Castr Review
Castr is a professional live-video platform for multistreaming, hosting, monetization and TV playout. Endless prerecorded looping starts on Premium, not the $19.99 Starter plan.
What Castr does well, and where it falls short
An honest breakdown based on published features, third-party reviews, and their own disclosures.
- Broad multistreaming, hosted VOD, player, monetization, and API stack
- Documented infinite Pre-Recorded Live looping on Premium and above
- Account-wide delivery to between 6 and 30 destinations depending on plan
- TV Playout adds scheduling, live inputs, breaks, and EPG on higher tiers
- Cloud Production provides browser-based switching and external URL overlays
- Endless looping starts on Premium, at $199.99 a month
- Starter and Standard can schedule prerecorded content but cannot loop indefinitely
- Cloud prerecorded playback has no current documented 4K guarantee
- Pre-Recorded Live and TV Playout have separate storage, file, quality, and loop rules
- Cloud Production is a browser switcher, not a full Restream-style guest studio
Castr feature checklist
What Castr offers, grouped by category, as Castr describes it.
| Feature | Castr |
|---|---|
| 1Pricing & access | |
| Pay-as-you-go, no subscription | ✕ |
| Trial | Free trial available; Trial TV Playout is branded |
| Starting price | Core $19.99/mo; infinite Pre-Recorded Live loop from Premium $199.99/mo |
| 720p 30-day price | TV Playout starts at $19.99/mo but Starter cannot loop indefinitely |
| 1080p 30-day price | TV Playout 1080p starts on Ultra $349.99/mo; max 30-day loop |
| 1440p / 2K 30-day price | No 1440p option; TV Playout outputs 720p or 1080p |
| 2160p / 4K 30-day price | 4K is not listed for prerecorded playout |
| 2Streaming quality | |
| 720p / 30fps | ✓ |
| 1080p / Full HD | TV Playout 1080p on Ultra/Events; lower plans are fixed 720p30 |
| 60fps | TV Playout 50/60fps on Ultra and Events |
| Up to 4K @ 60fps | 4K is not listed for prerecorded streaming |
| Vertical / portrait streaming | ✓ |
| HDR streaming publicly documented | ✕ |
| 3Production & design | |
| Stream designer / layout builder | Cloud Production supports positioning, scaling, transitions, and slates |
| Image, video & logo overlays | Images, tickers, lower thirds, alerts, and external URL overlays |
| Embed live websites & graphs | Hosted HTML5 player and video hosting |
| Interactive alerts & widgets | External URL widgets are supported; built-in interactive show tools are limited |
| Custom fonts in overlays | ✕ |
| Browser Live Studio (camera) | Cloud Production switcher up to 1080p60; not a full multi-guest studio |
| 4Sources & inputs | |
| MP4 / MKV / AVI / MOV upload | Pre-Recorded Live documents MP4 only |
| Separate audio track (music / voiceover) | ✕ |
| Import from Google Drive / Dropbox | ✓ |
| Playlists with custom ordering | Ordered playlists with per-item enable/disable controls |
| Custom loop logic (shuffle, loop counts) | ✕ |
| Edit the stream live (swap / skip / reorder) | Items can be managed, but the playing TV item should not be moved or replaced live |
| 5Destinations | |
| YouTube (one-click OAuth) | ✓ |
| Custom RTMP (any platform) | Custom RTMP and SRT endpoints consume destination allowance |
| Twitch / Facebook / Kick / TikTok | 30+ platform catalog with native and custom endpoints |
| Multistream to several destinations | One source can distribute to several account-wide destinations |
| One-click YouTube (no stream key) | Native YouTube destination integration |
| SRT ingest | ✓ |
| 6Lifecycle & automation | |
| True 24/7 continuous loop | Infinite Pre-Recorded Live looping on Premium+; TV Playout loops are time-limited |
| YouTube broadcast lifecycle automation | Native YouTube destination and scheduling; full broadcast automation is not described |
| Scheduling | One-time prerecorded schedules and TV-style timetables |
| MCP / agent integration | ✕ |
| YouTube ad cue points | ✕ |
| Edit title / description / thumbnail live | ✕ |
| Public API | API access begins on Premium |
| Unlimited loop without manual rescheduling | Yes for Premium+ Pre-Recorded Live; no for TV Playout |
| 7Limits & inclusions | |
