Run your playout
with confidence.

Interface overview

• Top bar: preview, transport controls, on-air and next item, estimated playlist end.
• Below the playlist: video server status and server clock.
• Channel bar: only appears with more than one channel.
• Scope button next to the preview; Emergency List button in the playlist header.
• User menu (top right): change password, language, sign out.
• An update notice appears next to the video server status when available.

Install and configure: the correct order

The supplied configuration works without manual setup. CasparCG can be configured later under Settings → CasparCG; save casparcg.config and restart CasparCG to apply. Read the CasparCG Server Wiki before changing SDI, screen or other outputs.

Use this order for custom ports, multiple instances or a different CasparCG installation:

1. Install PlyCast and CasparCG. Locate config.json and casparcg.config (normally assets/casparcg/casparcg.config; alternative path via casparcg.config_path).
2. Configure CasparCG first: channel, video mode, output consumers, media path and AMCP listener. Make sure the AMCP TCP port is free and the media path points to the collection PlyCast indexes. Restart CasparCG after edits made while it runs.
3. Configure PlyCast in config.json: set casparcg.host and casparcg.port; choose free ports for server.port, sftp.port and live.port; set media.directory and casparcg.layer. Playlist 1 maps to CasparCG channel 1.
4. Check for port collisions. Several instances on one host each need their own web, SFTP and live ports.
5. Start PlyCast. The launcher can start a local CasparCG when casparcg.autostart is true. Verify the video server indicator and Settings → Info → Ports.

Values from the supplied config.json, not reserved defaults. For remote access, open the web port and SFTP (if used) in the firewall – live preview and output monitoring stay local. The actual addresses are shown under Settings → Info.

Tray icon and startup

On Windows the launcher shows a tray icon – double-click it to open the web interface.

• On first start, PlyCast adds itself to Windows startup; Start with Windows… opens that list.
• The launcher restarts the server after a crash, but pauses after repeated crashes.
• A second launch simply opens the existing interface.
• Without tray support the launcher runs in a console window – stop it with Ctrl+C.
• Closing a browser tab is not the same as Quit.

First run

1. Start PlyCast locally and double-click the tray icon to open the interface.
2. Allow access in the Windows Firewall prompt on the trusted network (usually Private). If other computers cannot connect, check the firewall rules for the ports under Settings → Info → Ports.
3. On a fresh install, sign in as admin / admin and set a new password (at least six characters) immediately. Existing accounts keep their passwords.
4. As administrator, open Settings: confirm media folder, CasparCG host, port, channel and video layer. Check the video server status.
5. Put media into the media folder, select Re-index media in the left panel, then browse or search.
6. Drag clips into the playlist in transmission order.
7. Check the next item and the playlist end estimate, then press Play.

Up to four channels

Playlist 1 plays on CasparCG channel 1, playlist 2 on channel 2, and so on. The number of channels follows the <channel> entries in casparcg.config; with one channel the channel bar stays hidden.

• Switching: click a channel tab. Tabs show name and state (On air, Playing, Stopped). Open a channel directly with ?ch=2 in the address.
• Names: set per channel under Settings → PlyCast or in the CasparCG form. Empty means just “PlyCast”.
• Video standard: each channel uses the video mode of its CasparCG channel; media conversion follows that standard.

Media and indexing

• Browse folders with the breadcrumb or use search. Each clip shows thumbnail, waveform, duration, resolution and measured loudness.
• Thumbnails and waveforms are built in the background after each re-index (task Creating preview).
• Use the refresh button after changing files; the file-check button verifies that playlist files still exist.
• Drag clips into the playlist and use the In/Out editor to set the playable part.
• The panel shows the free disk space on the media drive.
• Dropping a folder adds all its clips – hold Ctrl while dropping for random order.
• New or changed files are converted to MXF during indexing. Let indexing finish in the Tasks panel and review the result before air.

