A single worship video can repeat continuously in OBS by adding it as a Media Source and enabling Loop in that source's properties. Loop controls what happens when the file reaches its end; it is separate from the setting that decides whether playback starts again when the source becomes active.
Before you rely on the setup overnight, check the video's rights, connect OBS to YouTube, and use YouTube's preview to watch the beginning, end and return to the beginning. That catches the silent gaps, wrong scene and audio problems that can otherwise remain unnoticed after you leave the computer.
Prepare the worship video and confirm permissions
Start with one finished local video file. Keep the file in a folder that will not be moved, renamed or disconnected while OBS is running. If OBS cannot find the file later, the source may show a blank preview or ask you to locate the media again. A simple folder such as Worship Stream is easier to maintain than a file scattered across Downloads, an external drive and a desktop shortcut.
Watch the complete file before adding it to OBS. Check that the opening frame is suitable for a live channel, the final seconds do not contain an unintended black screen, and the audio begins and ends where you expect. If the file is meant to repeat without interruption, listen across the join between the final frame and the first frame. A loop can be technically correct while still producing an audible click, a sudden change in room tone or a visible jump.
The file's ability to play in OBS does not give you permission to stream it. Confirm the rights for the song, the particular recording and every visual element in the video. A worship song performed by your group, a commercially released master recording, a lyric video and a background animation may involve different rights.
For churches in the United States, CCLI's US streaming licence information distinguishes coverage for qualifying live worship performances from coverage for certain authorised recordings and multitracks. Its guidance also says that video content normally needs permission from the copyright owner, with specific conditions for stated exceptions. That is not universal clearance, and it should not be applied automatically to a stream in India or another country. Check the current terms for your territory, your church and the exact content before broadcasting.
YouTube may still apply its own copyright systems and platform rules even where you believe you have permission. Keep a record of the licence, permission or ownership evidence for the material you use. If the video includes a third-party visual, translation, logo, instrumental track or recorded congregation, include that item in your check rather than treating the whole file as one automatically cleared work.
The file itself is also part of the operating decision. A long, high-quality loop is convenient because it needs little playlist maintenance, but it can take longer to replace and may be harder to transfer to another computer. The advice in How Big Should Your Loop File Be? is useful when deciding how much duration and quality your particular channel needs.
Create an OBS scene for the stream
Open OBS Studio and create a scene specifically for the worship broadcast. In the Scenes panel, select the add button, give the scene a clear name such as Worship Loop, and keep the name distinct from test scenes or emergency holding screens. Clear names matter when you are looking at OBS in a hurry and when another person takes over the channel.
A scene is a collection of sources. For this setup, the main source will be the worship video, with optional sources such as a logo, a text label or a small schedule panel. Add the video first and verify its size before placing decorative elements above it. OBS displays sources in layers, so a full-screen image or browser source above the Media Source can hide the video even though playback is working.
In the Sources panel, look for the eye icon beside each source. The eye controls visibility, not whether the file has permission to play. Keep the worship video visible while configuring it. If you plan to switch between a worship loop and another scene, name both scenes plainly and decide which one should be live when OBS starts.
Select the video source in the preview and use the red transform handles to fit it to the canvas. You can right-click the source and use a fit-to-screen transform if the aspect ratio matches your intended output. If the source and canvas have different shapes, choose whether to accept bars or crop part of the image. Do not stretch faces, text or devotional artwork simply to fill every pixel.
Before moving on, hide any test source that could cover the video. A practical check is to click the video source in the Sources list and confirm that its image appears in the preview, then briefly hide and show any overlays. This is quicker than diagnosing a black YouTube preview later when the actual problem is a layer in OBS.
Add a Media Source and select the local file
With the worship scene selected, click the add button in Sources and choose Media Source. OBS will ask whether to create a new source or use an existing one. Create a new source for this file unless you deliberately want the same source settings in more than one scene. Give it a name that identifies the content rather than leaving it as a generic source name.
In the Media Source properties, select the option to use a local file and browse to the worship video. The exact labels can change between OBS versions, but the important choice is a local file rather than a network address. Select the intended file and look at the preview once it loads. Press OK or Apply only after checking that the path and file are correct.
If the file does not load, check the path, file permissions and whether another application can open it. A missing codec or unusual file format can also prevent reliable playback. Converting the video to a broadly supported format may be more dependable than continuing with a file that plays only in one media player. Test any converted copy from its beginning to its end, because conversion can alter the audio track or introduce a new opening delay.
