diff --git a/cmd/vidforward/main.go b/cmd/vidforward/main.go
index 994338c6..cd7df336 100644
--- a/cmd/vidforward/main.go
+++ b/cmd/vidforward/main.go
@@ -36,9 +36,12 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
 	"sync"
+	"time"
 
 	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/av/codec/codecutil"
+	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/av/codec/h264"
 	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/av/container/mts"
+	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/av/device/file"
 	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/av/revid"
 	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/av/revid/config"
 	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/iot/pi/netlogger"
@@ -54,14 +57,18 @@ const (
 
 // Logging configuration.
 const (
-	logPath      = "/var/log/netsender/netsender.log"
+	logPath      = "/var/log/vidforward/vidforward.log"
 	logMaxSize   = 500 // MB
 	logMaxBackup = 10
 	logMaxAge    = 28 // days
 	logVerbosity = logging.Info
-	logSuppress  = false
+	logSuppress  = true
 )
 
+// recvErrorDelay is a delay used when there's recv issues. It is intended to
+// prevent spamming from a single client.
+const recvErrorDelay = 7 * time.Second
+
 type MAC string
 
 // Broadcast is representative of a broadcast to be forwarded.
@@ -78,9 +85,15 @@ type Broadcast struct {
 // and a recv handler which is invoked when a camera wishes to get its video
 // forwarded to youtube.
 type broadcastManager struct {
-	broadcasts map[MAC]Broadcast
-	log        logging.Logger
-	mu         sync.Mutex
+	broadcasts       map[MAC]Broadcast
+	slateExitSignals map[MAC]chan struct{} // Used to signal to stop writing slate image.
+	log              logging.Logger
+	mu               sync.Mutex
+}
+
+// newBroadcastManager returns a new broadcastManager with the provided logger.
+func newBroadcastManager(l logging.Logger) *broadcastManager {
+	return &broadcastManager{log: l, broadcasts: make(map[MAC]Broadcast), slateExitSignals: make(map[MAC]chan struct{})}
 }
 
 // recvHandler handles recv requests for video forwarding. The MAC is firstly
@@ -93,9 +106,16 @@ func (m *broadcastManager) recv(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	q := r.URL.Query()
 	ma := MAC(q.Get("ma"))
 
-	_, ok := m.broadcasts[ma]
-	if !ok {
+	if !m.isActive(ma) {
 		m.errorLogWrite(w, "forward request mac is not mapped, doing nothing", "mac", ma)
+		time.Sleep(recvErrorDelay)
+		return
+	}
+
+	// We can't receive video if we're in slate mode.
+	if m.getStatus(ma) == "slate" {
+		m.errorLogWrite(w, "cannot receive video for this mac, status is slate", "mac", ma)
+		time.Sleep(recvErrorDelay)
 		return
 	}
 
@@ -137,7 +157,7 @@ func (m *broadcastManager) recv(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	for i, frame := range h264Clip.Frames() {
 		_, err := rv.Write(frame.Media)
 		if err != nil {
-			m.errorLogWrite(w, "could not write frame", "no.", i)
+			m.errorLogWrite(w, "could not write frame", "no.", i, "error", err)
 			return
 		}
 	}
@@ -153,6 +173,7 @@ func (m *broadcastManager) recv(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 
 // control handles control API requests.
 func (m *broadcastManager) control(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+	m.log.Info("control request", "method", r.Method)
 	switch r.Method {
 	case http.MethodPut:
 		m.processRequest(w, r, m.createOrUpdate)
@@ -204,6 +225,25 @@ func (m *broadcastManager) getPipeline(ma MAC) *revid.Revid {
 	return v.RV
 }
 
