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In OBS, put your playlist and countdown slate in separate scenes, then use a pre-rendered countdown video or a card with text and an image. For automatic breaks, OBS users report using the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin to change scenes just before a playlist item ends and return when the slate finishes. That boundary-detection method is a community workaround, not a built-in OBS feature, so test the full cycle with your own files and settings before leaving it unattended.
Choose how OBS will play your videos
OBS scenes are layouts made from sources such as media files, images, text, and browser content. Create one scene for the videos and another for the countdown slate. The right source for the video scene depends on whether you have one repeating file or a playlist.
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| Need | OBS source | Useful settings | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repeat one video file | Media Source | Loop; optionally restart when the source becomes active or show nothing when playback ends | Simple single-file playback, not a multi-item playlist |
| Play several clips in sequence | VLC Video | Playlist order, Loop Playlist, Shuffle Playlist, and visibility behavior | VLC must be installed; behavior when the source is hidden matters during scene changes |
OBS’s Media Sources documentation lists video formats including MP4, TS, MOV, FLV, MKV, AVI, GIF, and WebM, and audio formats including MP3, AAC, OGG, and WAV. Listed extensions do not guarantee identical behavior for every codec combination.
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Set up one repeating file
- In the OBS Scenes dock, create or select the scene for your video.
- In the Sources dock, select + and choose Media Source. Name it, then choose the file you want to play.
- Enable Loop if the file should repeat. OBS documents Loop as off by default; Restart playback when source becomes active defaults on, and Show nothing when playback ends defaults on.
Set up a playlist
- Create or select the scene for your clips. In the Sources dock, select + and choose VLC Video.
- Add the files to its playlist in the order you want. Leave Shuffle Playlist off for that order. Loop Playlist defaults on, according to OBS’s documentation.
- Install VLC if VLC Video is unavailable. OBS requires 64-bit VLC with 64-bit OBS.
- Choose the source’s visibility behavior deliberately. OBS documents the default as stopping playback while the source is not visible and restarting it when visible. If switching to the slate hides the playlist, a pause/resume behavior may help preserve progression, but test it: community reports describe inconsistent results.
See OBS’s Media Sources guide for the documented controls and defaults.
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Create the countdown slate scene
- In the Scenes dock, select + and create a scene for the break.
- For a fixed-duration countdown, add the countdown file as a Media Source. Make its duration match the break you want. A pre-rendered video is the simplest source-compatible approach.
- For a static slate, add an image and a text source. OBS also supports browser sources if you want to show web content; the OBS documentation does not specify a particular timer page or guarantee its reliability.
- Arrange the sources in the Sources list. Higher sources appear above lower ones in the preview. Drag sources to reorder them, then position and resize them in the preview.
OBS’s Sources Guide covers adding, showing or hiding, sizing, positioning, and layering sources.
Switch scenes between playlist items
OBS does not document a built-in countdown timer or a built-in recipe for automatically inserting a slate between entries in a VLC playlist. OBS community forum discussions describe a workaround using the Advanced Scene Switcher plugin: detect that the current playlist item is nearly finished, switch to the slate scene, then switch back after the slate media ends. The discussions date to November 1, 2021, and January 5, 2023; they are examples from users, not a compatibility guarantee.
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Configure and test the workaround
- Install Advanced Scene Switcher and create a media-condition macro for the VLC playlist. Community examples use a condition such as playback still being active with less than about 1–2 seconds remaining; another example uses a threshold under 1,000 milliseconds.
- When the condition is met, switch to the countdown scene. Configure the playlist to advance as needed for your chosen setup; the forum examples differ in how they handle advancing the playlist.
- Create a return macro for the slate media ending, or use an equivalent condition supported by your installed plugin version, to switch back to the video scene.
- Run several complete cycles while watching the preview and checking which playlist item plays next. Test with the actual media, loop and shuffle choices, source visibility behavior, OBS version, and plugin version you plan to use.
A simple “ended” trigger can fail when a looping playlist advances directly to another item instead of entering an ended state. Community reports also flag inconsistent results involving hidden-source pause behavior and media rules. If automatic switching does not reliably complete repeated cycles, use a manual scene change through OBS controls or a configured hotkey; the cited sources do not establish a hardware controller requirement.
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Common problems and fixes
- VLC Video is missing: Install VLC, and make sure its architecture matches OBS. OBS specifies 64-bit VLC for 64-bit OBS.
- The playlist restarts or stops after returning from the slate: Review VLC Video’s visibility behavior. Its documented default is to stop when hidden and restart when visible; test another available behavior if you need playback progression preserved.
- The slate never appears: Check that the Advanced Scene Switcher condition fires before the current item ends, that it targets the intended scene, and that the macro is enabled. Repeat tests with the actual file and plugin version.
- The stream leaves the slate up or returns too soon: Confirm the countdown file’s duration and the condition used to detect its end. Test a full cycle rather than relying on a single transition.
- The playlist skips or repeats an unexpected clip: Check playlist order, Shuffle Playlist, Loop Playlist, and any playlist-advance action in the macro. Change one behavior at a time and retest.
- The timer content is blank or unreliable: Prefer a pre-rendered countdown file if you need a fixed, predictable break; OBS’s source guide does not guarantee a third-party browser timer’s operation.
Keep the source material and stream rights in order
Use video and audio you have the right to broadcast. A countdown slate does not change the rights status of the clips between breaks. Check YouTube’s current Community Guidelines and channel monetization policies for rules that apply to your channel and content; compliance and monetization depend on YouTube’s policies and review, not on the OBS scene setup.
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