In OBS Studio, add a Media Source to your waiting scene, choose the pre-roll file, and enable Loop in that source’s properties. For a sequence of clips, use VLC Video and enable Loop Playlist instead; that source requires VLC to be installed.
The repeat setting keeps local playback going, but it does not decide when YouTube makes a scheduled broadcast public or switch OBS to your programme scene. You control that handoff separately, so you can leave the pre-roll running while you finish preparing.
Prepare a clip that can wait on screen
Start with the job the pre-roll needs to do. It might tell viewers that a devotional programme will begin shortly, show a shop’s opening hours, or provide quiet ambience while you check the live programme. Keep the message useful even if someone arrives halfway through the clip: a viewer who joins during the second repeat should still understand what is happening.
Choose a file you can play locally and check its picture and sound before opening OBS. The OBS Media Sources guide lists supported types including MP4, TS, MOV, FLV, MKV, AVI, GIF and WebM. That is a list of file types, not a guarantee that every file encoded with a given extension will behave identically on every computer. If a file will not play as expected, test another export or file before relying on it during an event.
Think about the join between the last frame and the first. A short branded card or a calm visual may make a hard cut less noticeable, while a clip that ends with a long fade to black can leave the waiting scene looking empty on every repeat. Listen to the transition as well as watching it: a sudden audio restart may be more distracting than a visible cut. If you are editing the clip, this beginner’s CapCut workflow can help with trimming and preparing a simple file.
Use a version that fits the scene rather than placing important text at the very edges, where it may be obscured by other scene elements or cropped on some displays. Preview it at the size viewers will see. Keep any announcement accurate and avoid promising a precise start time unless you can meet it. The pre-roll is a waiting surface, not a substitute for checking the programme and platform controls.
Add a Media Source to the waiting scene
In OBS, select the scene you intend to show before the live programme. In the Sources area, add a Media Source and give it a recognisable name, such as “Waiting clip”. Naming helps when your scene contains several sources and you need to make a quick change later. If you already have a Media Source in that scene, select it and open its properties rather than adding a duplicate.
In the source properties, choose the local video file. Confirm that the right file is selected and that the preview shows the intended picture. OBS’s source settings are about playback inside OBS; they are separate from the settings that connect an encoder to YouTube. If you are sending OBS to YouTube, the encoder setup instructions from YouTube Help cover the Live server URL and stream key. A working local loop alone does not establish that YouTube is receiving a signal.
Fit the source to the scene in a way that suits the image. If you scale a portrait clip to fill a landscape canvas, you may crop content; if you preserve the whole frame, you may have unused space. Check the preview instead of assuming the file’s dimensions will match your canvas. For a channel that uses a countdown or opening announcement, this guide to adding a countdown and store hours offers a related planning approach.
Before going further, play the source once in the preview and check both the image and audio. Make sure an old source is not covering it, that the audio is not unexpectedly muted, and that your scene is the one you mean to show. These small checks make it easier to tell a file problem from a scene or output problem later.
Turn on Loop for one file
Open the Media Source properties and enable Loop. OBS describes this setting as playing the file again once playback completes; its documented default is off. With the setting on, a single waiting clip repeats rather than stopping at the end. Save or close the properties and watch a full playback end if the event matters, so you can confirm the repeat behaves as you intend.
Do not confuse Loop with Restart playback when source becomes active. Loop concerns what happens at the end of the file. Restart playback when source becomes active concerns whether playback starts again when the source becomes active and visible. OBS documents the latter as on by default. If the clip should begin at its opening when you return to the waiting scene, the restart behaviour is relevant; if the clip should simply continue looping while it remains active, the Loop setting is the one that repeats it.
The distinction matters during scene changes. Imagine your waiting scene contains a loop and you briefly switch to another scene to prepare. When you return, whether the clip begins again depends on the activation setting, not on whether Loop is enabled. Decide which behaviour fits the announcement: restarting can put the message at its beginning for returning viewers, while continuing avoids repeatedly interrupting a longer ambient clip. Preview the choice in your own scene arrangement.
A single file is usually the clearest workflow when the waiting message is one continuous piece. It is also easier to troubleshoot because there is one source and one repeat control. If you instead have several separate files and want them played as a sequence, use the playlist workflow below rather than adding many Media Sources and trying to coordinate them by hand.
Choose VLC Video for a sequence
OBS provides a separate VLC Video source for a collection of files. Use it when your pre-roll is actually a playlist, for example an opening card followed by a few short announcements or a sequence of ambience clips. Add the files to that source’s playlist in the order you want them to play, then use the playlist repeat setting described in the next section.
This is different from a single Media Source with Loop enabled. The Media Source repeats one selected file. VLC Video handles a list of media files as a playlist. The OBS documentation describes both source types and their respective controls. It does not establish that one is universally better for picture quality or performance, so choose according to how your media is arranged and what you need to manage.
For a single waiting clip, the playlist source adds a dependency without solving a problem you have. For multiple clips, a playlist can keep the sequence in one source, but it also means you need to check that VLC is installed and that the files are available to the source. If you are weighing a local playlist against a longer-running channel workflow, this guide to scheduling a playlist for an always-on YouTube stream addresses a broader planning question; it does not replace the OBS source settings here.
