# APlayout > APlayout is a cloud playout service for 24/7 linear TV and FAST channels, from storage to screen: media library, MRSS catalogues fetched just in time, programming rules, a rolling rundown, frame-accurate SCTE-35 ad breaks, DVB EIT and XMLTV guides, and SRT, HLS and UDP multicast delivery — on a playout engine dedicated to each customer. An AMTECCO service. Status: **coming soon**. There is no public sign-up, no account and no paid service yet. The only public action is joining the waitlist (double opt-in). Prices will be published on this site before launch. ## Pages - [Home](https://aplayout.com/): what APlayout is, the signal path from storage to screen, and what sets it apart - [Platform](https://aplayout.com/platform): every stage of the service in detail, with the full specification table and what is not offered yet - [Compare](https://aplayout.com/compare): a sourced comparison with enterprise, mid-market and creator playout services, including where others are stronger - [FAQ](https://aplayout.com/faq): every question, grouped by topic - [Waitlist](https://aplayout.com/waitlist): join the waitlist (double opt-in; no account, no payment) - [Privacy](https://aplayout.com/privacy): how waitlist details and website data are handled - [Terms](https://aplayout.com/terms): terms for the waitlist ## What APlayout does - Resumable browser uploads and SFTP drop folders - MRSS catalogues with just-in-time media fetch, released after air - Automatic conform to the channel standard with loudness normalisation - Channel programming rules: allow lists, feeds, collections, blocks, genre, age and watershed filters - 24/7 rolling rundown with gap filling, standby slate and logo bug - Frame-accurate cue points (HH:MM:SS:FF) with CSV import and black/silence suggestions - Commercial pods with break rules, advertiser separation and rotation - SCTE-35 splice_insert in the transport stream and HLS ad markers - DVB EIT present/following and schedule, and XMLTV export - Guide metadata automation with provenance and a completeness score - DVB subtitles from programme subtitle files and alternate audio - SRT caller and listener with passphrase, HLS, and MPEG-TS over UDP multicast - A dedicated playout engine per customer, controlled over an authenticated API - Every output analysed for PSI/SI tables, PCR and continuity ## What APlayout is not (first release) - Not a live production system: no live inputs, SDI or SMPTE ST 2110. - No 1+1 or N+1 playout redundancy, no 4K/UHD output, no SCTE-104. - Not a FAST distribution network and does not sell ads; it delivers to any platform that accepts SRT, HLS or UDP. - Not a CDN: its HLS and SRT outputs can feed one. ## Coming soon: connect your AI assistant APlayout is adding a secure connection for the AI assistant a customer already uses. The assistant will be able to read what is on air and in the rundown, explain alerts and propose changes that a person approves. Every change will be logged; billing and access stay with the customer. A full agent interface is planned. This is **not available yet**. ## Who it is for FAST channel operators, regional and niche broadcasters, content owners turning a VOD library into a 24/7 channel, and OTT services adding linear channels. ## The signal path, station by station ### 01 Store: A media library that resumes, not restarts Your library lives in cloud object storage that belongs to your instance. Browser uploads go straight to storage in parts and resume where they stopped; SFTP drop folders take files from your existing tools. Each file can be assigned to one or more channels as it arrives. ### 02 Ingest: Catalogues, not copies An MRSS feed becomes a catalogue of titles with their guide metadata. Nothing is downloaded until a title is scheduled: the video is fetched up to 48 hours before air with parallel connections, prepared, and released after air. Everything — uploads, SFTP and feeds — is checked and conformed to the channel standard, including loudness. ### 03 Programme: Decide what may air, per channel Each channel has programming rules: which titles, feeds and collections it may use, what is blocked outright, genre, length and language filters, and a watershed that applies a lower age limit by day. Gap filling, stand-ins and the rundown picker all follow the same rules. ### 04 Schedule: A rundown that never runs dry Plan by drag and drop or let gap filling build the day from your rules, rotating titles so nothing repeats back to back. If an item is not ready in time, a stand-in or the standby slate keeps the channel on air. The logo bug follows the programme or your choice. ### 05 Monetise: Ad breaks to the frame Cue points sit on the media at frame accuracy — typed, imported from CSV, read from the feed or