| Storage included | Pre-recorded: 4/4/10/20/20 GB; hosted VOD storage is separate |
| Concurrent streams / slots | Created workflows, including inactive ones, count; prerecorded streams are 1/1/2/3/3 |
| Max multistream destinations | 6 Starter; 10 Standard; 20 Premium; 30 Ultra/Events, account-wide |
| Videos per playlist | Pre-recorded: 2/2/10/15/15; TV Playout: 5/10/30/30/50 files |
| Max upload size / length | Pre-recorded max 240 min/file Premium+; TV caps range 500 MB to 10 GB and 30 to 240 min |
| Team / multi-user access | 3 members (Premium), 5 (Ultra) |
| No watermark | Trial, Starter, and Standard TV Playout output is branded |
| 8Reliability & support | |
| Automatic monitoring & recovery | ✓ |
| Backup streams | Failover ingest begins on Ultra and Events |
| Chat / email support | ✓ |
| Uptime guarantee / compensation | 99.9% uptime SLA on every plan |
| In-app viewer analytics | ✓ |
| 9Trust & account | |
| Trustpilot rating | ~4.0 (54) |
| YouTube-Verified encoder | Not listed as verified encoder |
| Two-factor authentication | ✓ |
Pricing & access
- Castr
- ✕
- Castr
- Free trial available; Trial TV Playout is branded
- Castr
- Core $19.99/mo; infinite Pre-Recorded Live loop from Premium $199.99/mo
- Castr
- TV Playout starts at $19.99/mo but Starter cannot loop indefinitely
- Castr
- TV Playout 1080p starts on Ultra $349.99/mo; max 30-day loop
- Castr
- No 1440p option; TV Playout outputs 720p or 1080p
- Castr
- 4K is not listed for prerecorded playout
Streaming quality
- Castr
- ✓
- Castr
- TV Playout 1080p on Ultra/Events; lower plans are fixed 720p30
- Castr
- TV Playout 50/60fps on Ultra and Events
- Castr
- 4K is not listed for prerecorded streaming
- Castr
- ✓
- Castr
- ✕
Production & design
- Castr
- Cloud Production supports positioning, scaling, transitions, and slates
- Castr
- Images, tickers, lower thirds, alerts, and external URL overlays
- Castr
- Hosted HTML5 player and video hosting
- Castr
- External URL widgets are supported; built-in interactive show tools are limited
- Castr
- ✕
- Castr
- Cloud Production switcher up to 1080p60; not a full multi-guest studio
Sources & inputs
- Castr
- Pre-Recorded Live documents MP4 only
- Castr
- ✕
- Castr
- ✓
- Castr
- Ordered playlists with per-item enable/disable controls
- Castr
- ✕
- Castr
- Items can be managed, but the playing TV item should not be moved or replaced live
Destinations
- Castr
- ✓
- Castr
- Custom RTMP and SRT endpoints consume destination allowance
- Castr
- 30+ platform catalog with native and custom endpoints
- Castr
- One source can distribute to several account-wide destinations
- Castr
- Native YouTube destination integration
- Castr
- ✓
Lifecycle & automation
- Castr
- Infinite Pre-Recorded Live looping on Premium+; TV Playout loops are time-limited
- Castr
- Native YouTube destination and scheduling; full broadcast automation is not described
- Castr
- One-time prerecorded schedules and TV-style timetables
- Castr
- ✕
- Castr
- ✕
- Castr
- ✕
- Castr
- API access begins on Premium
- Castr
- Yes for Premium+ Pre-Recorded Live; no for TV Playout
Limits & inclusions
- Castr
- Pre-recorded: 4/4/10/20/20 GB; hosted VOD storage is separate
- Castr
- Created workflows, including inactive ones, count; prerecorded streams are 1/1/2/3/3
- Castr
- 6 Starter; 10 Standard; 20 Premium; 30 Ultra/Events, account-wide
- Castr
- Pre-recorded: 2/2/10/15/15; TV Playout: 5/10/30/30/50 files
- Castr
- Pre-recorded max 240 min/file Premium+; TV caps range 500 MB to 10 GB and 30 to 240 min
- Castr
- 3 members (Premium), 5 (Ultra)
- Castr
- Trial, Starter, and Standard TV Playout output is branded
Reliability & support
- Castr
- ✓
- Castr
- Failover ingest begins on Ultra and Events
- Castr
- ✓
- Castr
- 99.9% uptime SLA on every plan
- Castr
- ✓
Trust & account
- Castr
- ~4.0 (54)
- Castr
- Not listed as verified encoder
- Castr
- ✓
When to consider Streamloop instead of Castr
Choose Castr when the broader job includes one-to-many multistream distribution, hosted video, an embeddable player, paywalls, APIs, cloud switching or OTT-oriented delivery. Its prerecorded tools sit inside a much wider professional video stack.
