confirm that the playlist contains the expected files in the intended order.
- Check Loop Playlist. OBS documents it as enabled by default, but verify the actual setting rather than assuming it has not changed.
- Confirm that VLC is installed. OBS documents that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC.
- Review the VLC Video visibility behavior—continue, pause, or stop when the source is not visible—and choose the behavior that fits your scene arrangement. Test what happens when the source becomes visible again.
A historical OBS issue concerned mixed audio and video items in VLC playlists on OBS 25.0.8 and 26.0.0-rc1. It is not evidence that current VLC playlists generally fail. OBS Studio issue #3410.
Check scene handoffs and activation
If the gap happens when a scene changes, check whether the incoming source is set to restart when it becomes active. In one OBS forum discussion, a respondent suggested disabling restart-on-activation for a black transition while a source initializes. That is a community example, not a universal fix, and may not apply when the gap occurs between items in one playlist.
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Test the actual transition in a spare scene or recording. Include the end of one clip and the start of the next; confirm the incoming source is visible and ready before relying on the sequence during a 24/7 broadcast.
Determine whether the black interval is local or a delivery problem
- Check OBS’s preview while the interval occurs.
- Make a local recording of a short representative sequence and inspect the handoff.
- Check OBS’s dropped-frames counter. OBS describes dropped frames as a connection or bitrate problem in which frames are dropped to avoid buffering. That is a different path from a source hiding at the end of a file; do not assume a network issue without checking the local picture and counter.
If the preview and recording show the gap, focus first on the source, playlist, or scene handoff. If the local picture is intact but the destination shows a problem, investigate delivery and connection conditions using the OBS Help Portal.
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