What is Cloud Production?
Cloud Production is a live video switcher in your browser. It lets you combine multiple input sources—livestreams, videos, images, and URLs—into separate Flows and switch between them instantly.
Typical uses include showing a “Be Right Back” image during breaks or running a multi-camera event (e.g., switching between Camera 1 and Camera 2) and selecting the best angle for your final stream.
How to create a Cloud Production?
Navigate to the Cloud Production menu in your Castr dashboard sidebar and click "Create Cloud Production" to get started.
Key Components of Cloud Production
Here are some components of a Cloud Production:
Preview Player:
This shows exactly what's being broadcast to your audience. The Preview Player only activates after you click "Start stream" and have selected a destination.
Flow:
Each Flow is a container for one or more media sources (e.g., your primary livestream or “Camera 1”).
Key points about Flows:
You can create multiple Flows.
Only one Flow can be active at a time.
The active Flow has a green border so you always know what's live.
When the stream is live (after clicking "Start stream"), the active Flow appears in the Preview Player and broadcasts to your Destination.
New Flow:
Create additional Flows (e.g., “Camera 1”, “Camera 2”, “Intermission”).
Add media to a Flow:
Each Flow can contain different types of media:
Livestreams: a stream you've already set up in your Castr dashboard
Videos: pre-uploaded content from your Video Hosting library.
Images: static graphics (e.g., “Be Right Back”)
URLs: external web source if supported
Media Content:
Once your've added media to a Flow, you can see all media here and you can:
Drag to reorder items
Toggle to show/hide
Edit details or swap for different content
Adjust audio level
Remove items you no longer need
"Start stream" button:
This is your "go live" switch. When clicked, the feed from the active Flow appears in the Preview Player and is sent to your Destination.
Destination:
Choose where the final program output goes. You can create/select a Castr Livestream as the output destination.
Resolution:
Set the resolution of the outgoing stream.
Cloud Production Workflow
Example Workflow: Two camera basketball game.
Create two Flows: Camera 1 and Camera 2.
In Camera 1, add the livestream that carries the Camera 1 feed.
In Camera 2, add the livestream that carries the Camera 2 feed.
Select your Destination (a Castr Livestream) and click "Start stream".
Switch between Camera 1 and Camera 2 Flows as the action moves on court.
Use Cases
Show a “Be Right Back” or sponsor slate during breaks
Play a video segment between live segments
Run multi-camera productions (sports, conferences, performances)
Build thematic Flows (e.g., “Host Cam”, “Stage Cam”, “Highlights”, “Intermission”)
Use URLs as overlays (e.g. overlay graphics or widgets from services like StreamElements or Singular.Live). These external‐web sources can be added as URLs in a Flow, and will display on top of your stream. This is especially useful for chat widgets, alerts, lower thirds, ticker banners, etc.
and many more...
Important Information
Cloud Production is currently in beta and available on all plans.
Each streaming session stays active for 30 minutes. After this period, you'll need to start a new session to continue broadcasting.
You must have a Castr Livestream created and configured to use as your output destination.
Getting Started: Ready to create professional live productions? We're excited to see what you'll build with CLoud Production!