StreamLive Pro

Play a video file during a live stream

Play a video during a live stream from the browser studio: add an MP4, MOV or WebM as an input, take it to air, choose what happens at the end, and keep its sound.

Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read

To play a video during a live stream, add the file to the browser studio as an input (Add input, then Media file), put it on Preview and press Take. The video starts when it goes on air and pauses when you switch back to the camera. The file plays from your own computer inside the one stream the studio sends, so every network you selected gets it at the same moment, and nothing has to be uploaded first.

Before you start

• A file the studio accepts: video in MP4, MOV or WebM. Other files are refused with a message that lists the formats.
• The file stays on your computer. The studio plays it from your disk while you are live. Keep the file where it is and keep the studio tab open.
• Any plan, including the trial. Playing a clip inside a live is part of the browser studio. Broadcasting a whole recorded video as a live, with no studio open, is a different feature on trial, Pro and Studio: Broadcast a pre-recorded video as a live stream.
• Rights to the music and pictures. Networks act on content you do not own. YouTube explains its system here: support.google.com

Steps

1. Open the studio. Choose Live stream, start a new live and pick Browser Studio.
2. Add the video. In the bar under the picture open Add input and press Media file (video, picture or sound from this computer). You can also drag the file onto the Drop or click tile in the inputs strip.
3. Check the tile. The video gets a tile with its own player: play and pause, back to start, a time bar you can drag, and the time played and left. A Loop button and a Sound button sit on the tile too.
4. Choose what happens on air. Open the gear on the tile. On the General tab, under Playback, set When it goes on air (Continue where it stopped, Start from the top, or Do not start by itself), When it leaves the air (Pause or Keep playing) and At the end (Stop, Loop, or Take the next input).
5. Stage it. Click the tile. The video waits on Preview while viewers still see the camera.
6. Take it to air. Press Take (Space) for a fade or Cut (Enter) for an instant switch. The video starts playing on Program.
7. Come back to the camera. Click the camera tile and press Take. The video pauses, or keeps playing, as you set in step 4.

Sound

• The video is heard only while it is on air. That is the studio's sound-follows-picture rule. Your own microphone stays on. Details: Preview, Program, Take and Cut explained.
• Check Sound on the tile. If the Sound button on the tile is off, viewers see the video in silence.
• Speaking over music. The Audio quality panel (Audio in the bar) can lower media and music while you speak (Duck media/music under speech): Sound in the browser studio: levels, mute and noise filter.

Other ways to show a video

What can go wrong

• Cannot add the file. The studio takes MP4, MOV and WebM for video. Convert other formats first.
• The video played once and now shows the last frame. Loop is off and At the end is Stop. Taking it to air again starts it from the top; or switch Loop on.
• Viewers do not hear the video. The Sound button on the tile is off, or the video is not on Program. Only what is on air is heard.
• The video stutters on air. A very large file (4K, high bitrate) can be heavy for the browser. Watch the CPU and fps readings at the end of the studio bar, and export a 1080p copy if they turn red.
• After reloading the page the video is gone. The studio remembers your setup in this browser, but files must be picked again. Their settings come back by name.

Frequently asked questions

Can I play a video during a live without OBS?

Yes. Add the file in the browser studio, take it to air, and it goes to every network in the same stream as your camera.

Which video formats can I play?

MP4, MOV and WebM. The studio refuses other files and tells you which formats it takes.

Does the video restart every time I take it to air?

You choose. Under Playback, When it goes on air can continue where it stopped, start from the top, or wait for you to press play.

Can the studio go to the next video by itself?

Yes. Set At the end to Take the next input, or put the clips in a playlist that moves to the next item on its own.

Does playing a video use more upload?

No. The video is mixed into the one stream your computer sends, and our servers send it on to every network.

Keep reading