The Media Source properties include controls for playback, audio and visibility behaviour. Do not change several controls at once without noting what you changed. When the file reaches its end, you need Loop. When the source enters a visible scene, you need to decide whether it should start again. Those are different decisions, and the second does not replace the first.
If the scene contains only one worship video, adding a Media Source is the simplest arrangement. For several clips, OBS also documents a VLC Video source with a playlist. That option requires VLC to be installed, and 64-bit OBS requires a matching 64-bit VLC installation. Its playlist controls are useful for multiple files, but it introduces another application dependency and a different visibility behaviour. Use the single-file Media Source when one file is all you need.
Enable Loop in the source properties
Find the Loop checkbox in the Media Source properties and enable it. OBS describes this setting as controlling whether the file plays again after playback completes. It is not the same as making the source visible, and it is not a YouTube setting. It operates on the selected local file inside OBS.
Loop is off by default, so do not assume a newly created Media Source will repeat. If Loop is left off, the video reaches its final frame and stops. Depending on the rest of your source settings, YouTube may then show a frozen image, a blank result or another scene. None of those outcomes means the YouTube connection has failed.
After enabling Loop, press OK or Apply and observe the file in the OBS preview. Let it reach its final transition if the file is short enough to test conveniently. The useful check is not merely that the first frame appears again, but that the audio also returns as expected. If the file is several hours long, make a shorter test copy with the same opening and closing treatment so you can verify the loop before leaving the full version running.
A loop repeats one file. It does not repair a poor edit, remove a copyright claim, create a new broadcast event or ensure that YouTube will accept the stream. It also does not protect you from a computer sleeping, OBS closing or the source file becoming unavailable. Treat it as one playback instruction inside a larger live workflow.
If you want to rotate several worship videos, a playlist may be more appropriate than joining everything into one file. A playlist makes individual replacement easier, while one combined file gives you a single item to test. Compare the maintenance burden, the need for VLC and the desired scene behaviour before choosing. Do not switch to VLC merely because its name contains a loop option when your actual requirement is one dependable local file.
Choose what happens when the source becomes active
The Media Source also has Restart playback when source becomes active. Research notes for the OBS source document this setting as on by default. It controls what happens when the source enters a visible scene. It does not control whether the file repeats after reaching the end.
These two settings answer different questions:
| Setting | Question it answers | Typical result |
|---|---|---|
| Loop | What happens when the file finishes? | The same file starts again after reaching the end. |
| Restart playback when source becomes active | What happens when the source becomes visible or active? | Playback starts from the beginning when the source becomes active. |
For a scene that should always begin at the opening, leave restart enabled. This suits a short welcome scene that you show briefly and then bring back from the start each time. It is also easier to reason about when the operator deliberately switches away from the worship scene and later returns to it.
For a scene that should continue from its previous position after a temporary scene change, clear the restart option if your OBS version presents that behaviour as expected. The video may continue from where it was paused or hidden, depending on the source and visibility settings. Test the exact scene change rather than assuming that hiding a source and changing scenes will behave like pausing a media player.
A common mistake is to enable Loop and expect the video to restart whenever the worship scene is selected. Loop only handles the end of playback. Another common mistake is to enable restart and assume that a long video will continue forever. Restart can begin the file again when the source becomes active, but it does not create repeated playback after the file finishes if Loop remains off.
Write down the intended behaviour in the scene notes. For example: Worship Loop: Loop on, restart on, return to opening after scene changes. Then switch to another scene, wait, switch back and watch the result. If the opening is supposed to play only once during the whole broadcast, that is a different requirement from a scene that should be fresh every time it appears.
Connect OBS to YouTube
Create or open the live stream in YouTube Live Control Room and choose the encoder workflow. YouTube's encoder setup instructions explain where to obtain the stream details and how to connect an encoder. In OBS, open Settings, select Stream, choose the relevant YouTube service if it is available, and enter the stream key or use the supported account connection method.
Treat the stream key as private. It is the credential that allows an encoder to send a feed to the selected YouTube stream. Do not place it in a public tutorial screenshot, a shared document or a chat message. If you think it has been exposed, replace it through YouTube rather than continuing to use it.
The stream key connects OBS to YouTube; it does not verify your worship content. Keep the rights check separate from the encoder check. A successful connection only shows that OBS can send a feed to the selected destination.
Choose output settings that your computer and connection can sustain. YouTube's current encoder settings guidance recommends CBR for RTMP or RTMPS encoder settings, gives 5 Mbps as the recommended H.264 bitrate for 1080p at 30 frames per second and 6 Mbps for 1080p at 60 frames per second, and recommends a 2-second keyframe frequency without exceeding 4 seconds. These are YouTube recommendations, not a promise that your upload line or computer can maintain them.
