Set up a Windows or Mac player

A mini PC, an old laptop or a Mac mini can run the CastWize player behind a TV. The player opens full screen with no taskbar or menus, starts itself when the computer signs in, and a watchdog relaunches it if it ever hangs.

What you need

• Windows: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. At least a dual-core CPU and 4 GB of RAM; 8 GB is better for video.
• Mac: an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) with macOS 12 or later. There is no Intel Mac build yet.
• About 4 GB of free disk space for stored media, and an internet connection.

Steps: Windows

1. On the PC, open the support page and click Download for Windows.
2. Run the installer. Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC" because the installer isn't code-signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.
3. The player opens full screen with a pairing code. Pair it in Studio under Screens → Add screen. See Pair a screen.
4. In Windows power settings, set the PC to never sleep. (The player already keeps the display awake while it runs.)
5. Set Windows to sign in automatically. The player starts at sign-in, so after a restart or a power cut the screen comes back to your playlist.

On Windows, new player versions download and install by themselves, and the player restarts full screen afterwards.

Steps: Mac

1. On the Mac, open the support page and click Download for macOS.
2. Open the .dmg file and drag CastWize Player into Applications.
3. The first time, right-click the app in Applications, choose Open, and confirm. macOS warns that it's from an unidentified developer because the app isn't notarized by Apple yet. You only do this once.
4. The player opens full screen with a pairing code. Pair it in Studio under Screens → Add screen.
5. In System Settings, stop the Mac from sleeping and turn on automatic login for the user that runs the player. The player starts at login by itself.

On the Mac, updates are manual for now: download the newer version from the support page and replace the app.

The PC has two monitors. Which one does the player use?

By default, the first display. The player covers one display only; for two TVs, use two players.

Can I reboot the computer from Studio?

Only after extra setup, and we haven't tested it on real kiosk machines yet. Remote reboot is off on desktop players unless the player is started with the setting CASTWIZE_ALLOW_REBOOT=1. When it is on, the player runs the system's restart command (shutdown /r /t 0 on Windows, shutdown -r now on a Mac), so the account the player runs under must be allowed to restart the computer without a password prompt.

• Windows: open a Command Prompt and run setx CASTWIZE_ALLOW_REBOOT 1, then sign out and back in so the player starts with the setting.
• Mac: macOS only lets an administrator restart the computer from a command, so the account needs to be allowed to run shutdown without a password (a sudoers rule). Ask whoever looks after your Macs, or email [email protected].

Refresh in the screen's menu needs none of this: it reloads the player and syncs straight away.

Does video play with sound?

No. Video plays muted on every CastWize player.