What is Cloud Playout?

Category: Getting Started

Cloud Playout is a browser-based channel automation system. You upload videos, build playlists, set schedules, and stream 24/7 to platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or RTMP / SRT without keeping a heavy playout PC always on.

• Runs entirely from your browser – no special hardware required.
• Cloud Storage for videos, overlays, and playlists.
• Automatic switch between Master and scheduled playlists and Break Lists.
• Integrated logo for a complete TV-style and overlays A and B for Looping Overlays One after One
• Clock , Schedule Info , Backin , Now Playing Clip Name , next Playing Clip Name

Channel Settings

Category: Channel Settings

Channel Settings control how your channel looks and behaves during playout—graphics styling, positioning, and what appears on-screen (Clock, Schedule, Back-In, Now, Next).

What you can configure

• Clock — font, size, color, outline/shadow, background box, and position.
• Schedule Info — schedule display styling and placement (independent from Clock).
• Back-In Timer — countdown styling + placement before content resumes.
• Now Playing — shows current clip title (and subtitle when available).
• Next Playing — shows upcoming clip information automatically.

Styling features

• Font control — choose font and size per element.
• Colors — separate font, outline, shadow, and background colors.
• Outline toggle — when OFF, the preview shows no outline (no leftover border).
• Shadow control — clean black shadow with offset x=2, y=2 (no blur).
• Background box — optional box with opacity for readability.
• Positioning — drag/resize in preview; values save in percentages for consistent output.

Live behavior

• Preview updates instantly while you adjust settings.
• Saved values reload correctly after refresh or re-login.
• Preview scaling is only for display; saved sizes remain accurate for output.
• Designed for 24×7 use without impacting stream stability.

Dashboard overview

Category: Getting Started

Channel Output Preview , Channel Status , recent playlists, schedule info, and streaming status.

Refresh

• Channel Logo Size & Position On/Off
• Overlay A/B Size & Position On/Off
• Playlist Reorder, Random Mode On/Off
• Clock Style Size & Position On/Off
• Schedule Style Size & Position On/Off
• Backin Style Size & Position On/Off

Disk quota & usage

Category: Getting Started · Disk Quota

Your account has a disk quota defined in MB or GB. The disk usage card shows how much space is used by all videos and overlays in your channel folder.

• When usage reaches 100%, uploads are blocked.
• Delete old or unused videos/overlays to free space.
• Usage is periodically recalculated to stay accurate.

How to upload videos

Category: Uploading Videos

1. Select Clip Type and start Upload Videos.
2. Use Browse to select files or drag them into the drop area.
3. Wait while the upload completes and thumbnails are generated.
4. Once done, the clip appears in your video list with title, duration, resolution, and size.

If disk quota is exceeded, uploads will be blocked until you delete some files or upgrade your plan.

You can review and manage all uploaded clips on the All Videos page.

Supported formats & codecs

Category: Uploading Videos

Commonly supported containers:

• MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WEBM, TS, M2TS, MXF

Video codecs that are usually accepted:

• H.264 (AVC) – recommended.

Codecs that are blocked:

• HEVC/H.265
• AV1
• VP9

If a blocked codec is detected, the upload is rejected before the file is stored, to avoid playback and performance issues.

Size, duration & resolution limits

Category: Uploading Videos

• Maximum resolution typically allowed: 3840×2160 (4K).
• Maximum clip duration: up to several hours (e.g., 6 hours).
• The real limit is usually your disk quota and network upload speed.

Edit title, subtitle & clip type

Category: Video Management

Use the edit action on a video row to change its title, subtitle, and clip type (e.g., Clip, Promo, Break). These fields are used in playlists and analytics.

Change thumbnail

Category: Video Management

Thumbnails are generated automatically at upload time, but you can replace them by:

• Uploading a custom image; or
• Capturing a frame from the video using the preview control.

Create a playlist

Category: Playlists

1. Go to Playlists.
2. Click Create Playlist and give it a name.
3. Select videos and add them to the playlist.
4. Save. The total duration is calculated automatically.

