Screens keep playing when the network does not
CloudyFy TV players are offline-first. Every screen keeps a local, content-addressed cache of what it needs, so a dropped Wi-Fi connection does not put it dark. After a power cut, the player restarts and resumes the last published content on its own. When the connection returns, only the bytes that changed sync down, not the whole library again.
What is offline playback?
Offline playback means a CloudyFy TV screen keeps showing its published content from a local cache when it has no network connection, and picks up exactly where it left off once the connection returns. It is not a fallback slide or an error screen; the device plays the same layouts and playlists it was already running, from bytes already stored on the device itself.
How does offline playback work?
Publish compiles a manifest
When you publish, CloudyFy TV builds a per-device manifest, a list of content-addressed artifacts, each identified by a SHA-256 hash of its own bytes.The device syncs only what changed
Each screen compares the manifest against what it already has cached and downloads only the bytes it is missing, never the whole library again for a small edit.Content plays from local cache
Once cached, a layout plays entirely from the device's own storage. There is no live fetch at play time and nothing to time out.Storage is budgeted, not unlimited
Each device's cache has a budget. When space is needed for what is actively scheduled, the player evicts the content you are least likely to need next first, so the layouts currently in rotation are always protected.
Why does offline playback matter?
Retail chains with unreliable branch internet
Keep showing the right pricing and promotions through an ISP outage instead of freezing on whatever was on screen when the connection dropped.
Manufacturing floors on segmented or locked-down networks
Run signage on the same device without fighting IT for a permanent, unrestricted connection.
Transport hubs and kiosks in patchy-coverage areas
Stay on-message through the gaps a mobile or shared connection inevitably has.
Any site after a power cut
Comes back showing the same content it had before, because the cache survives a reboot; there is nothing to re-download before the screen can play again.
How is offline playback different from a connection-dependent screen?
A browser tab, a cloud-only smart TV app, or a USB stick each fail differently the moment the network or a person is missing. A browser-based player usually needs a live connection just to render; lose Wi-Fi and the tab goes blank or freezes mid-loop. A USB stick never goes offline, but it never updates either: someone has to physically walk to the device with new media every time content changes.
CloudyFy TV's players avoid both failure modes by keeping content locally cached and content-addressed, so the device can play without a connection and still receive a change the moment one is available, downloading only what is new instead of the entire library.
What does offline playback rely on technically?
Offline playback is not one feature, it is the combination of content addressing, delta sync and a shared renderer working the same way on every platform.
FAQs
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