OBS can loop a local study video through a Media Source, then send it to YouTube Live as an encoder stream. For several study videos, use OBS’s VLC Video source with a playlist and Loop Playlist enabled.
The process is the same for a channel based in India as elsewhere: confirm that your channel can livestream, check the rights for every video and audio element, connect OBS to YouTube Studio’s Live Control Room, and wait for the preview before selecting Go live.
Check YouTube Live access before setting up OBS
Do this first. OBS can be configured correctly and still fail to reach YouTube if live streaming has not been enabled on the channel.
YouTube’s current Help guidance says that livestreaming requires a verified channel with no livestreaming restrictions in the preceding 90 days. It also says the streamer must meet the applicable age requirement. As listed on YouTube’s site in September 2026, the minimum age for livestreaming is 16. You can check the current requirements in YouTube’s live streaming eligibility guidance, because platform rules can change.
If this is the first time you have enabled live streaming, YouTube says activation can take up to 24 hours, as listed on YouTube’s site in September 2026. Enable it before the day you intend to begin the study channel. Waiting until the planned start can leave you with a working OBS scene but no available broadcast permission.
You will also need access to the YouTube channel’s Live Control Room and permission to create or manage its stream. If another person owns the channel, agree in advance who will hold the stream key and who will be responsible for stopping the broadcast.
Prepare the study videos and confirm rights
Put the study files in a folder that will remain available to the computer running OBS. Do not move, rename or disconnect the files after you configure the scene unless you are prepared to select them again in OBS.
A suitable file might be a recorded silent study session, a timer with permitted background music, a lesson you created, or an ambience video for which you have explicit permission. A video being publicly viewable on YouTube does not give you permission to download it and rebroadcast it from your channel. The same applies to music, sound effects, photographs, illustrations, screen recordings and spoken lessons inside the file.
YouTube’s Terms of Service require the provider of live content to have the necessary rights to use that content on Google services, including relevant music rights, and to follow applicable laws and requirements in the territory where the stream is carried. For a channel operated from India, check the current official terms and any requirements that apply to your content and audience. Do not treat this article as a rights clearance.
Keep a simple record for each file:
| Item | What to record before streaming |
|---|---|
| Video | Who created it and where the original file came from |
| Audio | Whether the music, voice or sound effects are yours or licensed |
| Permission | Whether the permission covers livestreaming and an archive |
| Attribution | Any credit wording required by the licence |
| Changes | Whether edits, overlays or repeated playback are allowed |
If a file contains music supplied under a licence, read the licence rather than assuming that a licence for personal use covers a public livestream. If someone has made the video for your channel, obtain permission in writing that specifically covers YouTube Live and any recording YouTube may create.
There is also a separate monetisation question. YouTube’s monetisation policy applies to live streams. Its guidance says monetised content should be original and authentic, and its 15 July 2025 update explains that repetitive or mass-produced content can fall under the inauthentic content policy. A single prerecorded study video repeated continuously may therefore be difficult to monetise if it offers little educational value, commentary, narrative or variation. That policy does not say that every loop is automatically ineligible, so do not promise monetisation merely because the video is running through OBS.
For context, the distinction between a single loop and a multi-file rotation is also discussed in whether a playlist livestream counts as reused content. The article cannot decide your case, but it can help you identify the questions to ask before publishing.
Add one local video as an OBS Media Source
Install OBS Studio from the official OBS Project site and open it on the computer that will send the stream. The exact appearance of the interface can vary between OBS versions, but the control names below are the documented ones. OBS’s Media Sources documentation lists common video formats including MP4, MOV, MKV and WebM.
- Open or create a scene in the Scenes panel. Give it a name such as
Study loop. - In Sources, select the plus button.
- Choose Media Source.
- Give the source a clear name, such as
Morning study video, and select OK. - In the source properties, select Browse and choose the local video file.
- Turn on Loop.
- Select OK, then check the preview canvas.
The Loop setting tells OBS to play the file again after playback has completed. It is the right choice when one file should repeat from its beginning. It does not create a new video file and it does not upload the file to YouTube. OBS reads the local file while it is running and sends the resulting picture and sound to the live encoder connection.
Check the video’s position and size in the preview. If the file has a different shape from the canvas, you can right-click the source and use the transform options to fit it to the screen. Watch for unintended black bars, cropped subtitles or a timer that is cut off at the edge. If the study material includes text, make sure it remains readable at the output resolution you intend to use.
Play the source for long enough to confirm that its audio behaves as expected. You can mute the source in the mixer if the stream should be silent, but remember that viewers may then hear nothing unless another audio source is active. If the video has a short opening silence, that silence will repeat as part of every loop.
For a longer-running setup, it is useful to keep a local copy of the source and its permission record together. The guide to streaming prerecorded videos to YouTube Live from Google Drive covers a different file workflow, but the same practical question applies here: know which file is actually being sent and ensure it will remain available for the duration of the broadcast.
Use VLC Video for a playlist of study files
Use a playlist when you want several files to play in sequence rather than repeating one file. OBS’s VLC Video source is designed for this workflow. VLC must be installed for the source to be available, and OBS notes that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC.
Install VLC from the vendor’s official page, matching the architecture required by your OBS installation. Close and reopen OBS after installing it if the VLC Video option does not appear.
Then configure the playlist:
- Create or open the scene that will carry the study stream.
- In Sources, select the plus button.
- Choose VLC Video.
- Add the video files to the playlist in the order you want them played.
- Check the source properties for Loop Playlist and leave it enabled if the sequence should repeat.
