Add the countdown in your OBS production: create a separate interstitial scene with a timer, show it between videos, then switch to the next video when the timer ends. YouTube Live Control Room manages the broadcast, but its documented live settings do not provide a feature for inserting a custom countdown between playlist videos.
Build the countdown in OBS
- Create an interstitial scene. In OBS, add a new scene—for example, “Next match in…”—and choose a background that suits the gaming rerun. Keep the video or game scene separate so the interstitial can cover the previous video completely.
- Add a timer source. Use a text source driven by a timer, a browser source that displays a countdown, or a pre-rendered countdown clip. A plain, static text source does not count down on its own; it needs a live timer source or suitable plugin if you want the displayed time to update.
- Set up the scene sequence. The intended order is video ends → countdown scene appears → next video begins. With a manually operated rerun, switch scenes yourself. If you want automatic switching, choose an automation method suited to how your playlist is built and test it; the available guidance does not establish a particular end-of-file automation setup.
- Rehearse the gap. Check that the timer resets for every gap, that audio is either muted or intentionally carried across, and that the next video starts at the point you expect. Rehearse privately or unlisted before using the sequence in a public broadcast.
- Start the YouTube broadcast normally. Use YouTube Live Control Room and your encoder workflow to set up and manage the live stream. YouTube’s live settings include stream setup options, including the Gaming stream type, but do not describe an inter-video countdown feature. See YouTube’s live stream settings.
Choose how the countdown appears
| Approach | Best suited to | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Live timer source in a dedicated scene | A countdown whose duration may need to change. | Requires a timer source that updates and resets correctly. |
| Pre-rendered countdown clip | A fixed-duration gap with predictable playback. | The duration is fixed unless you use a different clip or edit the media. |
| Dedicated interstitial scene | Completely covering the previous video and controlling the gap’s visuals. | You must switch to it and then back to the next video, manually or through a tested automation method. |
| Countdown overlay on the video scene | Keeping the current scene visible while a timer is shown. | The previous video remains visible behind the countdown rather than being fully replaced. |
Manual switching or automation?
Manual scene changes
Manual switching is straightforward when you are operating the rerun yourself: move to the countdown scene at the end of a video, then move to the next video scene when the timer finishes. It gives you control over the exact transition, but requires someone to operate OBS at each gap.
Automated switching
For a hands-off sequence, the automation must match the way your playlist and video sources are arranged. Do not assume that a timer or a delay plugin will detect a media file’s end and start the next playlist item. Test the complete sequence, including timer reset, audio behavior, and the next video’s start point, before relying on it live.
What the OBS delay plugin does—and does not do
The OBS Comp Delay project documents a text-source token, %delay_countdown%, that displays remaining seconds while a delay transition scene is active. Its documented purpose is to fill a stream-delay buffer; it is not documentation of a tool that detects the end of rerun videos or schedules gaps between playlist items. You can review the project at OBS Comp Delay, but do not treat it as a drop-in playlist countdown.
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An older OBS forum discussion about scheduled media playback describes starting with an intro scene and then switching to a video scene. That is a useful basic scene-transition idea, not definitive current documentation for automating the end of each video: the OBS forum discussion.
A visible countdown is not stream latency
A countdown graphic is part of the video you produce in OBS. Stream latency and added broadcast delay affect when viewers receive that video; they do not insert a visible countdown between clips. YouTube’s HLS ingestion uses video segments and has higher latency than continuous RTMP, but that delivery difference does not create an interstitial: YouTube’s HLS setup guidance. For more on YouTube streaming with OBS, see the OBS Project forum guide.
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Troubleshoot common countdown problems
- The timer never changes: A static text source only displays fixed text. Use a timer source, a suitable plugin, a browser-based timer, or a pre-rendered countdown clip.
- The countdown does not cover the video: Put it in a separate interstitial scene and switch to that scene, rather than adding it as an overlay to the video scene.
- The timer does not reset for the next gap: Check the timer source’s reset behavior and test multiple video transitions in sequence. A visible timer alone does not establish that your playlist automation will trigger or reset it.
- The next video starts too early or too late: Rehearse the actual playlist and adjust the scene-switching or automation method to match its playback sequence.
- Audio behaves unexpectedly during the gap: Decide whether audio should stop, continue, or come from the countdown clip, then confirm that behavior in rehearsal.
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