If your YouTube live stream appears to stop when a video finishes in OBS, first check whether the video has ended in OBS itself. For one local file, enable Loop in the Media Source properties; for a sequence of files, use a VLC Video source and check Loop Playlist.
Those settings repeat media; they do not repair a dropped encoder connection or restart a YouTube broadcast. Use the OBS preview and YouTube Live Control Room to identify which part stopped before changing settings.
Check whether the video ended in OBS preview
When the problem occurs, look at the OBS preview and, if available in your setup, the program output. Is the picture frozen at the last frame, gone, or still moving? That observation divides a source playback problem from a stream delivery problem.
If the video has reached its end in the OBS preview, inspect the source that contains it. A Media Source plays a single media file, while VLC Video can play a list of media files. A source can finish normally while OBS continues sending its scene to YouTube; viewers may see a still frame, a blank area, or whatever other sources remain visible. The broadcast and the video file are separate things.
If the picture in OBS is still moving but YouTube shows a black screen, a waiting state, or no incoming feed, do not start by changing Loop. That setting affects file playback inside OBS, not the connection that sends OBS output to YouTube. Check YouTube’s Live Control Room and OBS’s streaming status separately. YouTube describes a stream key as the credential/address used by the encoder to send its feed; its live stream settings help also distinguishes stream configuration from broadcast controls.
For a longer checklist when a channel stops overnight for reasons beyond a completed file, see how to find the cause of an overnight YouTube stream stopping. That broader diagnosis is useful after you have established whether OBS itself still has moving output.
Loop one file with Media Source
For one local video that should repeat, select the Media Source in the Sources list, open its Properties, and enable Loop. The checkbox is the setting that tells OBS to play the file again when playback completes. Click OK or Apply, then test the source by watching it through a complete pass if practical.
OBS documents the Media Source Loop default as Off. Do not rely on memory or a preset: open the actual source properties in the scene that is on air and verify the box. Two sources may have different settings even when they point to the same file.
Be precise about the effect. Loop repeats the file after it reaches its end. It does not mean “restart every time the scene appears”, and it does not keep a connection alive if OBS stops sending data. The OBS Media Sources guide describes this as playback again after completion.
A simple test helps catch a wrong-source edit. Select the source that appears in the active scene, open Properties, enable Loop, and start or restart playback. Confirm that the preview advances, then see whether it returns to the beginning after the final frame. If you have a logo, lower third, or background source layered above the video, make sure you are changing the actual media source rather than another item with a similar name.
When the source is a long devotional recording, a set-and-forget loop can be simpler than repeatedly starting a finished file by hand. For programming ideas using pre-recorded material, see how to stream an Indian music radio-style channel from videos. The playback setting itself remains the same whether the content is bhajans, ambience, a study session, or a local information loop.
Loop a sequence with VLC Video
For several files intended to play in sequence, add a VLC Video source rather than stacking a series of single-file Media Sources solely to make a playlist. In the source’s Properties, add the media files to its playlist in the intended order, then enable Loop Playlist if the sequence should start again when the list runs out.
OBS documents Loop Playlist as On by default for VLC Video. That is a documented default, not a guarantee about a saved scene, imported profile, or a particular setup. Open the properties and inspect the current checkbox. If the list should stop after one pass, turn it off; if it should cycle continuously, confirm it is on.
VLC Video has a dependency that Media Source does not: VLC must be installed. OBS also specifies that 64-bit OBS needs 64-bit VLC. If the VLC source is missing, fails to open, or does not play the files, check that installation and bitness before treating the problem as a YouTube issue. The OBS Media Sources documentation covers this requirement and the source’s playlist controls.
A playlist is useful when you want a repeating sequence rather than one file repeated from its first frame. For example, a study channel might alternate recorded focus sessions and breaks; a nature stream might cycle through several scenes or recordings. Check the order in the playlist, because looping repeats that order as configured rather than choosing an order for you. For a related programming pattern, a Pomodoro stream from recorded sessions explains the content structure; VLC’s playlist is the OBS control that can play a local sequence.
Verify playlist and source settings
Several source options sound similar but do different jobs. Check each one against the intended behaviour rather than ticking every playback-related box.
| Goal or symptom | OBS control | What it changes | Important check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repeat one local file | Media Source → Loop | Replays the file after it completes | Documented default is Off; inspect the source. |
| Repeat a list of files | VLC Video → Loop Playlist | Restarts the source when its media files run out | Documented default is On; inspect the playlist source. |
| Start again when a source becomes active | Media Source → Restart playback when source becomes active | Restarts on activation, subject to scene and visibility behaviour | This is not the same as looping after completion. |
| Hide a completed file | Media Source → Show nothing when playback ends | Makes the source invisible after playback ends | It hides output; it does not repeat the file. |
| Decide what hidden VLC playback does | VLC Video → Visibility Behaviour | Controls playback while the source is not visible | OBS documents “Stop when not visible, restart when visible” as the default behaviour. |
| Control when YouTube starts or stops a broadcast | YouTube Live Control Room → Auto-start/Auto-stop | Changes broadcast control behaviour | It does not repeat a local video. |
The most common misleading setting is Show nothing when playback ends. If enabled, it can make the source disappear at the end, which looks like an abrupt failure. Turning that off may leave a finished frame or expose lower sources, but it will not make the file start again. Use Loop for repetition.
