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In OBS, add a Text Source, enable Read from file, and point it to a plain-text file containing the episode title. The text appears in the video image; when playback changes, the file must also change—manually or through a separate, tested integration. OBS documents playlist playback and text-file display as separate features, not an automatic connection between them.
What viewers see: an overlay, not the YouTube title
An episode title over the picture is an OBS scene element. Put the Text Source above the video source in the scene’s source list, then position and style it in the preview. Sources higher in the list render above sources below them, as explained in the OBS Sources Guide.
The YouTube live broadcast title is different: it is page-level metadata for the broadcast video, not text composited over the stream. You can set it to describe the continuous program, while the on-screen overlay identifies the episode currently playing. See Google’s LiveBroadcasts API reference and Life of a Broadcast.
Set up the episode-title overlay in OBS
- Create a title file. Make a UTF-8 plain-text file, for example
current-episode.txt, and put the display title on its own line. Use the title you want viewers to read rather than assuming the media filename is clean or complete. - Add a Text Source. In the scene used for the live program, add a Text Source. In its properties, enable Read from file and select the text file. OBS’s Text Sources documentation describes this file-reading option.
- Make it legible. Choose a font and size that remain readable at the stream’s output resolution. Use a contrasting color and, where needed, an outline or backing panel. Keep the title clear of important video details and allow for long episode names.
- Put it in front of the video. In the Sources list, place the Text Source above the video source. Drag it to the desired lower-third or title-card position in the preview; check that it stays inside the visible frame.
- Preview before going live. Confirm the title is readable over both bright and dark parts of the video. Test a long title, punctuation, and accented or non-Latin characters if your episode names use them.
Play episodes and keep the displayed title in sync
Use a local video playlist
OBS’s VLC Video Source can play a playlist and has a Loop Playlist option. VLC must be installed for the VLC source to be available. Add the source through OBS’s source controls, select the files in the playlist, and enable looping if you want playback to continue through the list. Leave shuffle off if episode order matters. The official OBS Media Sources guide covers Media Source and VLC playlist settings.
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Playlist playback and title display remain separate jobs. OBS’s documentation does not say that VLC Video Source automatically writes the active episode’s title into an OBS Text Source file.
Choose how the text file changes
| Method | What it does well | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Operator updates the file at each transition | Simple and transparent; it uses OBS’s documented file-reading Text Source. | A person or dependable operating procedure must update it whenever playback advances. |
| Automation writes playback metadata to a file | Can keep a long-running stream synchronized without manually editing every title. | It depends on the playback source, plugin or script, metadata quality, compatibility, and failure handling. The official OBS sources cited here do not establish one universally supported native bridge. |
Community discussions mention the TUNA plugin as one possible way to write media details to a file, but that is not an official compatibility guarantee. An OBS forum thread from 2016 discusses filenames and this kind of metadata handoff: VLC Video Source displays filenames at start. Treat it as a lead to verify, not proof that a current plugin version works with your particular player and source.
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If you test a plugin, script, or custom overlay, verify that it reads metadata from the same player or source feeding the stream. Test episode transitions, missing or malformed titles, long names, special characters, and what happens after a restart. Decide on fallback text—such as the program name—for a gap or metadata error. If your playlist uses podcast audio files or a web-based player rather than local video files, its metadata path may differ. OBS also supports a web page as an overlay through a Browser Source, but that does not itself supply or synchronize episode metadata.
Set the YouTube watch-page details separately
Give the broadcast a title and description that make sense to someone arriving at any point in the continuous stream. Those details describe the live watch page; the OBS overlay communicates which episode is currently on screen. Changing the broadcast’s title does not create an in-video lower-third.
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If you also publish the episodes as a YouTube podcast, YouTube represents a podcast show as a playlist of episode videos. Its setup guidance calls for full episodes, an appropriate order, and a descriptive title; that playlist is separate from the 24/7 broadcast and does not document an automatic overlay connection. See Create a podcast in YouTube Studio and Google’s Podcasting on YouTube guide.
Check the full transition before leaving the stream unattended
- Start or preview the stream and confirm the correct title is visible over the video.
- Advance to another episode and check that the video and title change together. If they do not, the playback and title-update processes are not synchronized.
- Restart OBS or the playback source and confirm your title workflow recovers with the correct episode name.
- Simulate a missing title or a playback gap and confirm your fallback is understandable rather than stale or blank.
- For manual updates, make the file change part of the episode-transition checklist. For automation, monitor the handoff and do not assume it is working just because the first title appeared.
Or let it run in the cloud
If the priority is keeping uploaded videos live on YouTube without leaving a computer running at home, StreamNeo is a cloud option. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. It loops uploaded videos; it does not stream from a camera. Its title-overlay behavior is not established here, so use OBS or another verified setup if an episode title must appear in the video image.
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- Your computer and home connection do not have to stay on.
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Quick Recap
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