For an ordinary pre-recorded SDR video loop, set YouTube’s live output to Rec. 709 SDR and set the OBS Media Source YUV range to match the actual file. Enable Loop on the source; a long broadcast is not, by itself, a reason to turn on HDR.
HDR is a separate end-to-end workflow: the footage, playback and encoding path, OBS output, YouTube ingest and viewers’ devices all matter. If your source is SDR, keep the output SDR unless you have deliberately converted the footage and configured a compatible HDR chain.
Identify whether your footage is SDR or HDR
Start with the file, not the OBS colour menus. A video’s appearance on your computer does not reliably tell you whether it is SDR or HDR: the player, monitor and operating system can affect how it is displayed. Check the asset’s metadata or the information supplied by the camera, editor or person who exported it. If you cannot establish its format, treat that as an open question rather than guessing from how bright the picture looks.
For a typical bhajan recording, study lesson, ambience loop or local news package exported for ordinary screens, the intended path is often SDR. That is not a universal rule about the genre or the file. A video could have been captured or mastered as HDR, converted during editing, or exported with different properties from the original. Confirm the particular asset before you configure the stream.
The distinction matters because SDR and HDR use different colour and signal configurations. Choosing an HDR output setting does not turn SDR pixels into correctly mastered HDR. It can instead create a mismatch between what OBS sends and what the footage contains, leaving the picture washed out, too dark or otherwise unlike the intended image. Likewise, choosing an SDR target for a source that needs a deliberate HDR workflow is not a substitute for that workflow.
Make a small record for each asset or playlist: file name, SDR or HDR status if known, and any relevant export information. If files in the same playlist differ, do not assume one source setting will suit them all. You may need to inspect them individually, standardise them in an editor, or test how OBS handles the transition between them. A consistent-looking playlist begins with knowing what is in it.
If metadata is missing, ask whoever supplied the video or inspect it with a media-information tool you trust. Keep the original file unchanged while testing. A copy lets you check a conversion or export without losing the version you started with.
Add the file as a Media Source and loop it
In OBS, add the local video as a Media Source, select the file and enable the source’s Loop option. OBS describes Media Source as a way to play media in a scene and documents Loop as replaying the file after playback completes. It is a source property: it is not a YouTube setting and does not depend on how long the stream has been live. See the OBS Media Sources reference for the current controls.
Confirm the behaviour before building a full channel around the source. Start playback, let the file reach its end and watch for the restart. Check whether there is an unwanted black frame, pause or audio gap at the join. Looping repeats the file; it does not edit its ending into its beginning. If the seam is visible or audible, fix the edit or export rather than expecting a colour setting to hide it.
If you are building a playlist from separate files, the transition between sources is a different issue from looping one source. Test the order and transitions you intend to use. For a practical example of a continuous playlist workflow, see how to loop Marathi bhajan videos. Remove the space after the opening parenthesis when publishing: how to loop Marathi bhajan videos.
Keep your scene simple while diagnosing colour. A Media Source layered below a colour filter, browser overlay or other image source may look different from the raw file. Temporarily disable optional layers and filters, then compare the source in OBS. This helps distinguish a source-range mismatch from a filter or compositing choice.
Set the source YUV range to match the file
OBS provides a YUV Color Range control in the Media Source properties. Its documentation says the setting applies to the selected media file and that the default is Partial. That default is a starting point, not proof that Partial is correct for every file. The source file’s actual range and the way it travels through your playback and encoder chain determine what is appropriate.
Open the Media Source properties and note the current range before changing it. If you know the file’s range from its metadata or export settings, choose the corresponding source range. Do not change it merely because someone else’s setup uses a different choice, or because a global OBS colour-space selection appears to be the obvious fix. The Media Source range and the stream’s colour-space target answer different questions.
A range mismatch can change the apparent black and white levels. A picture may look lifted and grey where dark areas should be, or clipped where detail should remain. But visual symptoms alone do not establish the file’s range: other processing, display settings and YouTube’s encoding can also affect the result. Change one relevant setting at a time and test again, rather than making several colour adjustments together.
If the file’s range is unknown, inspect its metadata or return to the export project. You can also compare a test stream with the local file on the same display, while remembering that YouTube processes live video and the viewing path is not identical to local playback. The OBS Media Sources documentation explains the control but cannot determine the correct value for your particular asset.
Avoid treating one YUV range as a universal recommendation. A folder of videos may contain material from different sources or export workflows. If you combine files with inconsistent properties, consider converting them to a consistent format using a deliberate editing workflow, then verify the exports. For a playlist-oriented walkthrough of related source controls, OBS Media Source settings for looping Telugu songs may help you locate the relevant options, but it cannot identify the range of your own files.
Choose Rec. 709 for an ordinary SDR stream
For a standard SDR YouTube Live signal, use Rec. 709 and 8-bit SDR. YouTube’s encoder guidance says “Color space: Rec. 709 for SDR”. Set OBS’s video output accordingly for an ordinary SDR loop, then check that the source and output are not being mistaken for one another: Rec. 709 is the SDR stream target, while the Media Source YUV range must still match the file. Read YouTube’s live encoder settings guidance before a live setup, since its recommended ingest settings may change.
Do not turn on HDR simply because the channel will run all day or because HDR sounds like a higher-quality option. Duration has no bearing on whether the source is HDR. A long-running stream of SDR footage should remain an SDR stream unless the footage is deliberately converted and the full output chain is configured for HDR.