Scene changes create another separate case. A Media Source may be configured to restart when it becomes active, which is useful when each return to a scene should begin from the start. That is different from leaving a scene visible and having the source loop indefinitely. VLC Video has a Visibility Behaviour control; with the documented default, it stops while hidden and restarts when visible. If you switch scenes on a schedule, test the actual transitions and decide whether hidden playback should stop, pause, or continue according to the available options and your intended layout.
Avoid making several changes at once. First correct the repeat control for the source type. Then test scene visibility if the failure only happens after a scene switch. Keeping one adjustment per test makes it easier to tell whether you fixed the actual cause.
Check file paths and playback
A loop cannot repeat a file OBS cannot open. In Properties, confirm that the path points to the current file and that the file still exists where OBS expects it. Moving a video from a downloads folder to an external drive, renaming it, or unplugging that drive can leave a source aimed at an old location. Browse to the file again and apply the change.
Test the media independently of the scene if playback is questionable. Open the file in a normal player on the same computer and seek near its beginning and end. If it will not play there, or stops before its apparent end, the issue is with the file or playback compatibility rather than YouTube. If using a playlist, check each item, not just the first one; a bad path or unreadable file in the middle can make the sequence appear to stop early.
Also check that the expected source is enabled and visible in the active scene. An eye icon, source mute setting for audio, or a covering source can make a correctly playing video seem absent. For video, look at the preview itself and source ordering; a title card or opaque image above the media can hide it. If you are building a persistent overlay, this guide to OBS source ordering for a 24/7 stream may help you distinguish a hidden source from an ended one.
If files are on removable or network storage, include that dependency in the test. A stream that runs while the drive is connected but fails after a restart may be a path or availability problem. Prefer a stable local path for a continuously running source, and verify after any operating system restart that OBS can still read it. Do not assume that because a file played once it will be available every time the machine starts.
If OBS still outputs nothing, inspect the next failure layer
Once the media source is known to be playing or correctly configured, move outward through the chain: source, scene output, OBS encoder connection, then YouTube broadcast state. This prevents a local playback fix from being mistaken for a cure to an ingest problem.
First inspect OBS’s preview and stream status. If the preview is correct but OBS reports that it is disconnected or no longer streaming, investigate the encoder connection and its settings. Confirm that the configured YouTube stream key and stream URL belong to the intended stream. Treat the stream key as a credential; do not paste it into public chats or screenshots. If it has been exposed, use YouTube’s current controls to replace it.
Then inspect YouTube Live Control Room. The broadcast may have a state or configuration problem even while OBS is rendering a scene. YouTube’s Auto-start and Auto-stop are broadcast controls, not source playback controls: toggling them cannot make a completed media file loop. YouTube’s help for managing live stream settings is the primary reference for the current controls. Labels and workflow can change, so follow the page and interface you see now rather than an old walkthrough.
OBS’s community-hosted guide to streaming to YouTube explains the distinction between sending an encoder feed and the broadcast becoming live for viewers. Use it as context, not as a substitute for current interface instructions. If OBS has no output at all, troubleshoot OBS’s stream connection; if OBS has output but YouTube is not receiving it, troubleshoot the ingest settings and Live Control Room. If YouTube is receiving a feed but viewers see something unexpected, return to the scene and source visibility checks.
For a channel that needs the video to continue while your computer is switched off, manually keeping OBS open is a different operating arrangement from fixing this specific source setting. StreamNeo can remove the need to leave your own computer running by taking an uploaded video and running it as a YouTube live stream, which is relevant when the pain is maintaining playback overnight rather than diagnosing a local OBS scene.
If OBS itself has crashed rather than merely reached the end of a file, use a crash-recovery diagnosis instead of changing Loop; see how to keep a YouTube nature-sounds stream running after an OBS crash. A completed source, a crashed application, and a lost feed are different failures and call for different checks.
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FAQ
Will Loop keep my YouTube live stream running?
Loop repeats the media file inside OBS; it does not guarantee that OBS remains connected to YouTube or that the broadcast stays live. If the preview is still moving but YouTube has stopped receiving the feed, diagnose the encoder connection and Live Control Room separately.
Should I use Media Source or VLC Video?
Use Media Source with Loop when you want one local file to repeat. Use VLC Video with a playlist and Loop Playlist when several files should run in sequence; VLC must be installed, with matching 64-bit VLC for 64-bit OBS.
Why did my source disappear when playback ended?
Check Show nothing when playback ends, which hides a completed Media Source. It is separate from Loop, so enable Loop if the file should replay rather than merely remain visible or reveal sources underneath.
Why does the setting not match the documented default?
OBS documents Media Source Loop as Off and VLC Video Loop Playlist as On, but a saved scene or profile may have a different actual value. Open the properties for the source used in the active scene and verify the checkbox instead of assuming its state.