Select a resolution and frame rate that match the file and leave upload headroom. A worship video with a static background does not need the same production choices as a fast-moving concert recording, but changing settings can create a new problem if the computer cannot encode steadily. Use the RTMP explanation for 24/7 streamers if the connection between OBS and YouTube is unfamiliar.
If running the computer continuously is the problem rather than preparing the video, StreamNeo can take an uploaded video, use your YouTube stream key and keep the broadcast running without your computer left on, with automatic monitoring and restart when the feed drops. It is YouTube-only, so it does not replace OBS for a production or a setup that needs live scene switching on the computer.
Preview audio and video before going live
Do not press Start Streaming and immediately leave the room. Begin with a private or unlisted test where possible, or use YouTube's preview in Live Control Room before making the broadcast public. YouTube's streaming tips recommend testing with audio and movement similar to the planned stream and monitoring stream health during the event.
Start OBS and confirm that the worship scene is selected. Check the OBS audio mixer for movement while the video plays. A moving meter does not prove that viewers will hear the correct source, so listen to the monitoring output if it is configured, and listen to the YouTube preview from a separate device. Keep the second device at low volume or use headphones to avoid feedback into the streaming computer.
Use the YouTube preview to check four things:
- The correct stream and thumbnail or title are being used.
- The video is visible, centred and not covered by an OBS source.
- Speech, singing or music is audible without clipping, excessive background noise or a silent channel.
- The delay and stream health indicators remain stable while the file is playing.
Let the test reach the end of the file if that is practical. The most important part of a loop is the transition that you rarely see during setup. Watch for a black frame, an abrupt volume jump, a duplicated first frame or a pause that is long enough to look like a failed stream. If you find one, fix the source file or its settings and repeat the preview.
Test a scene change as well. Switch away from the worship scene, wait, and return to it. Observe whether the source starts from the beginning or continues, then compare that result with the behaviour you intended. This test catches confusion between Loop and restart-on-activation more reliably than reading the checkboxes again.
You can schedule a continuous event using YouTube's own workflow, but scheduling does not make the local OBS computer run reliably by itself. The guide on scheduling a continuous worship stream is relevant when you are planning the YouTube event as well as the OBS playback.
Monitor playback and scene changes
During the broadcast, keep OBS and YouTube Live Control Room available where possible. In OBS, watch the selected scene, the Media Source and the audio mixer. In YouTube, watch the incoming preview and stream health. A source can look correct in OBS while the outgoing connection is unstable, and YouTube can show a connection issue while the local file continues to play normally.
Before leaving the setup unattended, test the computer's power and sleep settings, confirm that the video folder is available, and make sure automatic updates or scheduled restarts will not interrupt the broadcast. Do not treat a long loop as a replacement for an operating plan. A power cut, lost network connection or closed OBS window affects the stream regardless of the Loop checkbox.
Keep a short written recovery procedure near the computer. It should state which scene to select, where the local file is stored, which YouTube stream is intended, and where the current stream key is managed. Do not write the stream key itself on the note. If another operator needs to help, they should be able to identify the correct scene without guessing.
If the stream is intended to run all day or overnight, carry out a longer burn-in before making it the regular channel. The 48-hour burn-in checklist covers the wider questions around unattended operation. You should still inspect the actual worship loop, because a general endurance test cannot tell you whether this particular file has a bad join or a silent audio section.
When you need to change the video, stop and test the replacement rather than swapping files while the stream is live. A replacement with the same filename can make troubleshooting confusing, while a clearly named new source makes it obvious which content is active. After any change, verify Loop, restart behaviour, source visibility and YouTube preview again.
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FAQ
Does OBS loop a Media Source automatically?
No. OBS's Media Source has Loop turned off by default according to its documented source settings. Select Loop in the source properties if you want the local file to play again after it reaches the end.
Is Loop the same as restarting when the source becomes active?
No. Loop handles the end of the file, while restart-on-activation controls what happens when the source becomes active in a visible scene. You can enable both, enable only one, or disable both depending on how scene changes should behave.
Should I use Media Source or VLC Video for worship clips?
Use Media Source for one local worship video. VLC Video is more suitable for a playlist of several files, but VLC must be installed and its visibility behaviour needs testing, especially if you switch scenes.
Does a licence make any worship video safe to stream on YouTube?
No. Permission depends on the song, recording, visual content, territory and licence terms. Check the current agreement and YouTube's rules for the exact material, and do not assume that a licence for a live performance covers a commercial recording or an unrelated video.