To show which episode is playing in a 24/7 kids’ YouTube stream, add the label to the production scene before that scene is encoded and sent to YouTube. In OBS, you can put a Text source above the episode video and have it read the current title from a plain text file.
The label will not update just because OBS starts a new item in a playlist. You need a person or a playout process to change the file or supply the current title to an overlay. Test that hand-off and the finished picture before relying on it overnight.
Decide what the label should tell viewers
Keep the label to information that helps identify the item currently playing. For a simple rotation, that may be a short series name and episode title, such as “Mira’s Garden — The Mango Tree”. If the title is long, decide in advance how to shorten it without making two episodes look the same. A label should identify the video, not compete with it.
Do not use the YouTube stream title as a substitute for text inside the picture. The stream title is channel metadata; it does not place an episode name over the programme image. The label described here is part of the composed video feed. YouTube’s encoder guidance explains that an encoder sends a feed using the server URL and stream key, while OBS composes scene sources into that feed.
Before building the overlay, list the items in your rotation and settle on a consistent naming format. A parent or caregiver should be able to tell which episode is on from a glance, even if the title is abbreviated. Avoid adding claims such as “safe for every age” or other assurances the label cannot establish. If the channel is directed at children, set the audience designation accurately in YouTube Studio and consult the current YouTube Live Streaming API reference and YouTube guidance for audience-specific rules; the presence of an audience-status field is not a complete account of feature consequences.
The label should be stable through the episode and change at the transition. Decide whether to show just the episode title or also the series name, and whether to leave the label visible throughout. Keeping the format consistent makes later corrections easier and avoids a new layout decision for every item.
Add the episode video or playlist
In OBS, create or open the production scene that will be sent to YouTube. Add the video source or playlist to that scene first. For a single episode file, use a Media Source and point it to the file. For a rotation, OBS documents a VLC Video source that can play a list of media files, loop it, and keep items in their listed order; VLC must be installed for this source to appear. See the OBS media sources guide for the current controls and limitations.
Arrange the video to fit the canvas you intend to broadcast. If the artwork or video is portrait-oriented or has black bars, decide whether those edges are acceptable rather than cropping away important picture. Confirm that the source actually plays and that its audio is routed as intended before adding more elements. The label will be easier to position once you know where the active picture and any persistent borders are.
A playlist can decide what video comes next, but that does not mean its current item name is available to a Text source. OBS’s documented VLC playlist controls cover playback and order; they do not establish a built-in feature that writes the current item’s title into an overlay. Treat video selection and label updating as two related jobs that need an explicit connection.
If you are still deciding how to run a playlist from OBS, the guide to streaming a YouTube live playlist from Linux with OBS covers a related playback arrangement. For a broader scheduling approach, playlist rotation with a fallback when a file is missing is relevant to keeping the video sequence organised; neither should be taken as proof that episode metadata automatically appears in an overlay.
Create a Text source for the label
Add a Text source to the same scene. OBS provides text sources that can display entered text or read it from a file. In the source properties, enable “Read from file” and select a plain text file containing the current episode title. The OBS Text Sources guide documents this file-reading option; it is a way for a separate process or operator to supply text, not an automatic playlist-title connection.
Create a small test file first, with one short title on a line. Save it somewhere whose location will remain available to OBS, then select it in the source properties. Check that the characters display correctly, particularly if titles use accented characters or more than one script. Use a title with enough length to test the available space, but do not start by placing a full description in the label.
For a small rotation, an operator can update the file when they change the episode. For a larger scheduled rotation, the playout system needs to update the file at the same transition at which it starts the new item. That update process is a workflow you arrange; the cited OBS documentation does not specify a script, integration, or scheduling product that performs it. Confirm that your chosen system can identify the item it has actually started, rather than merely the next item in a queue.
Keep the file name and location predictable, and document how to correct it. If someone needs to change a title during a live broadcast, they should know which file to edit and how to check the result without touching the stream key or disturbing playback. Do not assume that saving a change will look identical in every setup; test the refresh behaviour with your OBS version and workflow.
Put the label above the video
OBS draws scene sources according to their order in the Sources list. Sources higher in the list appear above lower ones, as described in the OBS Sources Guide. Put the Text source above the video or playlist source. If it sits underneath, the video covers the label even though the text source itself is working.
Use the eye control beside each source to check the layering. Hide the Text source and confirm the video remains; show it again and confirm the title appears in front. If the scene contains a frame, logo, or other graphic, consider the order deliberately: the title should be above the video, but it may need to sit below a decorative frame so it does not cover that frame’s edge.
The source list is also a useful troubleshooting map. If the text vanishes, check that the source is visible, that it is in the active scene, and that it is above the moving picture. If a scene transition switches to another scene, verify that the label and the episode source are both present in that scene. A correct overlay in a preview scene will not help if the live output uses a different scene.
Style and position it for readability
Place the label over a relatively quiet part of the picture, away from faces, captions, important action, and any controls or graphics that must remain visible. There is no universal corner that works for every cartoon or children’s programme: check several representative frames from the actual videos. A title in a dark corner may be clear in one episode and disappear against a night-time scene in another.