Media info, categories and comments New

• Double-click a clip to open Media info. With several clips selected (Shift or Ctrl/⌘), edits apply to all.
• Preview: Space plays/pauses, ←/→ moves one frame (with Shift about one second). Click the waveform to jump.
• Details: duration, video and audio format, loudness, peak, applied gain, normalisation, size, modification date, path and original file (or deleted if removed automatically).
• Categories: tick the ones that apply. A mixed state means only some files have it – clicking applies it to all. Administrators create, rename and delete categories; all users can assign them.
• Comment: free note shown in the clip tooltip. With several files and differing comments, leave it empty to keep them unchanged.
• Save with the button or Ctrl+Enter. Categories and comments survive re-indexing and are separate from the playlist categories used for AutoMatch.

Media conversion (MXF)

During indexing, media is converted to MXF in the channel's video standard. Video that already matches is copied 1:1, everything else is converted. The original is kept as .bak – e.g. Film.mp4 becomes Film.mxf plus Film.mp4.bak. CasparCG ignores .bak files; older …mp4original backups are renamed automatically.

• Changing loudness, levels, colour space or video standard reconverts all media at the next re-index.
• transcode.max_parallel limits simultaneous conversions; transcode.reserve_gb sets the disk space that must stay free.

In/Out editor

Double-click a clip in the playlist (or an indexed clip in a template) to open preview and In/Out editor. Changes apply only to that entry – the media file itself is never trimmed. H.264 MP4 and MOV play directly in the browser; MXF, ProRes, DNxHD and others use a 540p preview proxy, created at low priority on first open. A waveform runs under the timeline.

1. Play the preview or drag along the timeline to find a frame.
2. Press IN (I) on the first frame and OUT (O) on the end point – the OUT frame itself is not played. Both timecodes can also be typed directly.
3. ▶ IN–OUT previews only the range and shows its length. Reset clears both marks, Apply keeps them.
4. Optional: open Scope to measure the current frame (black/white levels, content outside 16–235).
5. Back in the playlist, check the IN/OUT badge, the effective duration and the updated start times.

Build a playlist

1. Drag media into the playlist at the required position; reorder by dragging.
2. Click to select, use multi-selection for several items, then move or remove the selection.
3. Check start times, durations and filenames. The header offers Go to ON AIR and Clean Playlist (removes items already played).
4. The top bar shows the on-air countdown, the next item and the estimated playlist end.

Groups

Groups bundle playlist or template entries into a named, collapsible block that moves as one unit.

• Groups only change the view – playout treats every entry as ungrouped, also in collapsed groups.
• The collapsed state is remembered per browser. Groups are saved with templates; Settings → PlyCast → Insert templates as collapsed group inserts each template as one collapsed group.

Selection, shortcuts and drag-and-drop

Shortcuts work when the playlist has focus and you are not typing in a field or dialog.

Played items and the locked on-air portion cannot be changed.

Apply a Logo or CG

• One clip: drag a Logo or CG from the right panel onto the clip.
• Several clips: select them, then double-click the Logo or CG.
• Selected group: drag onto one of the selected clips. Dropping onto an unselected clip applies it to that clip only.
• Remove: click the badge on the playlist item.

On-air controls

Preview and live stream: the preview shows still images or a live stream with mute control and audio meter. Administrators set the stream quality under Settings → PlyCast; a running stream restarts with the new quality. The stream only runs while someone is watching and playout is running. The video server indicator is independent of the browser preview.

Scope

Waveform and luma histogram of the current preview image. Open it with the scope button beside the preview, click to enlarge. It works in image mode only (live mode shows “Image mode only”). In the In/Out editor, Scope measures the current frame directly from the file. The readings show black and white levels and the share of the picture outside 16–235.

Output monitoring

PlyCast checks the programme output of every channel. While a clip is on air it raises an alarm if the picture is frozen or black for 10 s or audio stays below −60 dBFS for 10 s. Only the picture centre is checked, so corner logos and lower thirds don't hide a freeze. Stop, Wait, Pause and the gap before a Fixstart are not checked. The browser does not need to be open.

