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To keep a VLC playlist consistently framed in OBS, place the source in a fixed, centered transform box, then choose whether to show the whole picture, crop its edges to fill the canvas, or stretch it. Fit preserves the complete frame but may leave bars; crop-to-fill keeps proportions but loses edge content; stretching fills the canvas by distorting the image.
Set up a VLC Video playlist source
- Install VLC. OBS requires it for the VLC Video source; on 64-bit OBS, install 64-bit VLC too. See the OBS VLC Video Source guide.
- In OBS, select the scene where the playlist should appear. In the Sources dock, choose + → VLC Video, give the source a name, and add the video files to its playlist.
- Select the source in the preview or Sources dock. Use Transform → Edit Transform to set its placement and size. OBS also documents Fit to Screen, Center to Screen, and Stretch to Screen in its transform guide.
Playlist clips can have different dimensions, so a source that looks right for one item may not be framed the same way when another plays. Community guidance recommends using a fixed bounding box and centered alignment so the source changes around the center rather than shifting toward an edge. This is forum advice, not a guarantee for every OBS and VLC version; verify the result with your own clips. See the OBS forum discussion about centering playlist videos.
Choose how each clip should fit the canvas
Aspect ratio is the relationship between a video’s width and height. A 16:9 clip is wider relative to its height than a 4:3 clip. The choice below determines whether the full image stays visible, its proportions remain natural, or the canvas is filled.
| Choice | What happens | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fit the complete video | Scale the video proportionally until the entire frame fits inside the canvas. | May leave empty space or bars where the video does not reach the canvas edges. |
| Crop to fill | Scale proportionally until the canvas is covered, cropping the excess edges. | Some image content is lost. Check that titles, subtitles, faces, and other important details remain visible. |
| Stretch to fill | Force the source to the canvas width and height. | Changes the image’s proportions and distorts it. OBS’s aspect-ratio guide says stretching warps and distorts the image and is generally not recommended. |
Set a fixed, centered frame for clips with different dimensions
- Select the VLC Video source and open Transform → Edit Transform.
- Set its bounding box to match the OBS canvas and choose the proportional fit behavior that matches your aim: preserve the entire image or scale it to cover the canvas.
- Set alignment to the center, then inspect the preview. Centering helps prevent differently sized playlist items from appearing anchored to a corner or edge.
- Play representative clips through the playlist and check each transition. Include landscape, portrait, and any other dimensions you expect to use. Confirm the framing on the actual footage rather than assuming every clip will fit identically.
The exact controls and results can vary with installed OBS and VLC versions and with playlist items. The official OBS guides explain the transform options, while the fixed-box recommendation for changing playlist dimensions comes from community discussion.
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Crop an edge manually
For a crop that needs more control than the automatic fit options provide, select the source in the preview and drag one of its edges while holding Alt on Windows or Linux, or Option on macOS. The cropped edges turn green in the preview. For exact values, open Transform → Edit Transform and enter the crop settings there. Check the result against the playlist items, since one crop may cut into important content in a differently framed clip.
If playlist clips still resize or shift
- A clip moves toward an edge when it changes: Recheck the source’s alignment in Edit Transform and center it within the fixed box. Preview clips with different dimensions.
- The entire picture is visible but bars appear: That is the expected result when fitting a video of a different aspect ratio without cropping or distortion. Choose crop-to-fill only if losing the edges is acceptable.
- The picture fills the canvas but looks unnaturally wide or tall: The source is being stretched. Switch to a proportional fit or crop-to-fill.
- The VLC Video source is unavailable: Confirm VLC is installed, and match its architecture to OBS—64-bit VLC for 64-bit OBS.
- A Scaling/Aspect Ratio filter seems promising: OBS forum replies mention it for playlist items with varying dimensions, but it is not established by the official guides reviewed here as a guaranteed fix. Treat it as an alternative to test, not a certain prescription; check the preview in your installed version.
Or let it run in the cloud
OBS is the do-it-yourself option when you want to manage the playlist and framing on your own computer. For a YouTube channel that should keep uploaded videos playing as a live stream without leaving that computer on, StreamNeo runs the loop from the cloud: upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key, then go live. It plays uploaded videos, not a live camera feed.
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