In OBS Studio, Restart playback when source becomes active tells a Media Source to restart its file when the source is in the current scene and visible. OBS lists the setting as On by default; simply having the source somewhere in the project does not meet that visibility condition.
If you want a clip to repeat after it reaches the end, use Loop instead. If the symptom is that a finished clip disappears, check Show nothing when playback ends. These controls address different events, so the right fix depends on whether playback ended, the source became visible, or you want it hidden.
What the setting does
The setting concerns the playback position of a built-in OBS Media Source. When the source becomes active—meaning it is in the current scene and visible—OBS restarts the media file. That is useful for a short introduction, a scene-specific clip, or a product demonstration that should begin at the start whenever you bring its source into view.
“Active” here is not another word for “included in the project”. A source can be present in a scene that is not currently selected, or it can be in the current scene but hidden. Neither circumstance is the documented condition of being in the current scene and visible. This distinction matters in projects with several scenes, nested groups, or sources you keep prepared but do not show.
For example, suppose your OBS project has a devotional opening clip in a “Starting Soon” scene and a separate bhajan video in the live scene. Moving between those scenes changes which scene is current. The restart setting is about the Media Source becoming visible in the current scene; it is not a command to restart OBS, reconnect YouTube, or reset every item in the project.
Keep the scope narrow when diagnosing a problem. The scene-change disconnect checklist addresses a broadcast connection problem, whereas this checkbox concerns one media source’s playback. If YouTube remains live and only the clip’s position changes, investigate the source settings before treating it as a stream interruption.
When a source counts as active
The documented condition combines two things: the source is in the current scene, and it is visible. Scene selection and source visibility are related but separate parts of that description. Switching to a scene can make one of its sources visible, but a hidden source in the selected scene is not equivalent to a visible one.
That is why the practical question “Will this make my video start over when I switch to the scene?” needs a qualified answer. It can restart when the switch makes that Media Source visible in the current scene, provided the visibility change is processed as an activation. If the source remains hidden, or was already visible and no new activation occurs, do not infer a restart solely from the fact that you selected a scene.
The visible state may be controlled by the eye icon in the Sources list, a scene transition, a group, or automation. Test the actual arrangement you use rather than assuming that a source’s location in the scene tree determines its active state. If it is inside a group, check the group and source visibility together.
Timing can matter when automation hides and shows a source almost immediately. A report involving OBS 30.2.0 described a fast hide/show after playback ended that did not restart the media; a project member noted that visibility changes are processed by the graphics thread. Treat that as a version-specific report, not a universal timing rule. If you automate toggles, allow time for OBS to process them and test in your installed version. The report is documented in the OBS Studio issue tracker.
Check the documented defaults
The OBS Project’s Media Sources guide lists the relevant defaults. Defaults are a useful starting point, not proof of the current state of an existing project: someone may have changed the properties, or you may be using a different source type.
| Media Source control | Documented default | Event or effect it addresses |
|---|---|---|
| Restart playback when source becomes active | On | Restarts playback when the source is in the current scene and visible |
| Loop | Off | Plays the file again after playback completes |
| Show nothing when playback ends | On | Hides the source when the file finishes |
| Close file when inactive | Off | Unloads media while the source is hidden or off the current scene |
Open the Media Source properties and confirm the values in your own scene. Avoid changing several controls at once: if the result changes, you will not know which setting caused it. Note whether the item is a built-in Media Source or a different source type before applying advice from the guide.
A separate report about OBS 27.0.0-rc6 described a file playing when OBS launched or when its properties were changed, even though restart-on-activation was disabled. That issue does not establish current universal behaviour, and a checkbox should not be treated as a guarantee against every kind of autoplay. If you see unexpected startup playback, record your OBS version and the exact sequence that reproduces it; the older startup playback report is useful context, not a general rule.
Compare restart-on-activation with Loop
Restart-on-activation and Loop have different triggers. The first responds to the source becoming active; the second responds to playback reaching the end of the file. They can be enabled together, but enabling both does not make them interchangeable.
Consider a ten-second logo sting. With restart-on-activation on and Loop off, making the source visible starts it from the beginning; after the file ends, it does not repeat. For a continuous ambience video, Loop on allows another playback after the file reaches its end. If that source is then hidden and later made visible, restart-on-activation determines whether activation starts playback from the beginning.
| Your intended result | Control to check | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Start the file from the beginning when it becomes visible | Restart playback when source becomes active | It does not itself replay the file at end-of-file |
| Repeat the file when it finishes | Loop | It does not itself respond to a scene switch or visibility change |
| Stop showing the source after the file finishes | Show nothing when playback ends | Hiding at the end is not the same as looping |
| Reduce loaded media while the source is inactive | Close file when inactive | The file may need time to reload when shown |
A useful rule is to choose by symptom. If the file continues from a previous position when you bring it back, inspect activation and visibility. If it reaches the end and stays there, inspect Loop. If the picture vanishes at the end, inspect the end-of-playback hiding control. For a longer walkthrough of source continuity in an always-on channel, see the single-video freeze troubleshooting guide; a freeze in an output stream is not automatically a Media Source activation issue.