accepted from black-and-silence suggestions. Break rules set the first break, spacing and minutes per hour. Breaks either carry the signal for downstream ad insertion or play your commercials in pods that keep advertisers apart and rotate spots. ### 06 Guide: The guide travels in the stream The programme guide is written from the rundown itself: DVB EIT present/following and schedule inside the transport stream, and XMLTV for platforms and middleware. Series, episodes, genres, age ratings and descriptions are filled by metadata rules, with a completeness score that shows what is missing. ### 07 Play out: An engine of your own The playout engine runs on its own server for each customer and plays only verified local copies of your media. The console sends it configuration and the media it needs over an authenticated API; nothing depends on a shared disk. On Air shows each channel’s state and a live output frame. ### 08 Deliver: SRT, HLS and multicast Every channel produces a DVB-conformant MPEG-TS with SCTE-35, EIT, DVB subtitles and alternate audio where configured. Deliver it over SRT (caller or listener, with passphrase) to any number of receivers, as HLS with SCTE-35 markers for server-side ad insertion, or as UDP multicast. ## Comparison (checked 16 October 2026) "Not stated" means not verifiable in public material, not that the capability is missing. | Capability | APlayout (At launch) | Enterprise cloud playout (e.g. Amagi CLOUDPORT, Harmonic VOS360) | Mid-market cloud playout (e.g. Veset Nimbus, Cinegy) | Creator channel tools (e.g. Viloud, Castr) | |---|---|---|---|---| | How you buy | Self-serve subscription | Sales-led contract | Self-serve or 12-month listing | Self-serve | | Media library and uploads | Yes | Yes | Watch folders or your own cloud | Yes | | MRSS catalogue, fetched just in time and released after air | Yes | MRSS ingest | Not stated | Not stated | | Frame-accurate cue points | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | | SCTE-35 in the output | Yes — TS and HLS | Yes | Yes | Partly | | Commercial pods with advertiser separation | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | | DVB EIT (now/next and schedule) in the stream | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | No | | XMLTV guide | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | | SRT, HLS and UDP multicast | All three | Yes | Yes | HLS only | | Dedicated engine per customer | Yes | Not stated | Your own cloud (Cinegy) | Not stated | | FAST distribution network and ad sales | No | Yes (Amagi) | No | Partly | | 1+1 or N+1 redundancy | No | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | | Live inputs, SDI, ST 2110 | No | Yes | Partly | Partly | Where others are stronger: - Distribution and ad sales: Amagi and Wurl place channels on FAST platforms and sell the ads. APlayout delivers to any platform that accepts SRT, HLS or UDP, but does not broker distribution. - Redundancy: enterprise services offer 1+1 and N+1 playout. APlayout’s first release runs one engine per customer. - Scale and certification: the largest vendors run hundreds of channels with security certifications APlayout does not yet hold. - Live and studio workflows: live inputs, SDI and ST 2110 belong to broadcast vendors such as Grass Valley, Imagine and Evertz. ## Questions and answers ### The service **What is APlayout?** APlayout is a cloud playout service for 24/7 linear TV and FAST channels. It keeps your media library, schedules a rolling rundown, inserts frame-accurate SCTE-35 ad breaks, writes the programme guide (DVB EIT and XMLTV) and delivers the channel over SRT, HLS or UDP multicast — from one console, on a playout engine dedicated to you. **What is cloud playout?** Playout is the system that turns a schedule of programmes, ads and graphics into a continuous TV signal. Cloud playout runs that system on servers you reach over the internet instead of racks in your own building, so a channel can launch without buying hardware. **Who is APlayout for?** FAST channel operators, regional and niche broadcasters, content owners who want to turn a VOD library into a 24/7 channel, and OTT services adding linear channels. It is built for teams that want broadcast-grade output without a broadcast engineering department. **Can I connect my own AI assistant?** Coming soon. You will be able to connect the AI assistant you already use, so it can see what is on air, explain alerts and propose changes that you approve. Every change will be logged, and billing and access stay with you. **What is not offered in the first release?** Live inputs, 1+1 or N+1 redundancy, 4K/UHD, SCTE-104, SDI and SMPTE ST 2110 are not part of the first release. APlayout plays out file-based programming and delivers it as IP streams. ### Media and catalogues **How does media get into APlayout?