Keep the files you intend to use together in a location you can find, and verify the playlist order before going live. If you remove or rename a file after setting up the playlist, revisit the source and confirm it still points to the intended media. Avoid assuming that a playlist will synchronise its final item with a scheduled YouTube start; playback and platform scheduling are separate controls.
Enable Loop Playlist and check VLC
In the VLC Video source properties, enable Loop Playlist if you want OBS to begin the playlist again after it runs out of media files. This control applies to the playlist, not to an individual Media Source. Check the beginning and end of the sequence as well as one transition between clips. That is where an incorrect order, missing file or abrupt change is most likely to become apparent.
VLC Video depends on VLC being installed; do not assume the source will be available in OBS without that installation. OBS also specifies that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC. If VLC Video is absent from the source menu, or the source does not work, check VLC installation and architecture before rebuilding the scene. Refer to the current OBS Media Sources documentation for the dependency details rather than relying on an old setup note.
| What you need | OBS source | Repeat control | Dependency to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| One waiting file | Media Source | Loop | Choose and check the local file |
| A sequence of files | VLC Video | Loop Playlist | Install VLC; match 64-bit VLC to 64-bit OBS |
The table is a workflow distinction, not a quality ranking. If your sequence contains files with different sound levels or aspect ratios, the playlist control will not make them consistent. Preview each item in context and adjust the source or edit the media where needed. If your channel will move beyond a short opening and into a longer loop, this FFmpeg playlist looping guide covers a different playback approach.
Keep the loop running while you prepare
Treat the waiting scene and the programme scene as separate parts of your OBS workflow. Put the pre-roll source in the waiting scene, and prepare the live scene with the sources and layout you actually need. You can leave OBS showing the waiting scene while you check the programme scene and other details, then switch scenes when ready. The switch is a deliberate action in OBS; Loop does not perform it for you.
If your waiting scene remains active, the pre-roll can continue to repeat while you prepare. If you move away from it, the source’s activation and restart behaviour can affect what happens when you return. Decide in advance whether the clip should restart on return or resume its intended behaviour, then preview that scene change. For an ambience clip, a restart may be noticeable; for a short “starting soon” message, restarting may be useful.
Keep the encoder connection separate in your checklist. YouTube’s encoder instructions identify the Live server URL and stream key used to connect the feed. Those credentials and the OBS scene do different jobs: one sends the programme output to the platform, the other determines what picture and sound are in that output. YouTube’s live stream settings guidance covers platform-side settings such as scheduled streams and trailers. None of those controls promises an automatic handoff at the exact point a local file reaches its end.
A practical sequence is to preview the waiting scene, confirm the outgoing feed and audio, prepare the programme scene, then switch when you are ready for viewers to see it. If you have scheduled the broadcast or set platform visibility controls, check those in YouTube as well. The platform’s state and OBS’s currently selected scene should both match your plan. Do not rely on an end frame, timer or repeat setting to change those states automatically.
Troubleshoot playback and looping
If the clip stops after one play, first reopen the correct source’s properties and check that Loop is enabled for Media Source or Loop Playlist for VLC Video. Confirm that the source is showing the file or files you meant to select. A common source of confusion is changing a similarly named source in a different scene; use the preview and source name to confirm you are editing the one that is on screen.
If the source is missing from the menu, distinguish the two workflows. Media Source is the one-file path. VLC Video is the playlist path and requires VLC to be installed, with matching 64-bit architecture when OBS is 64-bit. Installing or correcting VLC is relevant to the playlist source, not a reason to abandon a working single-file Media Source setup.
If the picture appears but sound does not, inspect the source audio level and the OBS audio mixer, and check that the clip itself has an audio track if you expect one. Listen to the scene preview rather than judging from the file name. If sound restarts sharply at every loop, that is a property of the media’s ending and beginning; the Loop option repeats playback but does not edit or crossfade the file.
If playback starts at an unexpected point after a scene switch, inspect Restart playback when source becomes active separately from Loop. Test by switching away and returning, observing the source preview and deciding whether the beginning or continued playback is preferable. If a playlist skips an item or stops, check file availability and playlist order, then verify Loop Playlist. Do not diagnose a YouTube scheduling issue solely by changing local playback settings: confirm the encoder connection and platform controls independently.
Before an event, make a short rehearsal part of setup. Check the waiting scene, let the clip reach its end, observe the repeat, and perform the intended handoff to the live scene. If you use a playlist, include a check of its final-to-first transition. This is a practical verification step, not a guarantee about platform delivery; keep an eye on the actual live workflow you will use.
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FAQ
How do I loop one video in OBS?
Add a Media Source to the scene, choose the local file, and turn on Loop in its properties. The setting repeats the file after playback completes; it does not switch scenes or control YouTube scheduling.
How do I loop several videos in OBS?
Use a VLC Video source, add the files as a playlist, and enable Loop Playlist. VLC must be installed for VLC Video to be available, and OBS specifies that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC.
Does Loop restart the clip when I return to a scene?
Loop repeats the file at its end. Restart playback when source becomes active is a separate control for what happens when the source becomes active and visible, so check that setting if scene changes affect playback.
Will the pre-roll stop when my scheduled YouTube stream starts?
The OBS loop setting does not synchronise local playback with YouTube scheduling. Check your platform workflow and switch from the waiting scene to the live scene when you are ready.