Understand show-nothing-at-end behaviour
Show nothing when playback ends controls what OBS displays after the file finishes. OBS lists it On by default, which means the source is automatically hidden at the end of playback. This setting is easy to mistake for restart-on-activation because both can affect what you see, but they act at different moments: one follows file completion, the other follows visibility-based activation.
If a short clip seems to disappear rather than repeat, first ask whether it reached its end. With Loop off and Show nothing when playback ends on, disappearance is expected under the documented behaviour. Turning on restart-on-activation does not stop the clip from reaching its end; it defines what happens when the source becomes active again. To make it repeat continuously, Loop is the relevant control.
Conversely, if you want an item to remain visible as a static final frame after playback, review the end behaviour rather than toggling Loop blindly. Your desired display after completion—blank, last frame, or a new playback—should guide the choice. Check the current properties, then test with a short local file before changing a live scene.
There is also Close file when inactive. OBS describes this as unloading the media when it is hidden or off the current scene to free memory, with a possible short delay when it is shown again while the file reloads. This is a resource-versus-readiness trade-off: keep it inactive and unloaded if conserving resources matters more than immediate appearance, or leave it loaded if prompt display is more important. It is not a replacement for Loop or restart-on-activation.
Choose settings for the intended playback
Start by describing the desired sequence in ordinary terms: when should playback begin, should it repeat at the end, and what should remain visible after completion? Then map each part to its control. For a scene-specific opening video, restart on activation may fit. For a repeating background, Loop addresses the end. For a finite announcement that should clear away, Show nothing at end may fit.
A meditation channel might have a brief welcome clip that should start at the beginning when the welcome scene is shown, followed by a separate ambience source intended to continue or loop. Those are different playback jobs, even if both use video files. The meditation stream restart guide concerns recovering the wider channel after a computer update; it should not be confused with restarting an individual Media Source on activation.
For a permanent music or ambience scene, repeatedly restarting a file on every visibility activation may be unwanted if the viewer expects uninterrupted playback. Decide whether returning to the scene should resume the established flow or start the content from the beginning. Then test that choice with the actual scene structure, including whether a transition briefly changes visibility.
If you use VLC Video rather than Media Source, do not assume these controls behave identically. The OBS guide treats VLC Video as a separate source and documents its own Visibility Behaviour control, displayed with “Stop when not visible, restart when visible” as the default. VLC Video also requires VLC to be installed. Confirm that you have the source type you think you have before following Media Source instructions.
Test source visibility and activation
Test in a copy of the scene or while the live channel is not relying on the source. Use a short, recognisable file so playback position is easy to see. Write down the current values of the four controls in the table, then change only the control relevant to the symptom.
A simple test sequence is:
- Start playback and note a moment in the file, such as a spoken line or a visual marker.
- Hide the source while it is in the current scene, then show it again. Observe whether it resumes or starts from the beginning.
- Switch to another scene and back, checking whether the source is visible when the original scene returns.
- Let the file reach its end and observe whether it repeats or disappears.
- If Close file when inactive is enabled, allow for a reload delay before deciding that the source failed to appear.
Do not make hide/show automation instantaneous during diagnosis. The OBS 30.2.0 report shows why an extremely quick toggle is worth testing carefully, but does not set a universal minimum wait. Give the application time to process each state change, repeat the test, and note the OBS version and source type. If a result differs from the documented guide, those details make troubleshooting more precise.
Keep playback testing separate from stream health checks. If the media behaves correctly in the preview but the YouTube broadcast disconnects when changing scenes, investigate the broadcast connection rather than attributing the interruption to this setting. If you rely on a local computer for an overnight channel, also consider whether the computer and OBS remain available: the remote monitoring guide for an OBS 24/7 stream addresses that separate operational concern.
For a channel where the specific burden is keeping a computer running merely to replay an uploaded video, StreamNeo removes that recurring computer-side task by running the uploaded file as a YouTube live stream; it does not change how OBS Media Source visibility works.
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FAQ
Does switching to a scene restart the video?
It can, if switching scenes makes the Media Source visible in the current scene and the activation is processed. The documented condition is not simply that the source exists in the project, so check its visibility as well as the selected scene.
Is restart-on-activation the same as Loop?
No. Restart-on-activation responds to the source becoming active through visibility, while Loop repeats the file after playback completes. Choose based on whether you need a new start when shown or another play at the end.
Why did the source disappear when the clip finished?
OBS lists Show nothing when playback ends as On by default, which hides the source after the file finishes. Check that setting if you want a different end state; use Loop if the intended result is another playback.
Does the same advice apply to VLC Video?
Not automatically. VLC Video is a separate OBS source with a distinct Visibility Behaviour control, and the OBS guide lists a different displayed default for it. Check the source type and its own properties in your installed version.