• As-Run log: “Freeze/black on air”, “No audio on air” and when each ends.
• Alarms endpoint of the Now playing API.
• Email, if enabled under Settings → Alerts → Freeze / black / no audio on air.

Functions

Drag a function from the right panel into the playlist and edit its settings. Double-clicking a function inserts it before the selection or at the end.

Example: repeating playlist

1. Drag a Comment to the top of the block and name it, e.g. Loop start. It must not be empty – it's a jump marker and is not played.
2. Place one or more clips below it. At least one item between Comment and Goto must have a positive duration.
3. Drag a Goto below the last clip, double-click it and choose Loop start as target.
4. Check the order Comment → clips → Goto, start playout and watch the first jump back.

SCTE-104

Sends ad-insertion or segmentation cues at a scheduled time. Choose the output in the function – new entries take over the output and address used last.

1. DeckLink only – prepare CasparCG: in the CasparCG form enable VANC for the DeckLink consumer, set pixel format to 10-bit YUV and set scte104-line (0 = off). Restart CasparCG.
2. Insert start and end item: Break Start before the segment, Break End after it. The duration is calculated automatically; the end takes the event ID of the start.
3. Choose the signal: splice_request (program ID, avail num, avails expected) or time_signal + segmentation descriptor (segmentation type, UPID type, UPID; under Advanced segment numbers and delivery restrictions).
4. Check timing and output: pre-roll (default 6000 ms), output delay CasparCG → SDI (default 120 ms, subtracted from the pre-roll), DeckLink device or inserter IP.

• Duration: empty = automatic until the matching end · 00:00:00 = open.
• Event ID: 0 = automatic.
• Verify: sent messages appear in the As-Run log with the reply – 202 from CasparCG, 100 from an IP inserter. Check the encoder's SCTE-104 counters or splice event list and the SCTE-35 PID in the transport stream.

tsp -I srt --caller host:port -P tables --pid 500 -O drop

HTTP API

• Calls a URL with GET or POST at the item's start time (http:// or https://).
• For POST enter a JSON body – sent as application/json.
• Called only while playout runs, at most 2 s late, timeout after 5 s.
• No duration, no effect on timing. The result (HTTP status or error) appears in the As-Run log.

Never black, never frozen

Each channel has its own emergency list. It loops when the playlist ends or a clip cannot play (e.g. a missing file) and stops as soon as the next playlist item starts.

1. Click Emergency List in the playlist header.
2. Drag media from the left into the list – up to 500 clips. The list saves automatically and shows clip count and total duration.
3. Back to playlist returns, Clear removes all clips.

• On air, the interface shows which clip is playing. Start and end are logged as “Emergency list” and “Emergency list ended”.
• A Goto loop never reaches the playlist end – the emergency list is not triggered while the loop runs.

Templates

1. Select playlist entries and click + next to Templates to save them as a reusable block.
2. In the template editor drag media in from the left, functions or plugins from the right, reorder by dragging, double-click a function to edit, × to remove.
3. Save with a descriptive name. Groups are kept.

Ad break template

1. Add an SCTE-104 Break Start with empty duration (automatic), the spots and a Break End.
2. Save as template.
3. On each insertion PlyCast calculates the duration from start to end and generates a new event ID.

Plugins are not executed in the template editor – they run when inserted into the playlist. Test custom automation off air.

Plugins: insert a station ident

Plugins are Python scripts in the plugins folder – create StationIdent.py there or use Plugin editor → + New as administrator. Replace the example path with a real, indexed path relative to the media collection.

# StationIdent.py
def InitLoad():
    # inserted below the plugin entry
    return ["Idents/StationIdent.mxf"]

def Cue():
    import os; print("cue", os.environ.get("PLYCAST_ITEM_ID"))

def OnAir():
    import os; print("on air", os.environ.get("PLYCAST_STARTTIME_MS"))

1. In the editor run Test → InitLoad to check the return value without inserting anything.
2. Drag StationIdent into a test playlist – the returned clip should appear below it. If not, correct the path or re-index.
3. Run a controlled test to observe Cue() and OnAir().

