Adding a channel

A channel connects one or more sources to a transcoding profile and to outputs (the addresses you deliver it on). The first source that responds becomes active; the others are backups.

1. New channel

Open Channels and click New channel.

General

• Name — shown in the panel and in the playlist.
• Group — optional, to organize channels (for example “Sports”, “News”). The M3U export can be filtered by group.
• Transcoding profile — the recipe used to transcode the channel. Empty = passthrough (copy): the stream passes through untouched, with no CPU cost. See Transcoding profiles.
• Tags, EPG ID, Logo (URL) — optional, they go into the playlist for players.
• Subtitles — see Audio tracks, languages and subtitles.
• Active — the channel starts automatically.
• On demand — the channel starts only when the first viewer connects and stops by itself when there are none left (see below). Useful for rarely watched channels.

2. Sources

Sources are tried in order: the first one is the primary, the rest are backups. Use Move up / Move down to change the order and Add source to add another one.

Source types:

For sources that require it you can fill in User-Agent and Headers (as JSON, for example {"X-Token":"abc"}). The Video mapping / Audio mapping / Subtitle mapping fields select tracks; usually you do not need to touch them — tracks are easier to pick from the channel page.

3. Outputs

Click Add output and choose how to deliver the channel:

• HLS (m3u8) — for apps, browsers, Smart TVs. Container automatic (TS for H.264, fMP4/CMAF for HEVC and AV1), Segment duration (s) and Segments in playlist.
• LL-HLS — low-latency HLS (usually 1–3 seconds) for compatible players.
• DASH — for DASH players.
• HTTP-TS — a continuous MPEG-TS stream over HTTP, for set-top boxes and IPTV players; starts instantly.
• SRT push, UDP push, RTMP push, RIST push — send the channel to another server, CDN or headend. For these outputs you choose the Quality sent (an output of this kind carries a single stream).

A channel without any viewer output (HLS, HTTP-TS, DASH or LL-HLS) can only forward the stream — the panel warns you when saving.

4. Behavior on problems

• Watchdog (s) — if no picture arrives for that many seconds, the channel restarts by itself.
• Automatically return to the primary source and Return to primary source (s) — after switching to a backup, Castreon periodically checks the primary source and returns to it when it works again.
• Stop on inactivity (s) — only for On demand channels: after how many seconds without viewers the channel stops (default 300).

5. Save and check

Click Save. The channel starts (if it is Active), and on its page you see:

• Image — a preview refreshed every 12 seconds, from what you actually deliver;
• Active source — primary or backup;
• Delivery — the addresses you hand out, with a Copy button;
• the tabs Tracks and clients, Log (channel events and the latest processing lines) and Command (exactly what Castreon runs — useful for troubleshooting).

The “waiting for source” state

If the program of a DVB source is missing or not broadcasting (for example the operator temporarily removed it from the mux), the channel no longer restarts in a loop: it enters the waiting state, the panel shows the reason, and the channel starts by itself when the program returns.

M3U export

In Channels, the Export M3U button downloads the list of active channels with the HLS address (and HTTP-TS, where available) of each. It respects the group selected in the filter.