Castio.live – WordPress Streaming Plugin with Chat (HLS) vs Shortcodes Ultimate – Content Elements

Castio.live is a WordPress streaming plugin with chat that lets you go live directly from your admin — no OBS, no RTMP, no external platforms. Stream video, chat with your audience in real time, and monetize your content with Stripe or PayPal — all from your own WordPress site. Perfect for creators, educators, events, and premium content platforms. Castio.live is one of the few WordPress plugins that enables browser-based live streaming without OBS or RTMP. At a Glance WordPress streaming plugin (HLS) Go live directly from WordPress Admin Built-in real-time chat No OBS, no RTMP, no external platform Paywall: Stripe & PayPal Gutenberg blocks for easy embedding Auto-generated viewer pages Works on shared hosting and VPS Start streaming in minutes Install the plugin, click “Start Streaming” in WordPress Admin, and instantly share your live viewer page with your audience. No streaming SaaS. No vendor lock-in. Full control over your content. Live Streaming from WordPress Admin Castio.live adds a dedicated streaming interface directly inside the WordPress Admin area. You can: – Select your camera and microphone – Preview your stream before going live – Start and stop streaming with a single click Supported capture technologies: – MediaDevices API – MediaRecorder – WebCodecs (when available, for lower latency) Supported streaming browsers: – Chrome or Edge (desktop) – Chrome (Android) Viewer playback works on all modern browsers, including mobile devices. Viewer Page (Auto-Generated) For each live stream, Castio.live can automatically generate a viewer page. Viewer page features: – HLS video playback (native HLS on Safari, hls.js on other browsers) – Clean and lightweight interface – Mobile-friendly layout – Optional live chat panel The viewer page URL can be: – Public – Shared privately – Embedded into other pages – Protected via access control options Monetize Your Live Streams Castio.live includes built-in monetization features so you can generate revenue from your content: Pay-per-view access Subscriptions via Stripe PayPal payments (no webhooks required) Secure access via signed cookies Perfect for: – Premium live events – Online courses – Private communities – Exclusive content No external SaaS required — you keep full control over your revenue. Built-in Real-Time Chat Each live stream includes a built-in real-time chat system. Chat features: – AJAX-based live message polling – Username display – Automatic refresh – Message history stored in the WordPress database Moderation tools: – View all messages – Delete individual messages – Ban users by username – Ban users by IP address No external chat service is required. Privacy, Ownership, and Compliance Castio.live is designed with privacy and data ownership as a core principle. No third-party streaming services No external chat providers No analytics or tracking scripts included by default No cloud-based video or message processing All streaming and chat data remains on your own server: – HLS video segments – Chat messages – Stream metadata – Viewer page configuration This design helps simplify compliance with GDPR and similar data protection regulations. Technical Architecture Castio.live is a fully WordPress-native plugin. No dependencies on: – FFmpeg – Node.js – RTMP servers – External streaming APIs Core components: – Browser-based HLS generation – PHP for stream lifecycle and data storage – JavaScript for capture, playback, and chat – WordPress custom post types and options The plugin works on shared hosting, VPS, and dedicated servers. Key Features Summary Live stream directly from WordPress Admin No OBS, no RTMP, no external streaming platform Browser-generated HLS (.m3u8 + .ts) Automatic viewer page creation Built-in live chat Chat moderation tools Mobile-friendly viewer experience All streaming and chat data stored locally Lightweight and efficient Compatible with most CDNs, including Cloudflare Who Is This Plugin For? Castio.live is ideal for: – Educators and online trainers – Content creators – Community websites – Event organizers – Developers and agencies – Anyone who wants full control over live streaming without SaaS platforms Source Code and Third-Party Libraries This plugin includes both original source code and third-party JavaScript libraries. Original plugin code – Unminified, human-readable JavaScript files are included directly in the plugin. – No obfuscated or encrypted code is used. Third-party libraries (vendored, unmodified) MediaBunny File: assets/js/vendor/mediabunny/mediabunny.esm.js Source: https://github.com/Vanilagy/mediabunny License: MIT Used for browser-based media processing. hls.js File: assets/js/vendor/hls/hls.min.js Source: https://github.com/video-dev/hls.js License: Apache License 2.0 Used for HLS playback on non-Safari browsers. These libraries are included for performance and compatibility reasons. All libraries retain their original licenses and copyright notices. External Services This plugin connects to external third-party services to provide optional monetization and licensing features. Stripe Payments Castio.live can integrate with Stripe to allow site owners to sell access to live or recorded streams, including pay-per-view content and subscriptions. What the service is used for: Stripe is used to create checkout sessions, process payments, manage subscriptions, and retrieve payment reports related to paid video access. What data is sent and when: When a visitor purchases paid content or when the site owner views payment reports, the plugin sends the following data to Stripe: – Email address provided during checkout – Payment and checkout session identifiers – Purchased content or pricing identifiers – Subscription and payment status metadata No video streams, chat messages, or media content are transmitted to Stripe. Service