The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →To broadcast prerecorded videos as a repeating YouTube Live program, arrange them in OBS Studio’s VLC Video source, turn on Loop Playlist, leave Shuffle Playlist off, and send OBS to a YouTube Live event using its stream URL and key. A YouTube watch-page playlist loop is a viewer playback control; it does not create or transmit your live program.
Where to build the playlist
Build the sequence in your encoder, not on YouTube’s watch page. In this setup, OBS plays the local video files in order and sends the resulting video and audio to YouTube Live. The broadcast continues only while the encoder is sending video.
- OBS source playlist: the ordered videos OBS sends in the broadcast. Its VLC Video source has separate loop and shuffle controls.
- YouTube watch-page playlist: a viewer can enable Loop while watching a playlist. That control does not transmit a creator’s videos as a live stream.
- YouTube HLS Media Playlist: a manifest used in YouTube’s HLS ingestion workflow to describe how stream segments are reassembled. It is not an OBS list of prerecorded program videos.
- Live Redirect: a handoff to a Premiere or another live stream after a stream ends. It does not repeat the current OBS playlist inside the same broadcast.
Prepare the videos and playback order
Check the files before adding them
Put the recordings you want to use in an easy-to-find location, then decide their exact order before building the OBS list. Preview representative material so you can check both picture and sound; a playlist can repeat perfectly while still containing a silent, damaged, or incorrectly ordered file.
Use only material you have the rights and permissions to broadcast. This workflow explains how to send files to YouTube Live; it does not grant rights to music, footage, or other copyrighted material, nor does it guarantee that a channel or video will qualify for monetization.
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Add a VLC Video source in OBS
- Open the OBS scene you intend to broadcast.
- In the Sources area, add a VLC Video source. OBS requires VLC to be installed for this source to be available.
- Add the video files to the source in the order you want them to play. Review the list before going live; the file order is the program order.
- Leave Shuffle Playlist off so OBS does not randomize playback.
- Turn Loop Playlist on so playback starts again at the beginning after the last file finishes.
These controls apply to the VLC Video source. They are different from turning on Loop in a YouTube viewer’s playlist controls.
Connect OBS to YouTube Live
- Open YouTube Live Control Room and create or select the live event you want to use.
- Copy the event’s stream URL and stream key from Live Control Room into OBS’s streaming configuration. Treat the key as a credential: do not share it publicly.
- Start the encoder output in OBS. Wait for the incoming video preview to appear in Live Control Room.
- When the preview is present and you are ready to broadcast, select Go live in Live Control Room.
- Watch the event’s stream-health information while it is live. Keep OBS running and sending the playlist; YouTube’s watch-page loop and Live Redirect do not keep the encoder output running.
Set up and verify 4K at 60fps
Match the output to your source and connection
YouTube’s encoder guidance covers 4K/2160p at 60fps, but bitrate recommendations depend on the ingest codec and the guidance shown for your encoder and event. The official YouTube renderings retrieved for this topic did not agree: one English rendering listed 35 Mbps recommended for H.264 and a 10–40 Mbps range for AV1/H.265; another localized rendering listed 14 Mbps minimum and 50 Mbps recommended for H.264, and 10 Mbps minimum and 35 Mbps recommended for AV1/H.265. These are YouTube recommendations, not independent test results, and should not be treated as a single universal setting.
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Check the current encoder guidance available for your selected codec in YouTube Live Control Room and use settings your encoder and upload connection can sustain. Test before the actual broadcast rather than assuming that a bitrate suitable for one codec or connection will work for another. The retrieved English guidance also says low-latency optimization is unavailable for 4K/2160p; that format uses normal latency in that guidance.
Test the whole loop
- Test representative footage with both fast motion and quieter scenes, plus the audio you intend to send.
- Confirm that the first file begins as expected, that each file follows in the intended order, and that the final file returns to the first.
- Check the YouTube preview before selecting Go live, then monitor stream health during the broadcast.
Troubleshooting an ordered loop
| Symptom | Likely check | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| VLC Video is missing from the source list | OBS requires VLC to be installed for this source. | Install VLC, then check the OBS source list again. |
| Videos play in a different order each time | Shuffle Playlist may be enabled. | Disable shuffle and review the file list order. |
| The sequence stops after the last video | Loop Playlist may be disabled. | Enable loop on the VLC Video source and test through the end of the list. |
| YouTube has no preview | The encoder may not be sending, or the event connection may not be configured with the correct stream URL and key. | Check OBS output and the URL/key entered from the selected Live Control Room event; wait for the preview before selecting Go live. |
| The live program ends instead of repeating | A YouTube watch-page loop or Live Redirect is not an encoder playlist loop. | Confirm the OBS VLC Video source is still playing and that Loop Playlist is enabled. |
| 4K/60 output is unstable or does not match expectations | Codec-specific bitrate guidance, encoder capability, and connection capacity may differ. | Check current YouTube guidance for the ingest codec you selected, test before broadcast, and monitor stream health. |
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