The Tool Desk
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Identify what triggers the blank
Watch the transition and note its exact trigger before changing settings:
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- Only between clips in one playlist: check the playlist source, the media files in sequence, and whether audio-only items are mixed in.
- When a scene becomes active: inspect the source’s visibility behavior and Media Source reload settings.
- Across either kind of transition: verify that the intended sources are visible and correctly layered in the Sources dock.
Change one setting at a time, then replay the same scene and playlist. That makes it easier to tell whether a change helped the specific transition.
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OBS distinguishes its built-in Media Source, which handles audio and video files, from VLC Video, the documented source that can hold a playlist. VLC must be installed for VLC Video to appear. OBS says 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC. See the OBS Project’s Media Sources documentation for its source options and labels.
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If you intend to play a playlist from one source, confirm that you have added VLC Video rather than assuming a built-in Media Source has the same playlist behavior. If you are using individual Media Sources instead, inspect each source’s activation and reload settings separately.
Check Media Source activation and reload settings
Select the Media Source in OBS and inspect these options in its properties. Exact wording can vary by OBS version, so compare the labels in your installed version with the OBS documentation.
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Restart playback when source becomes active
This setting restarts the file when its source is in the current scene and visible. The OBS documentation lists it as on by default. It concerns playback on activation; it is not documented as a universal fix for gaps at playlist handoffs. If the blank happens only when a scene activates, test the setting with that scene and source.
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Close file when inactive
This option frees memory by closing an inactive file. It can also mean the source needs time to reload when shown again. The OBS Project’s Media Sources documentation, dated January 11, 2022, warns: “If switching to a scene that shows it again, there may be a small period of time where it is not showing while it reloads.” If the blank coincides with returning to a scene, test whether this option is involved; do not treat it as an established cause of every between-clip gap.
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Set VLC Video visibility behavior for your scene setup
VLC Video has a Visibility Behaviour setting that determines what happens when the source is not visible. The OBS documentation lists three choices:
- Stop when not visible, restart when visible: playback stops while hidden and starts again when shown.
- Pause when not visible, resume when visible: playback pauses while hidden and continues when shown.
- Always play: playback continues even while the source is hidden.
The documented default is stop/restart. Pick the behavior that matches your scene design, then test scene changes. This setting describes hidden-source behavior; OBS does not say it guarantees a seamless transition from one playlist item to the next.
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Check source visibility and layer order
In the Sources dock, check the eye icon beside the intended video source and any background source. OBS sources higher in the list appear above lower sources, so an unintended source above the video may cover it. The eye icon controls whether a source is visible. The OBS Project’s Sources Guide explains source visibility and stacking.
- Turn on the eye icon for the video and any intended background.
- Look for an unwanted source above the video that could obscure it.
- Confirm that the background is below the video if the video is meant to appear over it.
If the playlist mixes video and audio-only files
A user reported in 2020 that a VLC Video playlist could retain a video frame while an audio-only item followed it. That report specified OBS 25.0.8 and 26.0.0-rc1; it is historical, version-specific evidence, not proof of a current general defect. If your playlist contains audio-only items and the symptom matches, test that exact sequence in your installed OBS version. The report is documented in this OBS Studio issue.
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Scene-switch reports are not a universal playlist fix
In a 2020 OBS forum discussion about a source that appeared black until its scene became active, a responder suggested disabling restart-on-activation, and the original poster said it solved that scenario. The discussion concerned an IP-camera scene fade, not a general blank between playlist videos. Treat it as a diagnostic idea only when your blank occurs on scene activation; test the setting rather than assuming it applies to a playlist handoff. See the OBS forum discussion.
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