provider: Stripe, Inc. Terms of Service: https://stripe.com/legal Privacy Policy: https://stripe.com/privacy PayPal Payments Castio.live can integrate with PayPal to allow site owners to sell access to live or recorded streams via pay-per-view. What the service is used for: PayPal is used to create and capture payment orders for paid video access using the PayPal Orders API v2. What data is sent and when: When a visitor purchases paid content, the plugin sends the following data to PayPal: – Order amount and currency – Return and cancel URLs – Stream identifier (used as order description) No video streams, chat messages, or personal user data beyond the above are transmitted to PayPal. Service provider: PayPal Holdings, Inc. Terms of Service: https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/useragreement-full Privacy Policy: https://www.paypal.com/us/legalhub/privacy-full Castio.live Licensing Server This plugin connects to the Castio.live licensing server to validate premium licenses and enable optional premium features. What the service is used for: The licensing server is used to verify license validity and determine which premium features are available. What data is sent and when: During license validation (for example on activation, admin access, or periodic checks), the plugin sends: – License key – Site domain name – Plugin version – WordPress version No user-generated content, video streams, or personal data are transmitted. Service provider: Castio.live Terms of Service: https://castio.live/terms Privacy Policy: https://castio.live/privacy Demo and Additional Features A public demo, documentation, and optional commercial features are available at: https://castio.live Commercial offerings may include: – Advanced access control – Enhanced chat moderation – Extended streaming options – Priority support The core live streaming and chat functionality works without requiring any external service. Author and Support Developed by proxymis Website: https://proxymis.com Contact: [email protected]

Building new pages with Gutenberg? Explore VovaBlocks, a focused collection of native marketing and content blocks from the creator of Shortcodes Ultimate. View VovaBlocks → About Shortcodes Ultimate Shortcodes Ultimate is a WordPress shortcode plugin for adding tabs, accordions, buttons, FAQs, sliders, carousels, lightboxes, columns, boxes and other reusable content elements without coding. It is ideal for site owners who want richer content layouts and practical UI elements without switching to a full page builder. Use Shortcodes Ultimate in the Block Editor, Classic Editor, widgets and template files. Generate shortcodes visually, preview the result before inserting it, and reuse the same elements across posts, pages and existing shortcode-based content. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of WordPress sites, Shortcodes Ultimate helps you replace multiple single-purpose UI plugins with one maintained toolkit. Explore live examples What you can build With Shortcodes Ultimate, you can quickly add common WordPress content elements such as: Accordions and FAQ sections Responsive tabs CTA buttons and download buttons Boxes, notes and callouts Columns and layout helpers Sliders and carousels Lightboxes for images and custom content Post lists and dynamic content blocks Spoilers, toggles and expandable content Media embeds and visual content blocks Instead of installing a separate plugin for every small content element, Shortcodes Ultimate gives you one maintained toolkit for everyday WordPress content tasks. Works with modern and classic WordPress workflows Shortcodes Ultimate works with the Block Editor, Classic Editor, widgets and template files. You can insert shortcodes manually, use WordPress shortcode blocks or use the built-in shortcode generator to configure elements visually. This makes the plugin useful for: Site owners who want to improve content without coding Bloggers and affiliate publishers who need reusable CTA and content blocks Agencies and freelancers maintaining multiple WordPress sites Developers who want shortcode-friendly output in templates Existing sites with older content that already uses shortcodes Why use Shortcodes Ultimate? 50+ ready-to-use WordPress shortcodes Visual shortcode generator Live preview Works with the Block Editor and Classic Editor Shortcodes can be used in posts, pages, widgets and template files Responsive elements that work with your theme Built-in Custom CSS editor Developer-friendly hooks and documentation Free version available on WordPress.org Pro version available for advanced shortcodes, extra styles and premium support Why shortcodes still matter in WordPress The WordPress Block Editor is great for visual content editing, but shortcodes are still useful when you need portable, reusable content elements that work across different parts of a WordPress site. Shortcodes are especially helpful when you want to: Reuse the same content element in many posts or pages Add dynamic content inside widgets or templates Maintain older WordPress sites that already use shortcodes Work across Classic Editor and Block Editor workflows Add content elements without switching to a full page builder Keep common UI elements available through a simple text-based syntax Shortcodes Ultimate is designed for these practical workflows. It gives you a large collection of ready-made shortcodes and a visual generator, so you do not need to write shortcode syntax manually unless you want to. Free and Pro The free version of Shortcodes Ultimate includes a large collection of useful shortcodes for everyday WordPress content tasks. Shortcodes Ultimate Pro adds advanced shortcodes, additional styles, Content Slider, Pricing Table, Testimonials, Shortcode Creator, Elementor support and premium support. Compare Free and Pro Useful links Documentation Live Examples Pro features Support