Consider Streamloop when the job is a prerecorded video or audio playlist running to YouTube or other RTMP destinations, up to 5 per stream. Streamloop does not replace Castr's larger multistream scale, browser switching, hosted-player or OTT capabilities.
Compare plans that can loop, not entry prices. Castr's endless loop for Pre-Recorded Live starts on Premium at $199.99 a month or $1,999.99 a year. Starter and Standard can air prerecorded videos but cannot loop them without end. TV Playout is a separate scheduling product, and its loops stop after 15 or 30 days, depending on the plan.
Castr FAQ
Common questions about Castr's features, pricing, and fit
What kind of streaming product is Castr?
Castr is broader than a dedicated prerecorded looper. Its official product and pricing pages cover multistreaming, video hosting, website players, recording, monetization, live-video APIs, cloud production and TV-style playout alongside Pre-Recorded Live.
That breadth helps teams building a wider video stack, but it also means the $19.99 entry price does not tell you what an endless prerecorded channel costs.
What is the least expensive Castr plan with infinite prerecorded looping?
Castr's pricing and Pre-Recorded Live pages place infinite looping on Premium and higher. Premium is listed at $199.99 per month or $1,999.99 per year, displayed as a $166.67 monthly equivalent when paid annually.
Starter and Standard include one prerecorded stream with less storage, fewer files and shorter files, and they cannot loop without end.
Does Castr have a free plan or trial?
Castr does not list an ongoing free plan. It advertises a seven-day Starter trial without a credit card.
The trial shows you the wider product, but Starter does not include endless looping.
Are Castr Pre-Recorded Live and TV Playout the same product?
No. Pre-Recorded Live is the simpler MP4 playlist product with date-and-time or loop modes. Premium and higher document infinite looping.
TV Playout is a more structured linear-channel workflow with scheduled VOD, livestream sources, breaks and EPG support. Its loop mode ends after a maximum of 15 days on Premium and 30 days on Ultra or Events unless Castr agrees to a longer arrangement.
How does Castr handle multistream destinations?
Castr can relay a stream to multiple social, RTMP or SRT destinations. Current plan allowances run from six destinations on Starter to 30 on Ultra and Events.
The destination allowance covers the whole account, and Castr counts every stream you have created, including inactive ones, toward your stream limit. So the destination count is not a fresh allowance for each stream.
What quality does Castr document for TV Playout?
Starter, Standard and Premium TV Playout are documented at 720p and 30 FPS. Ultra and Events can be configured for 720p or 1080p and 25, 30, 50 or 60 FPS.
Castr's pages do not promise 4K for its cloud prerecorded products, so do not count on 4K for a prerecorded channel.
Who should choose Streamloop rather than Castr?
Streamloop fits better when the job is an unattended prerecorded playlist sent to up to 5 destinations per stream, and you do not need Castr's hosted video, larger multistream scale, paywalls, live switching or OTT tools.
Castr is the better pick when those wider tools are central to what you do.
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