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Kodiak vs PlaybackPro Plus
Both are native Mac playout tools used in corporate AV. PlaybackPro Plus is a focused instant-cue clip and playlist deck that outputs through the Mac's display connections and a converter. Kodiak is built around the keyed program feed through an ATEM, adding an editor, switcher automation, media checks, output monitoring, and automatic hot backup.
Updated July 2026.
Choose for the job you run
Choose Kodiak if
A native macOS editor and broadcast playout deck in one app: layered slides, fill and key over dual SDI, deep ATEM automation. $200 once, perpetual, two computers.
- The show is a keyed program feed through an ATEM, not just a switcher input
- You want tally to cue the take and the deck to drive the switcher
- You want a backup Mac that takes air on its own
- $200 once covers both Macs of a redundant pair
Choose PlaybackPro Plus if
The long-standing roll-the-video tool for Mac corporate AV, an instant-cue clip and playlist player that plays full screen out the Mac's own display connections through a converter. $699 per computer, perpetual, so a redundant pair is two licenses. It supports macOS Catalina through Tahoe.
- Rolling full screen videos into general sessions is the whole job
- The DT18 hardware controller workflow runs your room
- You want the simplest possible clip deck with instant cueing
- A converter off the Mac's display ports is all the rig needs
- The Collection bundle's InstaCue, SpeakerTimerPro, and RecordPro fit your workflow
What Kodiak adds on show night
Five safeguards that carry the run sheet beyond a full-screen roll-in.
A live backup that takes over on its own
- Import on the primary and the backup has it
- Edit a slide or move a timer and both machines match
- The whole show stays mirrored cue for cue, media and all
- If the primary dies, the backup cuts itself to air on the ATEM within seconds
- Auto-cut must be armed, with a short visible countdown to cancel a false alarm
ATEM automation through the whole cue
- Tally can trigger the take
- Kodiak watches the downstream key state
- Cue end can cut the key automatically
- A dropped switcher link reconnects on its own
A full editor in the same app
- Builds the layered slide and airs it in the same app
- The fix two minutes before doors happens in the tool already on program
Bad media caught before it airs
- Every file checked in the background
- Corruption flagged off the air path, before it goes to program
The output watched, licensing that never darks it
- A stalled SDI raises the alarm within seconds
- No license state has a path to the output
- Never-block-go-live is structural
Kodiak, up close
The parts that matter, shown instead of listed.
Fill and key, by the book
External keying only, and Kodiak verifies the device can key before the show.
Fill and key leave over dual SDI, ready for the ATEM keyer.
The keyed program feed is built into the playout path.
Fluent ATEM
Tally cues the take, the downstream key is watched, and Kodiak cuts on cue end.
A dropped link reconnects on its own, mid show.
The switcher stays in the loop from take through cue end.
The editor and the deck, one app
The fix two minutes before doors happens in the same app that airs it.
Kodiak builds the layered slide and takes it from the same run sheet.
The fix goes straight from the run sheet to the SDI output.
Live sync, then takeover
The whole show mirrored one to one, cue for cue, media and all.
If the primary dies, the backup cuts itself to air on its own.
The backup is already current when it needs to take over.
NDI on a slide
Drop a network source onto a slide and it plays like any other layer.
Sources on the network show up on their own.
Network sources stay in the same run sheet as every other cue.
Built to keep the switched show on air
Kodiak is built for the keyed program feed, not only the full-screen roll-in. It rolls video, keys graphics over program on dual SDI, drives the ATEM from tally, edits the slide in the app that airs it, and keeps a synchronized backup ready to take over. At $200 once for two computers, it brings the run sheet and its safeguards into one native Mac app. If those are the risks your room needs covered, choose Kodiak.
Keep comparing
Kodiak vs Mitti
Two native Mac tools that both talk to an ATEM. Where the single-clip cue player ends and the whole show begins.
Read the comparisonKodiak vs QLab
The Mac theater standard keys too. The difference is who listens to the switcher and whose backup takes air by itself.
Read the comparisonSee the full comparison matrix
Roll it on your own rig
The trial is the full app for 21 days. No account, no card. When it ends, Kodiak keeps running free, everything but NDI, the ATEM link, and hot-backup sync.
Download KodiakCompetitor capabilities verified July 2026. Check each vendor for current details.
Competitor names and trademarks belong to their respective owners. Kodiak is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.