- Select OK and inspect the preview.
The playlist approach gives you a rotation such as Focused study.mp4, Break timer.mp4, Reading room.mp4, followed by the first file again. It is more flexible than a single Media Source, but it introduces more files that can be missing, renamed or encoded differently. Test the transition between every file before you publish the stream.
A playlist is not automatically better for a viewer. A short sequence can still feel repetitive if the same order repeats frequently. If you want the viewer to understand what is playing, add a clear title in the video itself or use an OBS text source, but only use material you have the right to publish.
For a comparison of playlist behaviour and repeated playback, see how to repeat a playlist without showing the same video twice on YouTube Live. Treat any method that changes playlist order as a viewing choice, not as a substitute for rights or originality.
Create the YouTube stream and connect OBS
Once the scene works locally, create the destination in YouTube Studio.
- Open YouTube Studio for the channel.
- Select Create, then Go Live.
- In Live Control Room, create a new stream or open the settings for an existing stream.
- Choose the encoder workflow if YouTube presents more than one broadcast option.
- Copy the Stream URL or server URL and the Stream key.
- Keep the stream key private.
YouTube’s encoder streaming instructions describe this process and the next preview step. The names or layout may change, so use the current labels shown in your Live Control Room.
In OBS, open Settings, then Stream. If YouTube is available as a service, select it and follow the connection method shown by OBS. If the interface asks for a custom server, paste the YouTube server URL into the server field. Paste the YouTube stream key into the key field, then select Apply and OK.
Do not paste the key into a public document, tutorial screenshot or chat message. Anyone who obtains it may be able to send a feed to that YouTube stream. If you think the key has been exposed, replace or reset it in YouTube Studio before continuing.
Keep the YouTube stream settings and OBS scene separate in your notes. The scene controls what OBS produces. The stream settings tell OBS where to send it. If the video is visible in OBS but YouTube receives nothing, check the server and key rather than rebuilding the scene.
Start the feed and check the preview
Return to the main OBS window and make sure the intended scene is selected. Confirm that the video is playing, that the audio mixer shows activity when audio should be present, and that no unrelated source is visible.
Select Start Streaming in OBS. This begins sending the encoder feed to YouTube, but it does not necessarily make the broadcast public immediately. Return to Live Control Room and wait for the incoming preview.
Before selecting Go live, check the preview as a viewer would. Look for these points:
- The correct study video is visible rather than a blank canvas or the wrong scene.
- The image is framed correctly and text is readable.
- Audio is present if it should be, without clipping or an unintended microphone feed.
- The title, description, visibility and scheduled time are correct.
- The stream is using the intended channel and stream key.
- Any rights or policy concerns have been resolved before publication.
If the preview is missing, wait briefly and inspect the connection status in both applications. Confirm that OBS is still sending, the stream key belongs to the selected broadcast, and the computer has a stable internet connection. A local video playing in OBS is not proof that YouTube is receiving the feed.
When the preview is correct, select Go live in Live Control Room. YouTube’s documented encoder workflow places this action after the encoder has started and the preview is available. Do not close OBS after going live: it is still the application producing and sending the stream.
Monitor the broadcast and end it cleanly
A loop is only useful if you can notice when the local setup has stopped. Keep an eye on OBS’s streaming status, dropped-frame indicators and audio mixer while the computer remains on. Also check the public watch page from another device when practical, because the OBS preview and the viewer’s experience are not exactly the same.
The computer must remain awake, connected to the internet and able to run OBS for the whole session. Prevent automatic sleep and avoid restarting the machine during the broadcast. If the study channel is intended to run overnight, test the complete arrangement during a shorter period first, including a file transition or a return to the start of the loop.
OBS does not guarantee that a broadcast will continue without interruption. A power cut, operating-system update, network change, application error or damaged source file can stop the feed. The article on why a 24/7 YouTube gaming stream stops after one video is relevant here because a completed file, a stopped source and a disconnected broadcast are different problems.
If you need a computer-free workflow, StreamNeo removes the need to leave OBS running locally: upload the video, add the YouTube stream key, and let the channel run while your computer is switched off, with automatic monitoring and restart when the feed drops. It is intended for YouTube-only broadcasts, so it does not change your rights obligations or YouTube’s review of the content.
When you are ready to stop, end the stream in Live Control Room and then select Stop Streaming in OBS. YouTube says streams under 12 hours are automatically archived, as listed on YouTube’s site in September 2026. Do not assume that every long-running broadcast will be archived in the same way; check the current YouTube Help guidance for the stream length and archive behaviour that applies to your account.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
How do I loop a video in OBS?
Add the local file as a Media Source, open its properties and enable Loop. The file will play again after it reaches the end while OBS remains active and the source remains available.
How do I stream a prerecorded video on YouTube Live with OBS?
Create a stream in YouTube Studio’s Live Control Room, copy its server URL and stream key into OBS’s Stream settings, and select Start Streaming. Wait for the preview in Live Control Room, check the picture and sound, then select Go live.
Can I loop a study video on YouTube Live in India?
Yes, the OBS controls for looping are not presented as a separate India-specific workflow in the documented setup. You still need a verified channel with live access, compliance with the requirements that apply to your stream, and the necessary rights for every video and audio element.
Is a repeated study video automatically eligible for monetisation?
No. YouTube’s monetisation policies apply to live streams and raise concerns about repetitive or mass-produced content with little educational value, commentary, narrative or variation. Review the current policy for your channel and do not treat OBS’s Loop setting as evidence that the stream will be approved for monetisation.