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How to Schedule a YouTube Stream to Switch Playlists When One Ends

YouTube scheduling sets up the live event, not playlist changes. Use OBS to play media, and plan separate automation if one list must hand off to another.
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You can schedule a YouTube live event, but YouTube’s documented scheduling controls do not switch playlists when one ends. To control what viewers see during the broadcast, play media through an encoder such as OBS. OBS’s VLC Video source can play and loop one media playlist; switching automatically between separate playlists may require additional scene or source automation.

Scheduling an event is separate from choosing its live playback

YouTube Studio’s Live Control Room is where you schedule and manage the event. A YouTube playlist, by contrast, is a collection of uploaded videos; it does not program the sequence played by an encoder during a live broadcast. The reviewed YouTube Help instructions explain scheduling and event management, but do not document a native setting to change playlists when one finishes. YouTube Help: Manage live stream settings and YouTube Help: Create & manage playlists.

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What you mean by playlist What it controls Can it switch the live program at the end?
YouTube playlist Organizes videos uploaded to YouTube. Not through a playlist-switching control documented in YouTube’s scheduling instructions.
Encoder media playlist Plays media as part of the encoder’s live output. OBS documents playback, looping, and shuffle for one VLC Video playlist source; it does not document an automatic handoff between separate lists.

Schedule the YouTube live event

  1. In YouTube Studio, open Live Control Room, choose Manage, and create a scheduled stream. YouTube’s workflow allows you to reuse settings or create a new stream. See Manage live stream settings.

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  2. Set the event details and schedule it. The scheduled event is the YouTube destination viewers can find; it does not determine the media sequence being sent by your encoder.

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Play a media playlist through OBS

  1. Install VLC if necessary. OBS’s VLC Video source is available only when VLC is installed. The OBS guide, dated January 11, 2022, documents the source and its playlist controls: OBS Media Sources.

  2. In OBS, add a VLC Video source to the scene you intend to stream, then add the media files to that source’s playlist. Arrange the files in the order you want them played.

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  3. Set Loop Playlist and Shuffle Playlist to match the intended playback. The OBS guide lists looping on and shuffle off by default. Check these settings rather than assuming the default matches your plan.

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  4. Connect OBS to the scheduled YouTube event using the stream URL and stream key shown for that stream. YouTube documents entering the URL and key in the encoder, then starting the encoder when ready: Create a YouTube live stream with an encoder.

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  5. Start the encoder transmission when you are ready for the scheduled event to receive its live output. The media playing in OBS is what the encoder sends; scheduling the YouTube page does not change OBS’s playlist.

What if the next playlist must start automatically?

The OBS guide describes one VLC Video playlist source and its loop and shuffle settings, but does not specify an automatic transition between distinct playlists. If your sequence requires Playlist B to start exactly when Playlist A ends, plan for additional OBS scene or source automation, and verify that it works in your setup before relying on an unattended broadcast. Do not treat the scheduled YouTube event as that automation.

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End the broadcast cleanly

YouTube’s encoder workflow ends when you stop sending the encoder transmission. If you intend to finish the event rather than continue the live output, stop the encoder when appropriate; scheduling and the watch page are separate from the encoder’s actual playback. See YouTube’s encoder guide.

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Troubleshooting

  • VLC Video is missing in OBS: install VLC, then check whether the source is available in OBS.

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  • The playlist repeats or plays in an unexpected order: inspect the playlist ordering and the Loop Playlist and Shuffle Playlist settings in the VLC Video source.

  • The scheduled page is live but the wrong media appears: check the active OBS scene and source. YouTube scheduling does not select or change the encoder’s media playlist.

  • The encoder is not connected to the intended event: verify that OBS uses the stream URL and stream key for the scheduled stream you mean to broadcast.

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  • A second playlist does not start on its own: OBS’s documented playlist controls do not establish an automatic handoff between separate lists. Configure and test suitable scene/source automation rather than expecting YouTube to switch it.

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