Castreon and xaccel (X Acceleration Engine / Codec)
xaccel has two products: Codec, the classic transcoder, and Engine, a complete operator platform with subscribers, packages and resellers. Castreon is a head-end: reception, transcoding and delivery, which you connect to your own subscriber panel.
Public information verified on October 23, 2026.
In short
- Engine is a separate product from Codec, with its own license; for Codec, the vendor announces long-term maintenance and fixes, while active development happens in Engine.
- Engine offers things Castreon does not do: subscribers, packages, resellers and a VOD library.
- Both transcode on CPU, Intel Quick Sync and NVIDIA and receive DVB-S/S2, T/T2 and C.
- Castreon also documents RIST, LL-HLS, WebRTC, AES-128 HLS and DRM on output, SCTE-35 and two-factor authentication.
Features, side by side
| Feature | Castreon | xaccel |
|---|---|---|
| Video transcoding | yes — CPU, NVIDIA, Intel Quick Sync, VA-API | yes — CPU, Intel Quick Sync, NVIDIA |
| AV1 encoding | yes | yes (NVIDIA) |
| DVB reception (cards, SAT>IP) | DVB-C, DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-S, DVB-S2, plus SAT>IP, T2-MI and BISS | DVB-C, DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-S, DVB-S2, plus ATSC, ISDB-T, SAT>IP and BISS |
| 24/7 channels from files (playout) | yes — library, playlists, EPG (Pro); day-and-time schedule, live takeover, SCTE-35 (Enterprise) | only a single file looped as a live source |
| RIST | input and output | not publicly documented |
| LL-HLS (low latency) | yes | not publicly documented |
| MPEG-DASH | yes | yes |
| WebRTC (playback) | yes (Enterprise) | not publicly documented |
| AES-128 encrypted HLS | yes, with a key server included, in all plans | not publicly documented |
| DRM Widevine · PlayReady · FairPlay | yes, through your DRM provider (Enterprise) | not publicly documented |
| SCTE-35 (ad breaks) | from live sources into HLS (Enterprise) | not publicly documented |
| Backup source (failover) | yes, in all plans | yes — backup source URLs |
| Several servers from one panel | yes — servers and channels from one panel, channel taken from another server (Enterprise) | yes — separately licensed servers, CDN and automatic assignment (Engine) |
| Two-factor authentication in the panel | yes | not publicly documented |
| Audit log (who changed what) | yes | yes (Professional and Enterprise plans) |
Prices, from the public price lists
xaccel (X Acceleration Engine / Codec)
- Engine: Base €60 · Standard €99 · Professional €159 · Enterprise €299 — per server per month (200 / 500 / 1,000 / 2,500 streams).
- Codec: Quick Sync €30 · NVENC €60 — per month.
- Free trial: Engine 7 days, Codec 15 days.
Castreon
Starter €25 · Pro €49 · Enterprise €99 — per server per month, plus VAT; 50 / 150 / unlimited channels; free 14-day trial, no card needed.
Pricing →Cost example: 1 server, 20 channels transcoded on the GPU, one month
- Castreon
- €49 (Pro: 150 channels, GPU transcoding)
- xaccel
- €60 (Engine Base or Codec NVENC)
Our calculation, from the list prices published by each vendor, without discounts and excluding VAT. Check the current price with the vendor before you decide.
When xaccel is the better choice
- You want subscribers, packages, resellers and VOD in the same product as transcoding.
- You need ATSC / ISDB-T reception.
- You already use Codec and want to stay in the same ecosystem.
When Castreon is the better fit
- You already have your own subscriber panel and want a head-end that feeds it stable streams.
- You deliver with low latency (LL-HLS, WebRTC) or need RIST.
- You want encrypted HLS, DRM, SCTE-35, two-factor authentication and an audit log in the same product.
Sources
Public information verified on October 23, 2026.
- X Acceleration Engine — store www.xaccel-codec.com
- X Acceleration Codec — store www.xaccel-codec.com
- Engine — introduction www.xaccel-codec.com
- Engine — license and limits www.xaccel-codec.com
- Engine — source streams www.xaccel-codec.com
- Engine — DVB adapters www.xaccel-codec.com
- Engine — transcoding profiles www.xaccel-codec.com
- Engine — output protocols www.xaccel-codec.com
- Engine — multi-server and CDN www.xaccel-codec.com
- Codec — FAQ www.xaccel-codec.com
Comparison made by Web Tools IT, which develops Castreon, based on information published by the vendors and verified on October 23, 2026. Prices and features may change — check them with the vendor. “Not publicly documented” means we did not find the feature in the vendor's public documentation on the verification date, not that it is missing. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners; Castreon is not affiliated with them. If something is no longer correct, write to us at [email protected] and we will correct it.