Colour settings are only one part of a reliable YouTube ingest. YouTube’s guidance also covers codec, bitrate and keyframe interval. It recommends a two-second keyframe frequency and says not to exceed four seconds; it specifies CBR. These are YouTube’s configuration recommendations, not promises about picture quality or uninterrupted broadcasting. Choose bitrate in light of the resolution and frame rate you actually send, and the upload capacity available at the streaming location. A network that is adequate during the day may not behave the same way overnight, so test from the connection you will use.
YouTube transcodes live video into output formats for viewers on different devices and networks. You configure the signal you send to YouTube; you do not directly control every viewer’s rendition or display. That is another reason to validate your ingest and inspect the resulting stream, rather than expecting one OBS preview to represent what every viewer will see.
If you are also setting up a continuous broadcast, keep colour decisions separate from continuity decisions. This guide to keeping a YouTube 24/7 stream live after closing OBS addresses the question of keeping a broadcast running; it does not replace checking the footage’s colour properties. Treat the colour target, source looping and broadcast continuity as distinct parts of the setup.
Keep HDR output for a configured HDR workflow
Use HDR only when you intend to deliver HDR and have a compatible chain from source to output. YouTube’s HDR directions require OBS 30.1 or later for the described setup, an HDR source, HEVC hardware encoding, P010 and Rec. 2100 PQ or HLG; YouTube recommends HLG. Check the current YouTube HDR live-streaming guidance for its requirements and any changes. These settings are not a general enhancement to apply to SDR material.
Think through the full path before switching output: is the file genuinely HDR, can OBS decode and present it correctly, can the selected encoder produce the required signal, and are you sending the intended HDR configuration to YouTube? Then consider whether your audience is likely to have compatible playback devices. YouTube notes that viewers without a compatible device receive SDR. The HDR workflow affects more than one dropdown, and a partial configuration may produce a result different from the one you intended.
This distinction is especially useful if someone has suggested changing Rec. 709 to an HDR colour space as a quick fix for a flat-looking SDR source. Do not do that without conversion and compatible output configuration. First establish whether the original footage is SDR, confirm its Media Source range and test the ordinary Rec. 709 path. If the result is still wrong, investigate the export, filters, display and encoding path rather than relabelling SDR as HDR.
The OBS guide to video capture devices with HDR support concerns capture support and is not a guarantee that a particular prerecorded-file workflow is compatible. For a local file loop, the relevant checks are the file and the actual decoding, encoding and YouTube output path you use. Do not buy a capture card merely because the word HDR appears in a settings discussion; this title describes local media playback, not a requirement to capture an external source.
Check the resulting picture, not just the settings
Before committing to an all-day broadcast, run a private or otherwise appropriate test with a representative section of the actual file. Compare dark detail, bright areas, skin tones if present, and saturated colours with local playback. Check a section with both shadow and highlight detail, not only a title card or a dark scene. The goal is to find obvious mismatches, not to infer a technical specification from appearance alone.
Watch the YouTube output after processing, on the kind of device you expect viewers to use if practical. YouTube’s transcode and the viewer’s screen can change the result from OBS’s preview. If the output looks washed out or crushed, change only the setting supported by evidence: first verify the file’s SDR or HDR status, then verify its source range and the Rec. 709 SDR output. Keep notes so you can return to a known configuration if an experiment makes the image worse.
Test the loop boundary as well as the picture. A colour mismatch that appears only on one file may indicate that playlist assets differ; a blank or frozen frame at the boundary is more likely a playback or edit issue. Observe audio at the same point, because a picture test alone will not expose a gap in the soundtrack. Let the source complete a cycle before relying on the loop behaviour.
If you record or repackage the asset during preparation, keep a clean original and a separate working export. OBS recommends MKV for recordings because it is more resilient to an ungraceful stop and provides built-in remuxing to MP4; those recording details are separate from the colour-space choice. Save your OBS output settings in a profile and keep scenes in a scene collection, so a later change for a different channel does not silently become the configuration for this one. See the OBS profiles guide for that distinction.
For a scheduled channel, record the tested file, source range and output target alongside the scene or profile name. If you replace the video, repeat the checks rather than assuming the replacement has the same encoding. That small handover note is useful when someone else needs to restart or troubleshoot the stream after you have stepped away.
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FAQ
Should I change the Media Source range from Partial?
Not automatically. OBS documents Partial as the default, but the correct range depends on the actual file and its processing path. Check the asset’s metadata or export settings and test the output rather than assuming one choice applies to every video.
Should I put the stream in Rec. 709?
For an ordinary SDR YouTube Live stream, yes: YouTube specifies Rec. 709 and 8-bit for SDR. That output target does not tell you which Media Source YUV range to use; match the source range to the file separately.
Can I enable HDR for an SDR loop to make it look better?
No, not as a simple setting change. HDR needs HDR footage or deliberate conversion and a compatible OBS, encoder and YouTube configuration. Keep SDR footage on an SDR path unless you have configured and tested that complete HDR workflow.
Does the loop setting restart the YouTube broadcast?
No. Loop belongs to the OBS Media Source and replays that file when playback completes. It does not restart a dropped broadcast or fix a visible or audible seam in the file; test both the source boundary and your broadcast continuity separately.