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Streamlabs Desktop Media Source Restarts Instead of Playing the Next Video: Fixes

A single-file source repeats one video; advancing requires a playlist-capable source. Check looping, shuffle, and restart-on-activation settings, while verifying your Streamlabs version’s controls.
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If a video starts over instead of advancing, first check whether your source is configured to play a single file or a playlist. A looping single-file source repeats that same file; advancing requires multiple videos in a playlist-capable source. The exact controls available depend on your Streamlabs Desktop version, so verify the source type and settings in your own installation.

Why the same video starts again

A single-file media source and a playlist source do different jobs. In OBS documentation, the Media Source selects a file and its Loop setting repeats that file after playback completes. It does not advance to another file. OBS describes VLC Video Source as the playlist option: “Unlike Media Source, you can create a playlist of items, similar to an Image Slideshow.” OBS Project’s Media Sources guide documents these distinctions, but it does not establish that every Streamlabs Desktop release has the same source types or controls.

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Several separate Media Sources in a scene are still separate sources; they do not automatically form a sequence. To play videos consecutively, the source itself must support a playlist and contain the intended files.

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Check and correct the source settings

  1. Open the source properties. In Streamlabs Desktop, select the source in the scene’s Sources list and open its properties. Identify whether it points to one media file or contains a playlist. Check the exact source name and controls shown by your installed version rather than assuming they match OBS.
  2. For one video that should play once, turn off looping. In OBS’s documented Media Source, Loop repeats the selected file when it finishes. Disable it if the file should stop after one play. Also inspect Restart playback when source becomes active: OBS documents that this restarts playback when the source becomes active in a visible scene. If the source is being hidden and shown or scenes are changing, that setting may explain why playback starts from the beginning instead of continuing.
  3. For multiple videos, use a playlist-capable source. Add every intended file to the playlist in the correct order. In OBS’s VLC Video Source, Loop Playlist repeats the whole playlist, while Shuffle Playlist randomizes item order. For predictable progression, turn shuffle off. These are OBS-documented labels and behavior; check whether your Streamlabs version offers equivalent options.
  4. Test visibility behavior. If playback restarts after switching scenes or hiding and showing the source, review any setting that restarts playback when the source becomes active. Test with the source left visible in one scene to separate playlist behavior from activation behavior.

Make sure you are changing the right feature

Streamlabs Cloudbot Media Share is described as a way for viewers to request videos; it is a different feature from configuring a local media source to play files in sequence. See Streamlabs’ Media Share guide for that viewer-request workflow.

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Browser Source refresh and shutdown options apply to web content loaded in a browser source, not to local video playlist progression. Streamlabs documents those settings in its Streamlabs Desktop settings guide.

If the behavior persists

  • Note the exact Streamlabs Desktop version, operating system, source type, and settings panel. The relevant playback behavior has not been verified as identical across Streamlabs releases.
  • Test with two short, known-good video files in a playlist-capable source, shuffle disabled, and playlist looping set according to whether you want the sequence to repeat.
  • If you cannot find a playlist-capable source or the controls behave differently than expected, include a screenshot of the source properties and your version when asking for help. Streamlabs lists support ticket submission and its community Discord as support routes: Streamlabs Support.

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