24/7 cloud playout
Start your own TV channel with cloud TV playout.
Schedule uploaded videos, recorded broadcasts, and live streams into one continuous channel with Castr's cloud playout software, and deliver it to your website, social platforms, and OTT apps.
Built for broadcasters, FAST channel publishers, religious networks, and media teams that program always-on channels.
Trusted by broadcasters and channel operators
Business outcomes
The workflow should create value, not more operational risk.
01Launch a channel from content you own
Build the rundown from uploaded videos, Live-to-VOD recordings, and live streams. There is no playout server to rack and no channel in a box to configure.
02Run it like a station
Schedule programming across days, time items to the second with breaks, and adjust the rundown mid-broadcast.
03Reach every screen you program for
The channel plays in the embedded player on your website, multistreams to social platforms, and feeds your OTT apps as a standard live stream.
Capabilities that matter
Everything a 24/7 channel needs, without a master control room.
Castr is TV broadcast software that runs in the cloud: scheduling, playback, transcoding, and delivery run from one dashboard instead of a dedicated machine at a facility. Every plan includes one playout channel, and file, loop, and output limits scale by tier.
Schedule and Loop modes
Play items one after another at the times you set, or repeat a playlist until an end date. Loop mode is included on Premium plans and higher.
Live stream insertion
Add any livestream from your dashboard to the timetable, so a live show can air inside the scheduled channel.
Breaks with exact timing
Hold the channel between items with scheduled breaks, so the next program starts on the date and at the time you choose.
On-the-fly changes
Edit upcoming programming while the channel runs, then click Set Schedule to apply it live.
Per-channel output settings
Choose the channel's resolution and frame rate when you create it, up to 1080p at 60 fps on Ultra and Events. Castr converts every uploaded file to match.
Electronic program guide
Publish what's-on data for the channel: a program guide is available over the API on Premium plans and higher.
Need the complete matrix? See capability availability and plan tiers in one place.
Compare plans and capabilities →How TV playout works
From content library to a running channel, step by step.
A playout is a scheduled channel that broadcasts into a Castr livestream you pick as its destination. You create the channel with a fixed output configuration, fill its timetable from files and live streams, and press Set Schedule to start broadcasting. The whole workflow runs in the dashboard, with nothing to install and no machine that has to stay on.
Set up the channel
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Create the livestream destination
The playout broadcasts into a livestream from your dashboard, so create one first. The channel inherits that stream's embedded player and destinations.
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Create the playout
Name it, choose Schedule or Loop, and set the frame rate and resolution. Uploaded files are transcoded to this configuration, and it cannot be changed after creation.
1080p output and 25 to 60 fps are on Ultra and Events. Other plans output 720p at 30 fps.
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Load the Files tab
Upload videos into folders. Live-to-VOD recordings from your content library appear here automatically, so yesterday's broadcast can join tomorrow's schedule.
Files per playout range from 5 on Starter to 50 on Events.
Program the timetable
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Add items in sequence
Content plays consecutively and the timetable allows no gaps, so the schedule is always explicit about what airs next.
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Time programs with breaks
To start an item at 8 pm on Saturday, end a break one second before. Breaks are the timing tool for multi-day schedules and run a minimum of two minutes.
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Loop until an end date
Loop mode repeats the playlist until the date you set, which keeps a channel running with no daily upkeep.
Premium loops up to 15 days ahead, Ultra and Events up to 30. Longer runs go through the sales team.
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Activate with Set Schedule
The channel needs a start date, a destination, and at least one item in the timetable. Set Schedule starts the broadcast and re-applies any later edits.
Operate and deliver
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Edit while broadcasting
Swap, move, or add any upcoming item without stopping the channel. Only the item currently on air is off limits, so disable the playout first if that one must change.
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Deliver through the livestream
The channel plays in your embedded player over multi-CDN delivery, multistreams to platforms like YouTube and Facebook, and reaches TikTok or Instagram through custom RTMP.
Multistream destinations are account-wide totals, from 6 on Starter to 30 on Ultra and Events, with higher counts available on request.
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Publish a program guide
Once the channel is scheduled and connected, pull its EPG as JSON from the API to drive schedule pages on your site and guides in your apps.
EPG is available on Premium and higher.
On the trial, Starter, and Standard plans the channel output carries a Castr watermark, which Premium and higher remove. A playout ends when its last item plays or the loop reaches its end date, so extend the timetable before it runs out.
Compare playout limits by planCloud playout vs a playout server
What moves to the cloud when the playout server goes away.
Teams comparing TV broadcasting software are usually weighing traditional broadcast playout on a dedicated machine against running the channel as a service. The difference is not one feature but where the operational burden sits.
The traditional playout stack
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A playout server on site
Traditional broadcast TV software runs on dedicated hardware that has to be bought, racked, powered, and replaced on a refresh cycle.
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An operator near the rack
When the schedule changes at 11 pm, someone needs access to the machine that holds it.
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A separate encoder chain
The playout output still needs encoding and a path to a CDN before any viewer sees the channel.
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Channel in a box appliances
Integrated devices bundle those pieces into one chassis, but the box still sits in a facility and one unit still caps the channel.
The same jobs in Castr
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Scheduling in the dashboard
The timetable, files, and destination are all in the browser, so the schedule can change from anywhere with a login.
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Playout automation included
After Set Schedule, playback and loop restarts run on their own, with breaks holding the gaps you planned.
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Transcoding built in
Files are converted to the channel's output configuration on upload, so mixed source files play out as one consistent stream.
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Delivery already attached
The destination livestream carries the channel through the embedded player, social platforms, and OTT feeds, with no extra encoder in between.
Castr does not publish latency figures for playout channels. If your distribution has a strict delay requirement, talk it through with the video team before you migrate.