Use a typeface and size that remain readable when the stream is viewed on a phone. A background plate, outline, or shadow can improve contrast, but check that it does not cover too much of the picture. Prefer a short title on one or two lines to a tiny block of text. If you need to display a long name, choose a consistent shortening convention rather than shrinking the font differently for each episode.
Test the title with the lightest and darkest scenes in the rotation. Watch the preview at a smaller size, not only in the full OBS canvas. Check that the text stays within the canvas and does not touch the edge. If the episode names vary greatly in length, try the longest one before finalising the placement; resizing the source for each title may leave the rest of the rotation misaligned.
A browser overlay is another way to design a more elaborate label. OBS’s Browser Source guide describes displaying a webpage or local file as a source. The page still needs a reliable way to receive the current episode title, so a browser source changes how you present the metadata, not how you obtain it. Compare the simpler text-file route with a browser page by asking what your playout system can update, how an operator can correct a bad title, and what should happen after a restart.
Update the label as the episode changes
For a manually run rotation, change the text file when you start the next episode, then verify the preview before leaving the channel unattended. If transitions are scheduled, arrange for the same playout process to update the file when it starts the new item. The important requirement is agreement between the picture and its title: updating too early names the episode that has not started, while updating too late leaves the previous title over the new video.
Do not infer that a VLC playlist automatically knows how to update an OBS text file. The playlist can play items in order, but a separate metadata bridge is needed to pass the actual current title to the overlay. That bridge might be a feature of your scheduling system or a separate process you have commissioned, but check its behaviour rather than assuming compatibility. The documented OBS building blocks support reading a file or rendering a webpage; they do not identify a specific integration for every playout setup.
Plan for interruptions as well as normal transitions. If OBS or the machine restarts, check whether the video source resumes at the expected item and whether the label source still points to the right file. If the playout process recovers by loading a different episode, the title must recover with it. A simple operating note can record the current item, the title-file location, and the steps to correct a mismatch. Test recovery deliberately, while you can observe the scene, rather than finding out after a long unattended run.
A useful comparison is not which overlay looks most sophisticated, but which update path you can maintain:
| Approach | What it gives you | What you must verify |
|---|---|---|
| Text source reading a file | A direct, restrained title display | A person or playout process updates the file at the episode transition |
| Browser source showing a page | More freedom to lay out a designed label | The page receives the current title reliably and recovers after restart |
| Manually typed source text | Simple for a small, supervised rotation | An operator changes and checks it each time; it is not suitable to assume automatic sync |
If you can correct the title without interrupting the broadcast, include that in the test. A wrong title is a metadata problem, not a reason to restart the video encoder if your workflow permits the file or page to refresh in place. Confirm that in your own setup before depending on it.
Preview the composed feed before streaming
Inspect the complete scene, not just the Text source properties. Play several different episodes and check that each label matches what is on screen. Test a transition, a long title, a title with non-Latin characters if relevant, and a recovery or restart scenario. Watch both the OBS preview and the resulting stream as a viewer would see it; what looks clear on a production monitor may be too small on a phone.
Once the scene is ready, configure the encoder connection using the server URL and stream key shown in YouTube Studio. YouTube’s encoder setup instructions describe entering those values into an encoder and sending the feed. Treat the stream key as private, and check the current YouTube instructions when setting up the channel. YouTube says enabling live streaming for the first time may take up to 24 hours, so do not schedule a first test at the moment you need the channel live.
A 24/7 channel also needs a plan beyond a successful first connection. YouTube’s help page says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived; do not extend that statement into a promise about one uninterrupted broadcast longer than that. Check the current help page and decide separately how you will handle archiving or any planned breaks. If you need to stream a prepared playlist for a long period, the article on playing recorded product-demo videos in a YouTube Live playlist in India is another reference for playlist operations, though its subject is not an episode-label integration.
For continuous operation, decide who will notice a title mismatch and what they can do about it. A preview check at launch cannot show how every later transition will behave. Monitor the first changes, and make the title-file path and correction steps available to whoever is on duty. If you use a cloud-based service that turns an uploaded video into a YouTube live stream, StreamNeo can remove the need to leave your own computer running, but the episode label still needs a dependable source of current-title information and a tested update workflow.
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FAQ
Does OBS automatically show the current playlist item as a label?
Do not assume that it does. OBS documents playlist playback and text sources that can read from a file, but the cited guidance does not say a VLC playlist automatically supplies its current item name to an overlay. Arrange and test a separate update process if you want the label to change with the episode.
Should I change the YouTube stream title for each episode?
The YouTube stream title is metadata for the live broadcast; it is not text composed over the video. Use an OBS scene source for an on-screen now-playing label. You can set the broadcast’s metadata separately in YouTube Studio.
Can I use a webpage instead of a text file?
Yes. An OBS Browser source can display a webpage or local page, which allows a more customised layout. You still need a reliable way for that page to receive the current episode title, and should test how it behaves when the page or OBS restarts.
Is a dedicated hardware encoder required?
No. YouTube describes encoder workflows using computer software as well as standalone hardware. Choose the arrangement you can operate and monitor, then check YouTube’s current setup guidance and test the composed feed before relying on it.