• Each hook runs in its own process with a 60 s timeout.
• Environment: PLYCAST_ACTION, PLYCAST_PLUGIN, PLYCAST_ITEM_ID, PLYCAST_STARTTIME_MS.
• Names may contain letters, digits, underscores and hyphens. Files starting with _ are helper modules and don't appear in the list.

Random clips from a folder

1. In the Plugin editor use 📁 Folders and click your media folder – the full path is inserted as a quoted Python string at the cursor.
2. Paste it after MEDIA_FOLDER =.
3. The example lists files with .mp4, .mov and .mxf (adjust the filter) and returns one random file on insertion.
4. Run Test → InitLoad and confirm the returned file is indexed before using it on air.

PlyCast maps absolute paths inside the media directory back to their index entries – the folder must contain indexed clips.

Logos, CGs and categories

Administrators create categories, Logos and CGs in the right panel.

• AutoMatch: categories can have a colour and filename rules, applied when media is added to a playlist. Separate terms with commas; exclusion terms suppress a match; * matches everything and works as wildcard inside a pattern.
• Playlist categories for AutoMatch are separate from media categories.

Choose a graphic source

Set CG timing

• Logo: stays visible on the clips it is assigned to.
• CG: timing is relative to each assigned clip – In after (time after clip start), Duration (how long it stays), optional In at remaining time (second appearance at this countdown value; leave empty for a single appearance).
• Times as HH:mm:ss. Check the result in the timeline preview – a CG is always cleared at clip end.

Review source, layer, assignment and timing in a test playlist before transmission.

Settings

• PlyCast: channel names, CasparCG connection, video layer, preview interval, media folder and conversion settings.
• Alerts (email): video server disconnection, playlist end, rejected playback commands, missing files and frozen, black or silent output. After a crash the launcher emails the last console lines. Set SMTP and recipients, save, send a test email.
• Info: version, installation-specific web and SFTP ports, API links.
• CasparCG connection changes apply within about a second; server configuration or video mode changes may need a restart – plan them off air.

As-Run log and tasks

Open the As-Run log from the top controls and pick a date. It updates live; each row records time, channel, event, item, duration, user and details.

• Filters: event type (played, cued, plugin, operator, system, errors), free-text search, channel (incl. “System”), quick filters for errors/warnings and fallback/emergency events.
• CSV export from the log view. Administrators can clear the log – daily CSV files are kept.
• The Tasks panel (left) lists background work like indexing – wait for it before checking media availability.

Export to MariaDB

1. Under Settings → As-Run MariaDB enter host, port, user, password and database name.
2. Click Connect & create database – creates the database and table plycast_asrun (needs CREATE privileges).
3. Enable Export completed clips to MariaDB and save. Existing CSV entries are transferred.

The local CSV files remain the master copy. Export runs in the background about every 15 s and resumes after database errors without duplicates.

CasparCG form editor

Edits casparcg.config as form or XML: add or remove channels and consumers, set video modes and names, DeckLink options such as VANC and scte104-line. Empty fields use the CasparCG default; <paths> can only be edited in XML view. Saving writes a .bak backup – use Restart CasparCG to apply (output is interrupted for a few seconds).

After each start CasparCG gets two minutes to load. If it keeps hanging, the wait doubles up to 30 minutes. Every restart is logged in the As-Run log.

Cache tab

Media files are never touched. Files open at that moment are skipped and reported. The cache lives in the installation's cache folder.

Restart tab

Language

English, Deutsch, Français, Italiano, Español, Português, Українська, Русский. Choose in the user menu (stored in the browser); default is the browser language, otherwise English. Server messages, tasks and alerts follow the same language – alert emails use the language key in config.json.

Updates and version

1. PlyCast checks for a newer version about every 12 hours – a notice appears next to the video server status. Click it to download the setup.
2. Run the setup. PlyCast closes and restarts automatically – CasparCG playout continues.
3. If “Start with Windows” is ticked, PlyCast is added to the startup list once. Settings, playlists, users and media are not affected.