Drag-and-drop sorting

Category: Playlists

Use drag-and-drop to rearrange clips in your playlist. The new order is saved when you click the save or update button. When random mode is disabled, this is the order used for playback.

Priority-Based Playlist Categories (Time-Based)

Category: Scheduling

Cloud Playout supports time-based Playlist Categories with true priority handling. When multiple categories are active in the same time window, playback follows a priority queue instead of selecting only one winning category.

How it works

• All active playlist categories are evaluated together and ordered by priority (1 → 2 → 3…)
• The highest-priority category plays all unplayed items first (playlist_items.played = 0)
• When the current category is exhausted, playback moves to the next active category (lower priority)
• Categories are not reset individually when they exhaust
• Only when all active categories are exhausted, Cloud Playout resets them together and starts again from priority 1

Time window behavior

• At the category end time, Cloud Playout stops using that category at the next video boundary and returns to master/default (or the next applicable schedule)
• Any remaining unplayed items stay preserved (no reset happens just because time ended)
• When the category becomes active again (next day / next window), it continues from where it left off and finishes the remaining unplayed items first

Benefits

• No starvation of lower-priority categories during overlap windows
• No forced repetition inside overlap hours
• Deterministic, broadcast-grade playback order
• Ideal for promos, ads, compliance blocks, and editorial scheduling

How random playback works

Category: Random Mode

Random mode shuffles the master playlist on a per-clip basis:

• Each clip plays from start to end, never cut off by random.
• At the end of a clip, the engine selects the next clip randomly from the playlist.
• When you turn random mode OFF, the playlist returns to the manual order for future clips.

Schedule a playlistt

Category: Scheduling

1. In the left sidebar, click Schedule.
2. Select the playlist you want to schedule.
3. Pick a start date and time using the date-time picker.
4. Optionally select days of the week for repeating schedules.
5. Save. The schedule appears in the list along with its duration.

Schedule-at-end

Category: Scheduling

Use Schedule at End to queue a playlist right after the last scheduled item. The system takes the current last end time and automatically sets the next start time for you.

How active schedule is chosen

Category: Scheduling

At runtime, the engine checks if there is any scheduled playlist whose time window covers “now”. If yes, that scheduled playlist is used. Otherwise, the default (master) playlist runs.

Logo upload & positioning

Category: Overlays

1. In the left sidebar, click Channel Settings to configure your logo.
2. Upload a PNG/jpg/mp4/mov(for transparent videos) logo (preferably transparent).
3. Drag it inside the preview frame to set position.
4. Resize if available; values are stored as percentages of frame size.

Use the Upload Overlay and Overlay Lists pages to manage overlay videos used by Overlay A & B.

Percent-based positions keep your logo consistent when you change output resolution.

Using Overlay A & B

Category: Overlays

Overlay A and Overlay B are used for promos, lower-thirds, or sponsor graphics that appear on top of your main video.

• Upload graphics (MOV with alpha or supported transparent formats).
• Set positions and sizes similar to the logo.
• A small gap (e.g., 2 seconds) between clips prevents visual glitches when switching overlays.

Start RTMP streaming

Category: Streaming

1. In the left sidebar, click Streaming Settings.
2. Enter the RTMP URL and stream key from your platform.
3. Choose resolution, bitrate, and codec.
4. Click Start. The system launches Playout and begins streaming.

While running, you can see PID, logs, and status directly in the UI.

SRT & UDP basics

Category: Streaming

SRT and UDP outputs are useful for contribution links and point-to-point feeds.

• SRT – latency-adjustable, more reliable over the internet.
• UDP – often used inside controlled networks or for multicast.

Use the SRT/UDP settings to configure destination IP, port, and latency as needed.

Live preview & status

Category: Real-Time Monitoring

The preview player shows your current output using HLS or RTMP. A status badge indicates whether the stream is running or stopped. Some setups also show currently active playlist and schedule.

Uptime & auto-refresh

Category: Real-Time Monitoring

When a stream is running, the uptime counter shows how long it has been active. Background polling refreshes the status periodically so you can see changes without reloading the page.