To add multiple pre-recorded videos to a Castr YouTube stream, create a stream in Castr’s Pre-Recorded Streams workflow and assemble the videos in its Playlist section. You can upload or import files, or select videos already in Castr Video Hosting, then set their order and choose looping or a scheduled start.
This is a Castr playlist that plays through a YouTube live destination. It is not a YouTube playlist URL: YouTube destination setup and the video sequence are separate parts of the job. Check your account’s current limits before preparing a long queue, because file count, size, storage and duration depend on the Castr plan.
What to prepare first
Have the video files or access to the relevant cloud storage ready, and know which YouTube channel should receive the broadcast. You will also need a way to connect YouTube in Castr, either through the YouTube Events/API route or by entering YouTube’s streaming server and stream key. The available route depends on your account setup and how you prefer to authorise the destination.
The current Castr Help Center article says pre-recorded uploads support MP4. It also says file size and media-file count depend on the subscription, so check the limits shown for your account rather than assuming a particular playlist capacity. Plan limits and product features can change; Castr’s pre-recorded video product page describes the service and current plan differences, but your account is the place to confirm what you can use.
Castr’s help article on recommended settings for recorded videos suggests MP4, constant bitrate, a two-second keyframe interval, 1920×1080 resolution, 30 fps and 4,000 Kbps. These are Castr recommendations, not universal YouTube requirements or a guarantee that a particular source file will behave as intended. Castr also recommends leaving 10–20 seconds of additional video at the beginning and end of a recording. If your file has a black opening, an abrupt cut or a final frame that ends suddenly, inspect it before upload rather than relying on the playlist to fix the edit.
For an overnight or devotional channel, review the whole sequence and confirm that each item is meant to be broadcast. A practical naming scheme can help: use a title that identifies the recording and its place in the sequence, such as “Morning bhajans – opening” or “Morning bhajans – closing”. That makes later checks easier if the playlist contains several similar files.
Open Pre-Recorded Streams and create a stream
Sign in to Castr and choose Pre-Recorded Streams from the dashboard. Create a new pre-recorded stream and give it a name you can recognise later. Use a name that describes the programme or channel rather than a temporary note, especially if you will keep more than one stream in the account.
After creation, find the Playlist section. This is where you build the programme from the video items that Castr can play. The steps below refer to the pre-recorded stream workflow, not a regular live encoder configuration. Castr describes this as cloud playout, so you do not need to keep an encoder running on your computer for the pre-recorded stream itself; see Castr’s product description for its current description of that workflow.
If your goal is a continuous channel with a timetable of different types of content, this may not be the right Castr feature. The ordinary pre-recorded playlist is for a stream that repeats or starts at a set time. Castr documents TV Playout separately for programmed channel schedules that may include VOD, live streams and breaks. Choose the workflow that matches the broadcast you want, rather than trying to turn a single playlist into a full channel timetable.
Add videos from files or Castr Video Hosting
In the Playlist area, choose the route that matches where your videos are stored. You can upload video files, import them from cloud storage, or add items already present in the Castr Video Hosting library. The library route is useful if you have already placed a recording there; you do not need to upload a second copy just to put it in this stream’s playlist.
For files, use the upload or cloud-import control presented in the playlist workflow and select the recordings you need. Let the upload or import complete before relying on the item in the playlist. If a file does not appear, first check whether it is still processing or whether it falls outside the current account’s format, size or storage limits. The Castr help article is the source for its supported upload format and account-specific constraints; avoid assuming that a file accepted by a video editor will necessarily be accepted by this workflow.
To add a hosted video, select the option for videos in Castr Video Hosting and choose the items to include. Keep a note of which source you chose if both uploaded and hosted versions have similar names. That distinction can save time when a playlist entry needs replacing or disabling later.
Add the videos one by one or select multiple items if the dashboard offers that control for your account. The important result is a set of entries in the Castr Playlist section. It is not a link to a YouTube playlist, and pasting a YouTube playlist URL into Castr is not the way to populate this sequence. Castr’s own playlist entries are the material it will send through the configured live destination.
Once the items appear, check that the list includes every intended segment and no test or duplicate file. A short review at this stage is easier than discovering a missing prayer, intro or local bulletin after the scheduled broadcast begins. If the recordings were combined or edited before upload, this guide to resolving FFmpeg concatenation errors can help with a separate file-preparation problem; it is not a substitute for setting the order in Castr.
Set the order and enable the entries you want
Arrange the playlist by dragging entries into the order in which they should play. Think through the transition from one item to the next: an opening title or announcement normally belongs before the main programme, while a closing segment belongs after it. For a study channel, you might put a short welcome first, then the lesson recordings, then a break or end card if that is part of the intended programme.
Castr says the playlist’s total duration updates automatically. Use that displayed duration as a planning aid, not as a substitute for checking each file’s actual ending and the complete sequence. If your stream is supposed to run as a repeating set, the playlist duration helps you understand how long it takes to reach the beginning again. If it is for a scheduled start, duration gives you a sense of the programme length, subject to the account’s applicable limits and the media itself.
Each entry can be toggled on or off. Turning an item off is different from removing it: you can keep it in the playlist but exclude it from the current run, which is useful for temporarily skipping a festival-specific recording or a segment that needs review. Before starting, scan every toggle and confirm that the active items are the ones you intend to broadcast. An entry left enabled by mistake can be as disruptive as one that was never added.
