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For subtitles that viewers can always see, burn them into the video before streaming or add a timed text overlay in OBS. For captions viewers can turn on and off in YouTube, send a supported live caption feed—embedded EIA 608/CEA 708 captions or captions delivered by supported software over HTTP POSTs. These are different workflows: an ordinary subtitle file uploaded to a YouTube video does not become captions for a live stream.
Choose between visible subtitles and live closed captions
Decide first how you want viewers to see the text. Subtitles composited into the picture are always visible and are part of the video image. Live closed captions appear as a caption track that viewers can control with YouTube’s player, subject to its playback controls. OBS can display subtitle tracks in a program, but that alone does not establish that OBS is sending a YouTube-compatible live caption track.
| Method | What viewers see | What it requires | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burn subtitles into the video | Text is always visible in the picture. | Edit and export the prerecorded video with subtitles composited. | A predictable visual result. Text or language changes require editing and exporting the video again. |
| Add a timed text overlay in OBS | Text is always visible if the overlay is included in the program output. | An OBS text or graphics source and a way to synchronize it to the clip. | Controlling the appearance separately from the video. Test synchronization at each loop boundary; OBS’s reviewed documentation does not describe an end-to-end sidecar-file synchronization workflow across repeated loops. |
| Display a media subtitle track in OBS | Text appears in the composed program. | A supported media subtitle track and VLC installed for OBS’s VLC Video source. | Displaying a track on screen. This is not proof that YouTube receives a toggleable live caption track. |
| Send live closed captions | A caption track viewers can control in the player. | Encoder output with embedded EIA 608/CEA 708 captions, or supported caption software that sends captions over HTTP POSTs. | Player-controlled captions. Verify compatibility and timing with the specific encoder or provider. |
| Use a dedicated scheduled encoder | Prerecorded media is scheduled directly to YouTube Live. | AJA HELO Plus hardware and its PlayToStream feature. | Specialized unattended playback without a computer; not required for a basic OBS setup. |
YouTube’s live-caption guidance puts the key requirement plainly: “To add captions to your live stream, you need to send captions to YouTube.” See YouTube’s live caption requirements.
Add always-visible subtitles with OBS
Prepare the video and captions
For the simplest and most predictable result, render the subtitles into the video before the stream. Check contrast, font size, placement, spelling, and timing against the audio. Watch the last seconds and first seconds together to make sure the text does not end abruptly or restart out of sync when the clip loops.
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If you need to change the text independently, create a timed text or graphics overlay in OBS. You will need to arrange its timing against the clip yourself. Do not assume an ordinary SRT sidecar is automatically synchronized over repeated loops or converted into live closed captions.
Set up the loop in OBS
- In OBS, add the prerecorded file as a Media Source and enable Loop. OBS documents that the source restarts when playback completes. For a playlist, use the VLC Video source, which provides a Loop Playlist option and subtitle-track display controls; VLC must be installed. See OBS Media Sources.
- Arrange the scene so the video and any separate text overlay are visible in the program output. Play through the full clip and inspect the transition from its end back to its beginning.
Connect OBS to YouTube Live
- In YouTube Live Control Room, create or select the live stream and obtain its stream URL and stream key. YouTube describes the key as the encoder’s password/address for sending the feed. Keep it private.
- Enter the stream URL and key in OBS’s streaming settings, then start the encoder. YouTube’s setup guide explains the encoder workflow at Create a YouTube live stream with an encoder; stream-key details are in Manage live stream settings.
- Before making the event public, inspect the incoming preview in Live Control Room. Confirm that the subtitles are legible and timed correctly, including at the loop boundary. YouTube recommends preparing and testing the encoder ahead of time; see its live streaming tips and streaming tips.
- While live, monitor audio and video quality and check that the loop continues as expected.
Send viewer-toggleable captions to the live stream
Use this route when viewers need a caption track they can control in YouTube, rather than text burned into the picture. YouTube documents two methods: embedded EIA 608/CEA 708 captions from an encoder, or supported caption software that sends captions over HTTP POSTs.
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Embedded EIA 608/CEA 708 captions
- Confirm that your encoder can output EIA 608/CEA 708 captions to YouTube.
- In the live stream’s closed-caption setup, select Embedded 608/708 for this method and configure the encoder to provide the matching caption format.
- Test caption timing against the prerecorded audio, especially as the video restarts. YouTube says the 608/708 standard supports up to four language tracks, but YouTube currently supports one caption track for this embedded route. See Live caption requirements and YouTube live streaming tips.
HTTP caption delivery
If using HTTP caption delivery, choose software or a provider supported by YouTube and follow that provider’s setup instructions. YouTube names supported products and StreamText.Net in its live-caption guidance. It does not establish that every caption tool is compatible, so confirm the actual delivery path with the provider. Do not guess an ingestion URL.
Basic OBS playback does not, by itself, establish a supported live caption output. The reviewed OBS documentation covers displaying media subtitle tracks, not converting an SRT sidecar into YouTube-compatible embedded captions or an HTTP caption feed. Verify the chosen encoder or provider’s output before relying on it.
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Why uploading an SRT file is not the live-caption workflow
YouTube’s Add subtitles and captions instructions cover adding a subtitle track to an uploaded video. That is separate from sending caption data to a live stream through embedded 608/708 or supported HTTP caption software. Do not assume a subtitle file attached to an uploaded video will attach to a live event or feed its captions to the live player.
Optional: schedule prerecorded playback without a computer
YouTube’s verified encoder information describes the AJA HELO Plus as hardware with an optional PlayToStream feature that can schedule prerecorded media and stream it directly to YouTube Live without a computer. This is a specialized hardware route, not a prerequisite for looping a video in OBS. See YouTube’s verified encoders.
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