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You can loop one YouTube playlist on a Raspberry Pi by loading it in YouTube’s embedded player with listType=playlist, its playlist ID in list, and loop=1. Switching between different playlists at set times is a separate task: the Pi needs a local scheduling layer that changes the page or playlist URL. Raspberry Pi’s kiosk example shows how to start Chromium at desktop login, but it does not configure a time-of-day playlist schedule.

Choose what “rotation” means

  • Repeat one playlist: YouTube plays its videos in sequence, then starts again at the beginning. The player parameters below are enough.
  • Switch among playlists at scheduled times: A local script or webpage must select and load the appropriate playlist. The player’s loop parameter does not schedule changes between playlists.

The steps below cover both behaviors, while distinguishing the player setup from the additional scheduling work.

Load and repeat one YouTube playlist

Build the playlist embed URL

  1. Copy the ID of the YouTube playlist you want to display. It is the value after list= in the playlist URL; playlist IDs commonly begin with PL.
  2. Replace PLAYLIST_ID in this URL with that ID:
    https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLAYLIST_ID&autoplay=1&loop=1
  3. Open the resulting URL in a browser on the Pi to check that it loads the intended playlist and repeats it.

Google for Developers documents listType=playlist and list as the playlist-player parameters. When both are supplied, a video ID is not required. With loop=1, the player repeats the entire playlist, returning to its first video after the last one; autoplay=1 requests playback when the player loads. See Google’s YouTube IFrame Player parameter reference.

Choose a direct URL or a page around the player

Approach Use it when Trade-off
Open the embed URL directly You only need the playlist player on screen. It is the simpler setup, but offers little room for your own layout.
Put the embed in an HTML page You want to control the page layout or add other page elements. You must maintain the page as well as the player URL.

If you build a page around the player, keep its viewport at least 200 by 200 pixels. Google recommends a 16:9 player at least 480 pixels wide and 270 pixels tall. These are player-size guidelines, not a promise that every video will perform well on every Pi.

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Know what autoplay does

Autoplay can begin playback when the embed loads, but YouTube says playback data collection and sharing occur on page load when autoplay is used. YouTube Help also says autoplayed embedded videos do not increment views. Consider those points before using the display publicly or unattended.

Start the playlist display when the Pi boots

Use the Raspberry Pi kiosk pattern

Raspberry Pi’s official kiosk tutorial describes a graphical-browser setup on Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit. It launches Chromium in kiosk mode from .config/labwc/autostart when the desktop starts. Adapt its browser-launch pattern to open your embed page, or test opening the embed URL directly on your own installation. The tutorial’s example also switches between browser tabs every ten seconds; that is a tab-switching demonstration, not a scheduler for changing playlist IDs.

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The tutorial’s stated baseline is a Raspberry Pi 3 or newer with at least 1 GB of RAM. Its listed setup items are a Raspberry Pi, suitable power supply, microSD card, display cable, and monitor. Treat these as the tutorial’s baseline, not a performance guarantee for a particular video, resolution, or playlist. See the Raspberry Pi kiosk tutorial.

Storage depends on the Pi model and workload. The kiosk tutorial lists a microSD card, and Raspberry Pi’s getting-started documentation says most models use microSD as boot media; some models support other storage. Check your model rather than assuming a capacity or speed class. See Raspberry Pi’s getting-started documentation.

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Switch between playlists on a schedule

What the scheduling layer must do

To change from one playlist to another at a particular time, the Pi must select the active playlist URL and cause Chromium to load it at that time. You can implement that either in a local script that reloads the browser with the chosen URL or in a browser-side page that changes the embedded player’s URL. The right choice depends on your installed Raspberry Pi OS release and graphical session.

The official kiosk example establishes desktop startup and periodic tab switching, but it does not specify a calendar-based playlist scheduler. No timer configuration is provided here as a verified, drop-in recipe. Before relying on a schedule, test your chosen script or page on the exact Pi OS and session you will run, including what happens after a reboot and when a playlist change occurs.

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Plan the schedule before implementing it

  • Write down each change time and the playlist ID that should be active.
  • Decide whether the browser should navigate to a new embed URL or whether a page should update its player.
  • Test both a scheduled change and a reboot so you can confirm the display returns to the intended playlist.
  • Check the display, playback, and playlist access on the target setup; behavior may depend on the installed OS, browser, and graphical session.
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