PRISM Live Studio documents a way to create and order a reusable Video playlist on Android and iOS. On Windows and Mac, its Media Source guidance addresses a different issue: a source that does not start as expected in Studio Mode. Neither set of instructions establishes a fix for gaps between separate videos.
Start by identifying the device and the source type you are using. A mobile Video playlist, a desktop Media Source, and the desktop Music Playlist Source are not interchangeable, so the right steps depend on which one is involved.
Confirm whether you are using mobile or desktop
On Android and iOS, PRISM’s documented workflow is to create a Video playlist in My Studio, select videos and adjust their order. The playlist is saved in My Studio as one item for reuse. That is useful for organising a set, but the guide does not say that videos advance automatically or without a gap. See PRISM’s mobile Video playlist guide for the documented flow.
On Windows and Mac, the relevant instructions concern a Media Source added to a Studio Mode scene. PRISM says that a source may not play automatically after it is added, and documents ways to start or preview that source. Those steps do not document how to chain multiple files or prevent a pause at the boundary between them. The desktop Media Source guide is about source playback behaviour, not a multi-video queue.
This distinction matters because a video that fails to start is a different symptom from one video ending and another failing to follow. Before changing settings, note your platform, PRISM version, whether the items are in a mobile playlist or individual desktop sources, and what you see at the transition. That information will help you avoid applying a startup instruction to a continuation problem.
If you are building a long YouTube broadcast from prerecorded material, it can also help to separate the playback software from the wider stream workflow. Our guide to streaming multiple prerecorded videos continuously on YouTube discusses that broader task, but it should not be read as evidence that PRISM has a documented gapless setting.
Set up and order a mobile Video playlist
In the mobile app, open My Studio and choose Playlist, then create a Video playlist. Select the videos you want to include and complete the playlist creation flow. PRISM’s guide says you can adjust the order, and that you can seek to select positions. Once saved, the playlist appears as a single item in My Studio and can be reused.
Use the ordering controls deliberately. If the playlist has an intended sequence, review the positions before saving and check that the visible order matches the sequence you want. For a devotional channel, for example, you might put an opening bhajan before a longer set and a closing track after it. This is an ordering example, not a guarantee about how the app handles the hand-off when each video ends.
A sensible test is to use a short, non-critical session before relying on the playlist in a scheduled broadcast. Observe whether the next item starts, whether there is an interruption, and whether playback stops entirely. Record the app version and the exact sequence you tested. If the issue happens only on one item boundary, note those two files; if it happens at every boundary, record that too. This makes a support question more actionable than saying only that the playlist stopped.
The official guide does not specify a separate autoplay control, promise gapless playback, or describe troubleshooting for a stop between two playlist items. Do not infer that changing order, seeking, looping, or using a particular phone accessory will solve the symptom. If the playlist does not continue as you need, check current guidance for your app version or ask PRISM support about the specific device and transition you observed.
Understand the desktop Media Source autoplay issue
For desktop users, first clarify what “stopping” means. If you add one Media Source and it does not begin playing when expected in Studio Mode, PRISM’s documented instructions may apply. If one source plays to its end and a different source should then start, you are asking about sequencing between sources. The documentation cited here does not establish that the startup controls solve that second case.
A Media Source represents an individual media item in your scene. If you use several such sources to imitate a playlist, you are managing several sources rather than using the mobile Video playlist described above. The fact that both workflows involve videos does not make their controls equivalent. In particular, do not assume a source activation option is a queue or a transition setting.
PRISM’s FAQ describes a desktop Music Playlist Source that can use music stored on your PC or free music provided within PRISM Live Studio, and says playback can be controlled with source hotkeys. It describes a music feature, not a video playlist or a fix for video transitions. If you are working with videos, keep this distinction in mind rather than treating the Music Playlist Source as a workaround. The PRISM FAQ is the relevant official reference for that feature.
If you are choosing a workflow for a longer broadcast, compare the job you need done: organising video items, starting one desktop source, or sustaining a YouTube transmission. They are separate problems. A general explanation of resolution and bitrate choices for YouTube Live may help with stream quality decisions, but bitrate choices do not establish how PRISM advances between files.
Check “Restart playback when source becomes active”
In the desktop Media Source instructions, PRISM recommends unchecking “Restart playback when source becomes active” and clicking OK as one option. The setting concerns what happens to that source when it becomes active. Follow the control as documented if your problem is that a source is not starting properly in Studio Mode, then test the same source again.
The guide also describes an alternative: leave the option selected and click Apply in Studio Mode after adding the source. These are alternative documented approaches to the source-startup issue; they are not a list of steps that guarantees a continuous playlist. If the source starts after you apply the change but a later video still does not begin, that observation is consistent with the boundary problem remaining unresolved.
Change one thing at a time and note the result. If you alter multiple scene settings at once, you may no longer know which change affected startup. Keep a record of the source, scene, setting state and observed behaviour. If the problem persists, restore a known working state where practical and ask about the exact desktop workflow and PRISM version.
