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First find where the sound disappears: watch OBS’s audio meter at the video transition, make a local recording of that transition, then compare the recording with what you hear in your headphones and on YouTube. The meter, recording, and public stream help distinguish a file or playlist problem from monitoring trouble or a stream connection issue. Fix the layer where the gap occurs, then record and check the transition again before relying on it for a 24/7 broadcast.
Locate where the audio gap starts
Reproduce a transition between the affected videos while watching the OBS audio mixer’s input-level indicator. Record locally through the transition, then listen to that recording and compare it with headphone monitoring and the public YouTube stream. OBS documents what its meters indicate; comparing these three outputs is a practical way to narrow down the fault, not a guarantee that any particular layer is responsible. See the OBS Audio Mixer Technical Details.
- The meter drops at the boundary: OBS may not be receiving audio from the ending or next file. Check both files, playlist order, and selected audio tracks.
- The meter stays active but headphones go silent: monitoring may be the problem. Check the local recording or stream output before assuming viewers hear silence.
- The local recording is continuous but YouTube is not: investigate the stream connection and YouTube stream health. A network issue is one possibility, but an online-stream-only gap does not by itself prove that the network caused it.
Check the OBS playback source and files
For a playlist of videos
OBS’s VLC Video source supports playlists. Open the source’s properties and review the playlist, Loop Playlist, Shuffle Playlist, and Audio Track controls. Enable Loop Playlist if the sequence should repeat; check that the chosen audio track exists in every playlist item. If only some transitions fail, inspect those files individually in OBS, including their audio tracks and formats. The OBS Media Sources guide describes these controls.
The guide also lists Network caching, but does not establish that changing its value fixes audio gaps between local files. Avoid treating a cache adjustment as a proven remedy for this symptom.
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For one file that should replay
OBS Media Source can play supported audio and video files and has a Loop setting. Check that setting if a single file should repeat. Its Show nothing when playback ends option affects what is shown after playback ends; it does not establish why audio is missing at a transition between distinct files. Media Source looping and VLC playlist looping are separate controls, and neither is documented as guaranteeing seamless audio between files.
If the transition itself remains audible
One production workaround is to join the material into a single continuous file with the intended transitions already edited in, then test that file through the same OBS setup. This is a practical suggestion, not a fix guaranteed by OBS documentation. Make a local recording and listen through the boundary before using the result in a live broadcast.
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Separate monitoring symptoms from stream faults
A headphone monitoring gap is not necessarily a gap in the recording or broadcast. A historical OBS issue opened in 2020 describes clipped audio during monitoring with OBS 26.0.2; the reporter said streaming and recording were unaffected. Use that report as a reason to compare outputs, not as evidence of a current, general OBS bug: OBS issue #3712.
Another report, opened in 2020, described unexpected behavior when a VLC playlist alternated video and audio files, including monitoring and synchronization symptoms. It concerned OBS 25.0.8 / 26.0.0-rc1 and was closed as not planned. It supports checking mixed media types in a playlist, but does not establish that current OBS releases share the reported behavior: OBS issue #3410.
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Check the stream connection if only YouTube has the gap
If the local recording contains continuous audio but the public stream does not, check OBS for dropped-frame or intermittent-connection symptoms and review YouTube’s stream health. OBS says dropped frames or intermittent disconnections can result from the connection to the ingest server or an inability to sustain the bitrate. That guidance is relevant to connection symptoms; it does not show that every audio gap is a network fault. Follow the OBS Stream Connection Troubleshooting steps that match what OBS reports.
Verify the repair before leaving the stream unattended
- Reproduce the transition that previously failed, including the same source and playlist order.
- Watch the OBS audio meter through the end of one item and the start of the next.
- Record locally through the transition and listen back, rather than relying only on headphone monitoring.
- If the local recording is clean but YouTube is not, check the connection and stream-health indicators instead of changing file settings without evidence.
- Repeat the recording check after any change. The OBS documentation does not give a measured prevalence for these gaps or promise gapless transitions.
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