** Three ways: upload in the browser (large files resume after a dropped connection), drop files into your SFTP folder, or add an MRSS feed. Everything is checked and conformed to your channel standard — resolution, frame rate and loudness — before it can air. **Can I build a channel from an MRSS feed without copying my whole catalogue?** Yes. APlayout treats an MRSS feed as a catalogue: titles and guide metadata are imported, but each video is fetched only shortly before it is scheduled to air and released again afterwards. You schedule from thousands of titles without paying to store them twice. **Can I control what may air on each channel?** Yes. Each channel has programming rules: which titles, feeds and collections it may use, what is blocked, genre, length and language filters, and a watershed that keeps age-rated titles out of daytime. Automatic gap filling follows the same rules. ### Ad breaks **What is SCTE-35 and why does it matter?** SCTE-35 is the standard signal that tells downstream systems where an ad break starts and ends. FAST platforms and server-side ad insertion use it to replace breaks with targeted ads. APlayout writes SCTE-35 splice_insert into the transport stream and matching ad markers into HLS. **How accurate are the ad breaks?** Frame accurate. You mark cue points on a programme at HH:MM:SS:FF — by hand, by CSV import, from the feed, or by accepting a suggested black-and-silence point — and the break starts on that frame. **Can APlayout play my own commercials in the breaks?** Yes. Breaks can be signal-only (for downstream ad insertion) or filled locally with commercial pods. Pods follow your break rules, keep two spots from the same advertiser apart and rotate spots across the day. ### Programme guide **What is DVB EIT, and does APlayout generate it?** The DVB Event Information Table carries the programme guide inside the transport stream: present/following (now and next) and the schedule for the days ahead. APlayout generates both from the rundown, with genres, age ratings and descriptions, so set-top boxes and TVs show a correct guide. **Do FAST platforms get an EPG?** Yes. APlayout publishes an XMLTV guide per channel from the same rundown and metadata, with series and episode numbers, ratings and genres. Metadata rules fill fields automatically and a completeness score shows what is still missing. ### Delivery and the engine **Which outputs does APlayout deliver?** SRT (caller or listener, with passphrase), HLS with ad markers, and MPEG-TS over UDP multicast with DVB service information. Every output is analysed for PSI/SI tables, PCR timing and continuity. **Is my playout engine shared with other customers?** No. Each customer gets a playout engine on a dedicated server. The console controls it remotely over an authenticated API, so one customer’s load never touches another’s channel. **What is the difference between playout and a CDN?** Playout makes the channel: it schedules programmes and ads and produces the continuous signal. A CDN distributes a finished stream to many viewers. APlayout’s HLS and SRT outputs can feed any CDN or FAST platform. ### Comparison **How is APlayout different from other cloud playout services?** It keeps the whole path in one service — library, catalogues fetched just in time, rules, rundown, frame-accurate pods, DVB EIT and XMLTV, and SRT, HLS and multicast — on an engine of your own, run from a six-page console. Enterprise services are stronger on distribution networks, redundancy and scale. **Is APlayout an alternative to Amagi or Veset?** For independent and mid-size channels, yes: it covers scheduling, SCTE-35 breaks, guide data and IP delivery. It does not offer a FAST distribution network or ad sales, which Amagi does, and its first release does not offer 1+1 or N+1 redundancy. ### Launch and pricing **When does APlayout launch?** APlayout is in final preparation. Join the waitlist and we will e-mail you when accounts open. Joining creates no account and no obligation. **How much will APlayout cost?** APlayout will be a subscription service. Plans and prices will be published in full on this site before launch, and the waitlist hears first. ### Company **Who is behind APlayout?** APlayout is an AMTECCO service. AMTECCO is a Belgian, broadcast-native live media infrastructure company whose services also include SRT Cloud, CDN Live and TSPulse. ## About APlayout is an AMTECCO service. AMTECCO (https://amtecco.com) is a Belgian, broadcast-native live media infrastructure company; its other services include SRT Cloud (https://srtcloud.io), CDN Live (https://cdnlive.io) and TSPulse. Company: AMTECCO, enterprise number 0748.398.550 (VAT BE0748398550). Contact: info@amtecco.com.