Avoid treating the wording of the checkbox as a promise about all playback. “When source becomes active” describes a condition for an individual source. It does not say that PRISM will activate the next source when the current one ends, nor does the cited guide describe a video-item queue controlled by this option.
Apply changes in Studio Mode
If you are testing the documented desktop source-startup instruction, use Studio Mode as PRISM describes. After adding the Media Source, use the relevant option above and click Apply in Studio Mode where instructed. Confirm that the change has taken effect in the edit workflow you are testing before drawing conclusions about playback.
Keep your test narrow. Use one source first to answer whether that source starts when it becomes active. Then, if your actual setup uses multiple sources, test the hand-off separately and label it as a separate result. For example, “the first source started after Apply, but the second source did not begin when the first ended” is more precise than “Apply did not fix PRISM.”
This approach will not create a documented continuous-playback feature where the guide does not describe one. It does help separate a configuration issue from an unsupported assumption about what the setting controls. If the stream is intended to run overnight, do not make a production change based solely on a preview that only proves one source can start.
For longer runs, the surrounding system can create other symptoms that resemble a playlist failure. Keep an eye on whether the live broadcast itself remains connected, rather than equating every interruption in on-screen content with a dropped YouTube stream. For a separate class of problem, see our notes on monitoring an FFmpeg YouTube stream on a VPS; that is not a PRISM transition fix, but it illustrates why playback and stream delivery should be diagnosed separately.
Use Stop Media and Restart Media for preview
PRISM’s desktop guide describes another option when you want to view a source only in the EDIT screen: click Stop Media and then Restart Media. This is a preview instruction for the edit screen. It can help you inspect a source during scene preparation, but it is not described as a control for automatic advancement or between-video transitions.
Use the preview to check the individual file and scene before going live. Verify that the intended source is selected and that its content is visible in the edit screen. Then make a separate test of the on-air behaviour you need. Previewing a source successfully does not show that a second file will start at the right time, and a preview-only action should not be mistaken for a live transition command.
When documenting a failure, note whether it occurs in EDIT, in the live programme output, or only after a file reaches its end. Those observations narrow the question. A black or empty programme view, a source that never started, and a source that ended with no successor are different cases even if all are described informally as “playback stopping.”
For a 24/7 channel, there is a broader operational question too: whether the computer running the broadcast must remain on and whether you can recover after a local playback interruption. Our guide to restarting a Windows PC and resuming OBS streaming covers a different software workflow, not a PRISM feature, but may help you think through recovery planning without conflating it with playlist behaviour.
What the documented steps cannot ensure
The available PRISM documentation establishes a mobile way to create and order a reusable Video playlist and desktop controls for starting or previewing an individual Media Source. It does not establish that the mobile playlist advances without a gap, identify a setting that ensures continuous transitions, or explain why playback may stop between two playlist items. That is a limitation in what the reviewed documentation says; it is not proof that the feature never works.
Likewise, the desktop startup guidance should not be stretched into a claim about a chain of separate files. Unchecking the restart option, clicking Apply, or using Stop Media and Restart Media may be relevant to the source behaviour each instruction names. None is documented here as a fix for automatically starting the next video at the end of the current one.
If you need dependable unattended playback, test the exact setup you intend to use for a meaningful run before depending on it overnight. Check the transition points, observe whether the stream remains live, and note what happens when a source ends. If the need is specifically automatic succession without gaps, ask PRISM for version-specific confirmation rather than relying on an assumed toggle. You can also choose a workflow that has documented support for the particular scheduling behaviour you require, while checking its official instructions and trade-offs.
StreamNeo addresses a different operational pain: keeping a prerecorded file on air without leaving your own computer running for the broadcast. It does not turn PRISM playlists into gapless sequences, and it is YouTube-only. If your requirement is an ordered set of separate clips with verified transitions, confirm that behaviour in the chosen playback workflow before making a platform decision.
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FAQ
Does PRISM Live Studio guarantee gapless playback between mobile playlist videos?
The mobile guide documents creating and ordering a Video playlist, but it does not promise gapless playback or specify a setting that guarantees automatic advancement. Test the current app on your device and consult PRISM for version-specific guidance if transitions matter to your broadcast.
Will “Restart playback when source becomes active” make the next desktop video start?
PRISM documents this option in connection with an individual Media Source’s startup in Studio Mode. The guide does not say it activates a second video when the first one ends, so do not treat it as a playlist-transition fix.
Is the Music Playlist Source a way to queue video files?
The PRISM FAQ describes that desktop source for music and playback control via source hotkeys. It does not describe it as a video queue or a solution to video hand-offs.
What should I record before asking for help?
Note whether you are on Android, iOS, Windows or Mac, your PRISM version, and whether you use a mobile Video playlist or desktop Media Sources. Describe whether a source fails to start or stops only when an item ends, and include the specific transition you tested.