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How to Stop OBS from Showing a Media Source Filename on Stream

A filename overlay may come from the player, an OBS source, or the video image. Trace its origin first, then disable or remove it at the source.
Opened Runtime4 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team

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OBS does not document a dedicated switch for hiding a filename from a Media Source. First find out where the text is coming from: a media player overlay, a separate OBS source, or the video image itself. Then change the setting in the place that creates it. If the filename appears only when you play a finished recording, check the playback app rather than the OBS scene.

Identify where the filename appears

  1. Check the OBS preview and the live or recorded output. If the filename is visible in the OBS canvas, it is part of the scene being sent out. If it appears only when you open a finished recording in a player, inspect that player’s display settings instead. In one OBS forum thread, the original poster traced the playback filename to a VLC setting; this is a reported case, not proof that every similar issue has the same cause (OBS forum thread, started 2019-11-01).
  2. Look at the text itself. A title that appears briefly when playback starts may be a player’s on-screen display. Text that stays in exactly the same place and is visible even when the player is not involved may be a separate OBS source or part of the video pixels.
  3. Make a short test recording. Compare the OBS preview with the recording opened in a different player. This helps separate text rendered into the OBS scene from text added only by the playback application.

Fix the cause, not the recording filename

If a media player is drawing the filename

Open the player’s preferences and look for an on-screen display, title, or filename overlay option. Turn off the relevant display and test again. The OBS forum report confirms that a VLC setting resolved one user’s playback filename, but does not establish a current VLC menu path or exact setting label. Menu names can differ by player version, so use the player’s own settings or help documentation rather than changing OBS recording naming options.

If OBS is capturing a player window or display

When OBS captures the player interface, a filename drawn by that player can become part of the captured picture. Where possible, add the video directly as a Media Source instead of capturing the player window or desktop. OBS describes Media Sources as a way to add supported media files to a scene, while Display Capture is a separate source type (OBS Media Sources guide; OBS Sources Guide). This is a practical diagnostic inference: confirm the result in the preview and with a short recording before relying on it live.

If the filename is a separate OBS source

In the Sources dock, find the text or overlay source and click its eye icon to hide it. OBS documents that sources higher in the list appear above lower sources, and that the eye icon toggles a source’s visibility. Reorder sources if a separate overlay needs to sit behind another scene element; hiding it is the direct fix when it should not appear at all (OBS Sources Guide).

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If the filename is baked into the video

If the letters are part of the actual video image, neither a player overlay setting nor an OBS source-visibility toggle can remove them as text. Use a clean copy of the source video, or edit, crop, or cover the affected area before adding it to OBS.

What OBS settings do—and do not—control

The OBS Media Sources guide covers adding supported media files and playback behavior, including restarting when active, hiding when playback ends, and closing a file while inactive. It does not list a filename-overlay control (OBS Media Sources guide). OBS’s recording output settings concern the name given to a generated recording file; that is different from text visibly rendered on the stream canvas (OBS Standard Recording Output Guide).

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OBS Browser Source can load a local HTML file or a URL and supports custom CSS, but it is a way to build a custom presentation, not a documented filename-removal setting (OBS Browser Source guide).

Troubleshoot a filename that will not disappear

  • It is absent from the OBS preview but appears in a finished recording: Open the recording in another player. If the filename disappears, change the original player’s overlay setting.
  • It appears only when using Display Capture or a captured player window: Test the same file as a direct Media Source. If that removes the text, the player interface was being captured.
  • Hiding one source does not remove it: Check for another text or overlay source in the scene, including sources inside a nested scene, and toggle visibility one at a time.
  • The filename remains with the player closed: Check whether it is part of the video image. If so, replace or edit the source file.
  • The recording’s saved filename is wrong, but no text appears on screen: Adjust recording output naming settings; this changes the file created on disk, not the visible stream canvas.
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