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Creating a File Store

October 28, 2025

Creating a Local File Store for Playback

Creating a File Store

Step 1: Create the Folder on the E: Drive

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Navigate to your E: Drive.
  3. Create a new folder — in this example, the folder is named Support.
    • This folder will serve as your file store location for Cablecast.

Step 2: Add the File Store in Cablecast

  1. In the Cablecast UI, open the Main Menu.
  2. Go to Settings → System Settings → File Stores.
  3. Click New File Store.
  4. Enter the following information:
    • Name: Support
    • Type: Active
    • Purpose: Playback Files
  5. Click Add Mount, then click OK.
  6. Click Save.

Step 3: Link the File Store to Your Playback Server

  1. From the Main Menu, go to Settings → Location Settings → I/O Devices.
  2. Find your Playback Server (for example, Video Server) and click Edit.
  3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.
  4. Under Playback File Store, select the file store you just created (e.g., Support).
  5. Click Save.

Your new file store is now linked and ready to accept playback content. Any media added to this folder will be available for playback.

Creating a Local VOD File Store

Creating a VOD File Store


Step 1: Create the Folder on the Content Drive

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Navigate to your content drive (for example, the E: Drive).
  3. Create a new folder for your VOD files — in this example, the folder is named VOD-Support.
    • This folder will be used to store all VOD content generated by Cablecast.

Step 2: Add the VOD File Store in Cablecast

  1. In the Cablecast UI, open the Main Menu.
  2. Go to Settings → System Settings → File Stores.
  3. Click New File Store.
  4. Enter the following information:
    • Name: VOD-Support
    • Type: Active
    • Purpose: VODs
  5. Click Add Mount, then click OK.
  6. Click Save.

Step 3: Assign the File Store to the VOD Server

  1. Go back to Settings.
  2. Navigate to Location Settings → I/O Devices.
  3. Under I/O Devices, click Video On Demand.
  4. Select the new file store (VOD Support) as the storage location for new VODs.
  5. Click Save.

Your new VOD file store is now configured and ready to use. All new VODs will be stored in the folder you created.

Creating a Network-Attached File Store

Creating a NAS File Store

Step 1: Add a New File Store

  1. In the Cablecast UI, open the Main Menu.
  2. Go to Settings → System Settings → File Stores.
  3. Click New File Store.
  4. Enter the following information:
    • Name: (e.g., Network Support)
    • Server: None
    • Type: Active (you can also use “Archive and Backup” if this NAS will be used for long-term storage)
    • Purpose: Playback Files (or choose VOD if this will store VOD content)

Step 2: Configure the Mount

  1. Click Add Mount.
  2. For Type, select UNC.
  3. In the Address field, enter the network path of your NAS file share (for example: \\NAS-Server\CablecastShare).
  4. Enter the Username and Password for the NAS share.
  5. Click OK, then Save.

Step 3: (Optional) Link the NAS File Store

Depending on your purpose:

Creating a File Store for an External Hard Drive

The steps for this process will be very similar to the steps for creating a local File Store for playback, except you'll choose the drive letter for your attached external drive and select the server that it's connected to.

A Note About External Hard Drives

External hard drives are not recommended for direct recording/encoding or playback of files, as the read/write speeds may not be sufficient to keep up with those processes. For that, we recommend writing directly to the Content (E) drive of the Cablecast server. External hard drives are best used for backing up/archiving and/or restoring content to the playback server and can be used with Cablecast Workflows to help automate that process.

It's also worth noting that Workflows currently work with playback files, but not VOD content.

Step 1 (Optional): Create a Folder for Cablecast Content on the External Drive

  1. Open File Explorer.
  2. Navigate to your external drive.
  3. Create a new folder with your desired name (for example Archives).
    • This folder will serve as your file store location for Cablecast.

Step 2: Add the File Store in Cablecast

  1. In the Cablecast UI, open the Main Menu.
  2. Go to Settings → System Settings → File Stores.
  3. Click New File Store.
  4. Enter the following information:
    • Name: Support
    • Server: Select the Server that the drive is connected to.
    • Type: Active
    • Purpose: Backup and Archive
  5. Click Add Mount, enter the Drive letter (and folder path, if applicable), then click OK.
  6. Click Save.
Screenshot of the Cablecast ‘New File Store’ setup page showing an external drive configured as a File Store, with fields for name, server, type set to Backup and Archive, purpose set to Playback Files, and a local G: drive added as a mount.

Since we don't recommend using external drives for encoding/playback, at this point, you could set up a Workflow to either backup or archive content from your server(s), as well as a Restore Workflow in the event that you schedule a Show again and the associated playback File isn't available on the video server.

Need Help?

If you have any questions or run into issues, please contact us at support@cablecast.tv.

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