Installed version: Settings → Info. “Update incomplete” means program and web interface versions don't match – run the setup again and restart PlyCast.

Accounts and roles

Administrators manage accounts under Settings → Users: username, initial password (min. six characters), role, then Add. New accounts must change the initial password at first sign-in.

Passwords

• Reset another user: Password in the user's row, enter a temporary password and share it securely. Current sessions become invalid; the user must change it at next sign-in.
• Change your own: user menu → Change password. Previous sessions are invalidated.
• “Password pending” means the user still has to set a personal password.

SFTP upload

• Tick SFTP upload in a User's row – same credentials. Users can upload and manage folders but not delete files. Administrators always have SFTP access and are the only ones to see /_Overlays and /_CG.
• Auto re-index: about 10 s after the last video upload finishes – several uploads trigger one re-index. /_Overlays and /_CG need none.
• Brute-force protection: after 5 failed logins the IP is blocked for 10 minutes.
• On-air protection: a file on air, cued or scheduled within 15 minutes cannot be overwritten, renamed or deleted – the client shows “file is on air or cued, try again later”.
• SFTP login is unavailable while a password change is pending.

Connect with FileZilla

Accept the host key only after verifying the machine. If login fails, check the SFTP permission, a pending password change and whether the port is reachable.

API permission

• Tick API in an account's row to allow /api/nowplaying and /api/alarms with HTTP Basic Auth – applies to all roles, including administrators. Unticking removes access immediately.
• Blocked while a password change is pending; after a reset, clients must use the new password.

Endpoints

Example: http://[server IP]:8000/api/nowplaying – web port from Settings → Info → Ports. CORS * is allowed.

Response

• Top level: server_time (ISO 8601 with offset), server_time_ms (epoch ms), channels.
• Each channel: channel, name, playing, current, next. With playing: false, current and next are null.
• current / next: type (clip or function such as wait, pause), title, filename (relative to media folder; null for functions), item_id, start, end, start_ms, end_ms, duration (after IN/OUT), position, remaining – in seconds.
• next is the next real clip – Wait, Comment and Goto are skipped, loops are followed.

Example: show it on a web page

const auth = 'Basic ' + btoa('display:password');
async function load() {
  const r = await fetch('http://SERVER:8000/api/nowplaying?ch=1', { headers: { Authorization: auth } });
  const c = (await r.json()).channels[0];
  now.textContent  = c.playing ? c.current.title : 'Off air';
  next.textContent = c.next ? c.next.title : '';
}
load(); setInterval(load, 5000); // countdown: end_ms − server_time_ms

For countdowns, calculate from end_ms and server_time_ms instead of polling every second.

Alarms endpoint

ok is false as soon as an active alarm has level error. active lists current problems per channel, recent the error and warning events of today and yesterday from the As-Run log. Works independently of email alerts.

Access with username and password

HTTP Basic Auth with an account that has the API right. Missing or wrong credentials, a missing API right or a pending password change return 401 (after a one-second delay).

curl -u display:password http://[server IP]:8000/api/alarms

Checklist

1. Automatic sign-in for the Windows user – otherwise PlyCast won't start after a restart until someone signs in.
2. Windows Update: no automatic restarts during transmission – schedule a maintenance window.
3. Virus scanner: exclude the PlyCast and media folders from real-time scanning.
4. Power settings: never sleep, never turn off disks.
5. Alerts: enable and test email alerts – without an open browser they're your main notice of problems.
6. External monitoring (optional): poll the alarms endpoint, or set "monitoring": {"heartbeat_url": "https://…", "heartbeat_interval": 60} – PlyCast pings the URL every 60 s while CasparCG is connected.
7. Testing: run a new version for a day or two on the playout computer before using it on air.

Solve a problem

What's new

The most important changes per release. The installed version is shown under Settings → Info; how to update is described in Updates and version.