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OBS Playlist Loop Skips the First Video on YouTube Live: How to Fix It

A skipped first video can come from different OBS source types or playlist behavior. Identify the source, verify its loop settings, and test locally before investigating YouTube playback.
Opened Runtime5 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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First identify which OBS source is playing the playlist, then check the matching loop setting: Loop Playlist for VLC Video, or Loop for a single-file Media Source. Test the sequence in OBS before blaming YouTube Live; a skip visible only in YouTube playback calls for a separate playback check.

Identify what “skips the first video” means

OBS has more than one way to play media, and the fix depends on the source type and when the item is skipped. In the scene’s Sources list, select the source and check its name and properties.

  • Media Source: plays an individual file. Its Loop option repeats that file; it is not the playlist control.
  • VLC Video: supports a playlist. Its Loop Playlist option controls whether the source starts again after it runs out of media files. OBS defines it as whether “the source should restart when it has run out of media files.” OBS Project: Media Sources
  • Media Playlist Source: an OBS plugin, with its own version and compatibility considerations.

Pin down the sequence before changing anything: is the first item missing when playback initially starts, after every item or scene transition, or only when the playlist wraps around? The available documentation does not establish one cause shared by those different symptoms.

Check the built-in OBS source settings

If the source is VLC Video

  1. Open the affected scene and select VLC Video in Sources.
  2. Open its properties and verify that the playlist contains the files in the intended order.
  3. Enable Loop Playlist if you want the list to restart after the last file.
  4. Check Shuffle Playlist separately. If you need a fixed order, make sure shuffle is off.
  5. Verify that VLC is installed. OBS specifies that 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC. If VLC Video is unavailable or behaves unexpectedly, check that the installed VLC architecture matches OBS.

OBS documents Media Source and VLC Video for Windows, macOS, and Linux; follow the VLC installation and architecture requirement for your setup. OBS Project: Media Sources

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If the source is Media Source

Media Source plays one file at a time. Open its properties and check Loop to repeat that file. If your goal is to rotate through several files, use a playlist-capable source, such as VLC Video, rather than expecting Media Source’s single-file loop to control a list.

Check source visibility and scene changes

If playback seems to restart or advance differently when you switch scenes, note whether the source is hidden and when the transition occurs. Reproduce the same scene and transition sequence in a local test; this helps distinguish a playlist-order or loop setting from behavior tied to a scene change.

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Test OBS locally before investigating YouTube

  1. Keep the playlist order, source type, and scene sequence unchanged.
  2. Watch the OBS preview, or make a short local recording that captures the start, the point where the first item appears to be skipped, and a playlist wrap if relevant.
  3. If the local preview or recording also skips, investigate the OBS source, playlist, transitions, VLC installation, or plugin version.
  4. If the local output plays correctly but the YouTube stream appears to skip, check the YouTube playback separately. YouTube’s instructions for looping a video apply to the YouTube player, not to diagnosing an OBS playlist source. YouTube Help: Loop videos or playlists on YouTube

This comparison identifies where the symptom appears; it does not by itself establish a YouTube Live defect.

If you use the Media Playlist Source plugin

The plugin’s update notes describe two specific fixes in version 0.1.3: continuing after a transition, and continuing when the next file path is unchanged, including a single-file looping case. The release was published by CodeYan on the OBS Project Forum on April 13, 2025. Those notes are relevant if your sequence matches, but they do not prove that every first-item skip has the same cause. Media Playlist Source update notes

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  1. Record your installed OBS and plugin versions, then compare them with the plugin’s version-specific update notes.
  2. If the skip follows a transition or occurs when the next playlist entry has the same path, check whether you are running a version that includes the 0.1.3 fixes.
  3. Pay attention to the version requirements: the update notes say plugin versions from 0.1.0 require OBS 31 and that the change was merged into OBS 31. The resource page also lists a 30.0.0 minimum; that broad listing does not override the more specific version notes.
  4. Change one relevant setting or version at a time, then repeat the same local test sequence.

The plugin resource lists Windows, macOS, and Linux support and a 64-bit build. Confirm the requirements for the specific version you install on the resource page. Media Playlist Source resource

Troubleshoot by symptom

What you see What to check next
One local file does not repeat Confirm the source is Media Source and enable its Loop option.
A VLC playlist ends without starting over Enable Loop Playlist; verify the playlist order and that Shuffle Playlist is not changing the sequence.
VLC Video is missing or behaves unexpectedly Check that VLC is installed and its architecture matches OBS; 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC.
The skip follows a scene transition in Media Playlist Source Compare the plugin version with the 0.1.3 update notes for the transition-related fix and check the OBS 31 requirement for plugin versions from 0.1.0.
The next playlist item repeats the current file path If you use Media Playlist Source, check whether your version includes the 0.1.3 same-path continuation fix.
OBS preview or recording is correct, but YouTube playback seems to skip Investigate YouTube playback separately; do not use YouTube’s player loop setting as a fix for the OBS source.

For a useful diagnosis, note the source type, OBS version, plugin version if applicable, playlist order, whether paths repeat, whether a transition is involved, and whether the skip appears in the local OBS output or only on YouTube. The cited documentation does not give a prevalence statistic for this exact symptom, so these checks identify possibilities rather than a universal cause.

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