Castreon

The live TV headend that fits on one Linux server.
Capture, transcode and deliver live channels from one web panel.

Website · Documentation · Changelog · 14-day free trial

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Castreon is a self-hosted live TV and streaming headend for Linux. It takes a channel from the input — a DVB card, an SRT or RIST feed, a camera, a file — through transcoding to the viewer, and you manage everything from one web panel.

About this repository: Castreon is commercial software. This repository contains the public documentation, screenshots and links. The installer and the software itself are distributed from castreon.net.

What it does

Inputs

• DVB-C, DVB-T and DVB-T2 cards installed in the server
• SRT (caller and listener), RIST (Simple and Main), UDP unicast and multicast
• RTMP from OBS, vMix and hardware encoders, with per-channel stream keys
• HTTP/HTTPS (TS, HLS, DASH) and WebRTC (WHIP)
• IP cameras over RTSP, with ONVIF discovery and H.265 → H.264 conversion
• Files (MP4, MKV, TS) for 24/7 channels
• Automatic failover between sources and a "no signal" image

Transcoding

• CPU, or GPU with NVIDIA NVENC, Intel Quick Sync and VA-API
• H.264, HEVC and AV1, up to 4K UHD
• ABR ladders, logo overlay, loudness normalisation (EBU R128)
• Transmuxing without re-encoding

Delivery

• HLS (TS or CMAF), LL-HLS, DASH, HTTP-TS and WebRTC
• Embeddable web player with quality, audio and subtitle controls
• Push over SRT, RIST, UDP and RTMP/RTMPS to several destinations at once
• HLS upload to CDNs (HTTP PUT, WebDAV, S3), multiple CDNs with content steering, signed links, cache purging
• Built-in HTTPS with automatic Let's Encrypt certificates

Operations

• 24/7 channels from files: library, playlists, weekly schedule, live takeover
• Archive with catch-up and timeshift, MP4 clips, scheduled recordings
• SCTE-35 ad markers in HLS
• HLS AES-128 with a built-in key server, DRM (Widevine, PlayReady, FairPlay)
• Picture and sound monitoring, monitoring wall, audience statistics
• Alerts by e-mail, Telegram or webhook
• Prometheus metrics and a Grafana dashboard
• Documented REST API (OpenAPI 3.1), two-step login, audit log
• One-click updates with automatic rollback, backup and restore
• Import of channels from xaccel-codec and Astra (Cesbo)

Screenshots

Channel list	ABR ladder

Automatic failover	Library for 24/7 channels

Weekly schedule	MP4 clips and recordings

Monitoring wall

Screenshots from a Castreon demo server. Films: Big Buck Bunny and Tears of Steel © Blender Foundation, CC BY 3.0.

Requirements

• Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04 or Debian 12, 64-bit (x86_64)
• Root access to run the installer
• Optional: an NVIDIA, Intel or AMD GPU for hardware transcoding
• Optional: DVB-C/T/T2 cards for DVB inputs
• The web panel listens on port 33400

Install

1. Start a free trial at castreon.net/start/trial — 14 days, Pro features, up to 10 channels, no credit card.
2. In your account you get a personal one-line install command. Run it as root on your server.
3. Open http://<your-server>:33400 and add your first channel.

Step-by-step guide: castreon.net/docs

Moving from another headend? See the migration guides for xaccel-codec and Astra (Cesbo).

Pricing

Monthly license per server, cancel anytime:

Plan	Price	Highlights
Starter	€25 / month	50 channels, CPU transcoding
Pro	€49 / month	150 channels, GPU transcoding, ABR, CDN push, playout, archive
Enterprise	€99 / month	Unlimited channels, SCTE-35, WebRTC, DRM, multi-CDN, priority support

Prices plus VAT. Details and FAQ: castreon.net/pricing

Support

• Documentation: castreon.net/docs
• E-mail: contact@castreon.net

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Castreon is made by Web Tools IT, Kempten, Germany.