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To hear a playlist locally in OBS while keeping its audio in your YouTube stream, set that source to Monitoring Enabled (called “Monitor and Output” in some versions) and select the intended device under OBS’s monitoring-device setting. Do not choose Monitor Only (mute output) if the audio must remain on stream. Monitoring lets you hear the source; it does not loop a playlist or keep a stream live by itself.
Set up monitoring for the playlist source
- Open Advanced Audio Properties. In the OBS audio mixer, open Advanced Audio Properties for the audio source used by your playlist.
- Set its monitoring mode. Choose Monitoring Enabled, or the equivalent “Monitor and Output” wording in your installed OBS version. This sends audio to the configured local monitor while leaving it in the stream output.
- Choose a monitoring device. In OBS audio settings, select the device where you want to hear the monitored source. The mixer’s monitor control plays source audio through this configured device. Wired headphones are optional; use them if they make it easier to hear the playlist without routing sound through speakers.
- Check the source meter and listen. Play the playlist and confirm its mixer meter moves. Listen to the monitored signal before going live; the meter indicates source level, and the red zone is near clipping.
OBS’s Audio Mixer Guide recommends listening to the signal early and again in OBS, then recording a normal session and listening back before going live. That can reveal monitoring or mix problems that are easy to miss while setting up.
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Choose the mode that matches what you need
| Mode | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Monitor Off | No local monitor playback is requested; the source can still go to stream output. | You want viewers to hear the source, but do not need to hear it locally. |
| Monitor Only (mute output) | Plays the source through the monitor device and mutes it from output. | You need local listening only—not when the playlist audio must also reach YouTube. |
| Monitoring Enabled | Plays the source through the monitor device and leaves it in output. | You want to hear the playlist locally while it remains in the stream mix. |
These labels come from OBS’s English locale and may vary by version. Check the wording shown in your installed copy rather than assuming every version uses the same label.
Prevent echo and duplicate audio
Check whether the device selected for monitoring is also being captured by OBS as desktop or application audio. If OBS captures the monitored signal again, the same sound can reach the mix twice, producing echo or a hollow quality.
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- If you hear doubling, check both the source’s monitoring mode and the desktop or application audio sources in the mixer.
- Consider monitoring through a separate playback device that OBS does not capture, or use a carefully configured virtual audio route.
- Make one routing change at a time, then record and listen back to confirm the stream mix is clean.
A separate device or virtual route can help when your usual output is also captured, but it adds routing setup. Do not add virtual audio software unless the simpler device configuration does not meet your needs.
Check channel balance and level
OBS displays separate left and right meters for stereo sources, and viewers hear the audio according to its assigned channels. OBS defaults to stereo, though the channel configuration can be changed in application settings. If playback sounds unbalanced or a channel seems absent, inspect the source’s meter activity and channel assignment as well as the monitoring device.
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Keep an eye on the meter while the playlist plays. OBS identifies the red zone as near clipping, so lower the source or mix level if the meter reaches it, then record and listen back to verify the result.
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Local monitoring can help you hear a video’s audio and notice when it is nearing its end. It does not make a playlist loop, automatically switch sources, or guarantee that a YouTube stream remains live. Treat playlist playback, transitions, and stream continuity as separate setup problems; a monitoring-mode change alone does not solve them.
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YouTube’s HLS ingestion guidance concerns HLS delivery, not OBS local monitoring or playlist looping. Its technical values—including segment duration, audio bitrates, and sample rates—apply to HLS ingestion and should not be taken as general settings for an OBS RTMP playlist stream.
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If the goal is a YouTube channel playing uploaded videos continuously, StreamNeo is a cloud alternative to leaving a computer running OBS at home. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. StreamNeo loops the uploaded videos; it does not stream from a camera.
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- Nothing has to stay on at home: the stream runs from the cloud.
- Videos stream as uploaded, up to 4K 60fps, at one flat price per slot, with no re-encode or quality tiers.
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