When a change is needed, adjust the order or toggle rather than rebuilding the entire playlist unnecessarily. If you are maintaining a recurring programme, however, take care not to assume a temporary change will be reversed automatically. Make a short note of entries you disabled for one occasion, then restore them deliberately when the content is ready to return.
YouTube’s own playlists serve a different purpose: they organise on-demand videos for viewers. They do not define the order of Castr’s live playout. If you are separately maintaining a normal YouTube playlist for viewers, this guide to adding videos to an existing 24/7 YouTube stream playlist covers a different workflow. For the Castr broadcast described here, edit the playlist in Castr.
Choose looping or Date & Time
Castr’s pre-recorded workflow offers Loop and Date & Time scheduling. Select Loop when the sequence should repeat rather than finish after a single pass. Select Date & Time when the stream should begin at a particular scheduled time. These options answer different questions: whether the programme repeats, or when the programme is due to start.
For a devotional or ambience channel intended to run continuously, looping may suit a fixed collection of recordings. Check the enabled items and order first, because the same sequence will repeat. If the stream is for a one-off local news update or a scheduled study session, Date & Time may be a better fit. The choice should match the broadcast plan, not just the content type.
Castr’s scheduling help says the schedule uses the device’s time zone. Before setting a start time, check that the device time zone matches the time you mean to use. This matters if you are scheduling from a laptop configured for another region or if the team setting up the channel is outside India while the intended audience schedule is local. Castr’s current scheduling modes documentation explains the modes and the time-zone behaviour.
Do not infer the scheduled start solely from the clock on a phone or another device if the dashboard’s time-zone context is different. Set the intended date and time in the dashboard, then review it before leaving the stream configured. If you are handing the setup to another person, share the intended local start time and the time zone used, rather than sending only a clock time.
Add YouTube as a destination
A playlist can be complete in Castr and still not reach the right channel until YouTube is configured as a destination. Add YouTube to the pre-recorded stream’s destinations and confirm that its destination toggle is on. Castr’s setup instructions specifically call out checking the platform toggle before starting the stream.
Castr documents two ways to connect YouTube: connect through YouTube Events/API, or configure the destination with YouTube’s streaming server and stream key. The first is an account-authorised route; the second uses the server and key details from YouTube. Choose the path available to you and follow Castr’s YouTube connection instructions, checking the dashboard labels as you work because interface wording can change.
With the stream-key route, Castr says the stream description must be edited in YouTube’s dashboard. That is worth knowing before the broadcast, particularly if the title or description needs a date, programme name or local-language details. Do not assume that editing the playlist in Castr also changes all YouTube event metadata.
A Castr stream destination is also distinct from selecting a YouTube playlist. The destination tells Castr where to send the live broadcast; the Castr Playlist tells it which video entries to play. If you already have a Castr livestream that should be used as the destination, Castr documents an Add Stream route as an alternative. It is an optional arrangement, not a required step for every YouTube connection.
Start the stream or verify its scheduled start
For a stream meant to begin now, review the playlist, destination and active toggle, then use the dashboard’s start control. If you selected Date & Time, confirm the configured schedule and leave the stream in the state required for that schedule to take effect. The intended outcome is a live YouTube broadcast made from the Castr playlist, not a normal uploaded video appearing in the channel’s video library.
Before leaving the setup, check the stream’s status in Castr and the corresponding live destination in YouTube. Verify that the correct channel is selected, the destination is active and the expected programme is visible. If it does not start, check the destination and schedule first, then confirm that the source entries are present and enabled. A troubleshooting pass is more useful when it follows the workflow in order: destination, schedule, playlist state, then source file readiness.
If you are building a separate 24/7 setup with a computer-based encoder, the considerations differ; for example, this guide to running OBS on a low-cost VPS in India covers a different operating model. Castr’s pre-recorded workflow is for sending prepared video through its configured playout, so a running local computer is not the thing that keeps this playlist moving.
If the audience should see a continuous channel rather than one playlist repeated or scheduled, revisit whether TV Playout is a better match. If the task is simply to rotate several prepared videos as a live stream, the Pre-Recorded Streams workflow keeps the playlist, its ordering and the YouTube destination in one setup. Where an always-on file-based broadcast is the specific pain, StreamNeo offers another way to send an uploaded video as a 24/7 YouTube live stream without leaving your own computer on; it is YouTube-only.
Before committing, compare the operating options on the pricing page. When the file and channel are ready, start free — 24-hour trial, no card.
FAQ
Can I paste a YouTube playlist URL into Castr?
No. The workflow described here builds a playlist from files or videos in Castr Video Hosting. A YouTube playlist organises on-demand videos on YouTube; it is not the Castr playlist input for this pre-recorded stream.
Can I use more than one video in a pre-recorded stream?
Yes. Add multiple eligible entries in the Playlist section, then drag them into the desired order and check their individual toggles. The number and size of files you can use depend on the Castr plan, so confirm the current limits in your account before preparing the full sequence.
Should I choose Loop or Date & Time?
Choose Loop when the playlist should repeat, and Date & Time when you want it to begin at a scheduled time. Castr says scheduling follows the device’s time zone, so check that setting before relying on the displayed start time.
Does adding YouTube as a destination also create the Castr playlist?
No. The destination tells Castr where to send the broadcast; the playlist is the ordered set of videos Castr plays. Set up both, and check that the YouTube destination toggle is active before you start or leave a schedule configured.