Seen enough to test it? Start a 7-day trial with no credit card, or talk through your exact setup first.
Customer workflows
See how video teams put the platform to work.
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Read the storyOperator fit
Built for channels that run on a calendar, not a control room.
The strongest fit is a team with a content library and a programming plan that wants an always-on channel without staffing master control. Each subscription includes one playout, so operators planning several simultaneous channels should talk to the video team about the right setup first.
Review your workflow with CastrStrong qualification signals
- Linear digital and FAST channels
- Mixed file and live programming
- Religious and community networks
- Web, social, and OTT distribution
Switching to Castr
Move your channel to cloud playout without going dark.
You do not have to cut over blind. Run Castr in parallel with your current provider while you test, and let our video team confirm the fit before anything switches.
Run in parallel
Build a test playout against a fresh livestream and let it run for a few days while your current playout system keeps broadcasting. Your audience sees nothing until you point real destinations at it.
Map the workflow
Our video team reviews your programming calendar, file sizes and durations, output resolution, and destinations, then confirms which plan covers your file counts, loop length, and delivery.
Cut over with support
Switch your embeds and destinations to the new channel once the test rundown holds up, with 24/7 human support on hand during your first days on air.
Build the complete workflow
Connect this capability to the rest of your operation.
Broadcasters
Extend station programming to digital audiences.
Explore
Live streaming
The livestream the channel broadcasts into.
Explore
OTT apps
Put the channel on mobile and TV screens.
Explore
Monetization
Add advertising, paywalls, or subscriptions.
Explore
Church streaming
Run an always-on ministry channel.
Explore
Pre-recorded live
Premiere single files as scheduled live broadcasts.
Explore
Questions before you choose
Evaluate the workflow with confidence.
Feature and plan availability changes by tier. Use the full matrix for comparison, or let our team validate a complex setup.
What is TV playout?
TV playout is the step where scheduled programming actually goes on air: a system plays each item in the rundown at its set time and outputs one continuous channel. Broadcasters traditionally ran it from master control on dedicated hardware. Castr runs the same process in the cloud, playing your files and live streams out through a livestream you can deliver anywhere.
How is cloud playout different from a traditional playout system?
A traditional playout system is hardware at a facility, so capacity, maintenance, and the operator all sit where the rack sits. Cloud TV playout software moves scheduling, playback, and delivery into a service you reach from a browser, so you trade capital equipment for a subscription and manage the channel from anywhere.
How do I start my own TV channel with Castr?
Create a livestream to act as the channel output, then create a playout with the resolution and frame rate you want. Upload files or pick Live-to-VOD recordings, build the timetable, set the destination, and click Set Schedule. Castr handles playback from there, so you can create TV channel streaming without an encoder or a studio.
Do I need OBS or a computer running 24/7?
No. The playout runs on Castr's servers, so there is no encoder to configure and no machine at your end that has to stay on. Build the timetable in the dashboard, click Set Schedule, and close the laptop. The channel keeps broadcasting.
Can a schedule include both live and recorded content?
Yes. The timetable takes uploaded video files, Live-to-VOD recordings from your content library, and livestreams from your dashboard, so a file-based channel can carry a live show and then return to the schedule.
How is TV playout different from streaming a pre-recorded video?
Pre-recorded live premieres one file as a single scheduled broadcast, and looping it simply repeats that file. TV playout programs a whole channel: many files and live streams in sequence, timed breaks, multi-day schedules, and a program guide. Use pre-recorded live for a one-off premiere and playout for a channel.
What are the file limits for a playout?
They scale by plan. Starter takes 5 files up to 500 MB and 30 minutes each, Standard 10 files up to 1 GB and 60 minutes, Premium 30 files up to 2 GB and 60 minutes, and Ultra and Events take 30 and 50 files up to 10 GB and 240 minutes. Every file is converted to the output settings you chose when creating the playout.
Can we change the schedule while the channel is running?
Yes. Edit, reorder, or add upcoming items and click Set Schedule again to apply the changes. The one rule is to leave the item currently on air alone. If that item has to change, disable the playout, make the change, and re-enable it.
Where can the channel be delivered?
The playout broadcasts into a Castr livestream, so it goes wherever that stream goes: the embedded player on your website, social platforms like YouTube and Facebook, custom RTMP or SRT destinations, and your OTT apps. TikTok and Instagram work through custom RTMP. Multistream destinations are account-wide totals, from 6 on Starter to 30 on Ultra and Events, with higher counts available on request.
Can I run an internet TV station with Castr?
Yes. Castr covers what internet TV station broadcasting software has to do: schedule the programming, play it out continuously, embed the channel on your own site, and distribute it to social platforms and apps.
Can the channel be monetized?
Yes, on the delivery side. In-stream advertising from your own VAST tag is available on Standard plans and higher, the paywall can sell access to the stream the channel plays on, and the Events plan adds subscriptions through a branded OTT service.
Which plans include TV playout?
Every plan includes one playout per subscription, with Schedule mode on all tiers. Premium and higher add Loop mode and the program guide and remove the Castr watermark from the channel output. Ultra and Events unlock 1080p output and frame rates from 25 to 60 fps.
Can I try TV playout before subscribing?
Yes. The 7-day trial requires no credit card and includes TV playout, so you can build a real timetable and watch the channel run. The trial output carries a Castr watermark, as do Starter and Standard. Premium and higher remove it.
Can Castr help us validate our current workflow?
Yes. Castr’s video team will walk through your current setup, from sources and destinations to audience scale, security, and monetization, and confirm the fit before you migrate.
Move from evaluation to a running channel
Map Castr to the workflow your team runs today.
Discuss your channel with a video expert: the content library and file sizes, the schedule and loop length you plan to run, the output resolution, and every place the channel needs to play.