+// getStatus gets the broadcast's status corresponding to the provided MAC.
+func (m *broadcastManager) getStatus(ma MAC) string {
+	m.mu.Lock()
+	defer m.mu.Unlock()
+	v, ok := m.broadcasts[ma]
+	if !ok {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return v.Status
+}
+
+// isActive returns true if a MAC is registered to the broadcast manager.
+func (m *broadcastManager) isActive(ma MAC) bool {
+	m.mu.Lock()
+	defer m.mu.Unlock()
+	_, ok := m.broadcasts[ma]
+	return ok
+}
+
 // createOrUpdate creates or updates a Broadcast record. The revid pipeline
 // corresponding to the broadcast MAC is firsty configured/re-configured, and
 // the pipeline is "started", which will ready it for receiving video on its
@@ -234,15 +274,126 @@ func (m *broadcastManager) createOrUpdate(broadcast Broadcast) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not start revid pipeline: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	if broadcast.Status == "slate" {
-		go m.writeSlate(broadcast.MAC, broadcast.RV)
+	switch broadcast.Status {
+	case "create":
+		fallthrough
+	case "play":
+		signal, ok := m.slateExitSignals[broadcast.MAC]
+		if ok {
+			close(signal)
+			delete(m.slateExitSignals, broadcast.MAC)
+		}
+	case "slate":
+		m.log.Debug("slate request")
+		// If there's a signal channel it means that we're already writing the slate
+		// image and theres nothing to do, so return.
+		_, ok := m.slateExitSignals[broadcast.MAC]
+		if ok {
+			m.log.Warning("already writing slate")
+			return nil
+		}
+
+		// First create a signal that can be used to stop the slate writing routine.
+		// This will be provided to the writeSlate routine below.
+		signalCh := make(chan struct{})
+		m.slateExitSignals[broadcast.MAC] = signalCh
+
+		// Also create an errCh that will be used to communicate errors from the
+		// writeSlate routine.
+		errCh := make(chan error)
+
+		go m.writeSlate(broadcast.RV, errCh, signalCh)
+
+		// We'll watch out for any errors that happen within a 5 second window. This
+		// will indicate something seriously wrong with init, like a missing file etc.
+		const startupWindowDuration = 5 * time.Second
+		startupWindow := time.NewTimer(startupWindowDuration)
+		select {
+
+		// If this triggers first, we're all good.
+		case <-startupWindow.C:
+			m.log.Debug("out of error window")
+
+			// We consider any errors after this either to be normal i.e. as a result
+			// of stopping the slate input, or something that can not be handled, and
+			// only logged, therefore we can close the error channel errCh now.
+			// This will also let the routine know that errors can no longer be sent
+			// down errCh.
+			close(errCh)
+
+		// This means we got a slate error pretty early and need to let caller know.
+		case err := <-errCh:
+			return fmt.Errorf("could not write slate image: %w", err)
+		}
+	default:
+		return fmt.Errorf("unknown status string: %s", broadcast.Status)
 	}
 	return nil
 }
 
-// This is just a stub. Eventually this will handle writing of a slate image
-// to the destination RTMP URL.
-func (m *broadcastManager) writeSlate(ma MAC, rv *revid.Revid) {}
+// writeSlate is a routine that employs a file input device and h264 lexer to
+// write a h264 encoded slate image to the provided revid pipeline.
+func (m *broadcastManager) writeSlate(rv *revid.Revid, errCh chan error, exitSignal chan struct{}) {
+	m.log.Info("writing slate")
+	const (
+		// This is temporary and will eventually be part of a broadcast configuration
+		// where the remote vidforward API user can provide the slate image.
+		slateFileName = "slate.h264"
+
+		// Assume 25fps until this becomes configurable.
+		slateFrameRate = 25
+
+		loopSetting = true
+		frameDelay  = time.Second / slateFrameRate
+	)
+
+	fileInput := file.NewWith(m.log, slateFileName, loopSetting)
+	err := fileInput.Start()
+	if err != nil {
+		errCh <- err
+		return
+	}
+
+	// This will wait for a signal from the provided slateExitSignal (or from a
+	// timeout) to stop writing the slate by "Stopping" the file input which will
+	// terminate the Lex function.
+	go func() {
+		slateTimeoutTimer := time.NewTimer(24 * time.Hour)
+		select {
+		case <-slateTimeoutTimer.C:
+			m.log.Warning("slate timeout")
+		case <-exitSignal:
+			m.log.Info("slate exist signal")
+		}
+		m.log.Info("stopping file input")
+		fileInput.Stop()
+	}()
+
+	// Begin lexing the slate file and send frames to rv pipeline. We'll stay in
+	// here until file input closes or there's an unexpected error.
+	err = h264.Lex(rv, fileInput, frameDelay)
+
+	// If we get to this point, it means that the we've finished lexing for some
+	// reason; let's figure out why.
+	select {
+	// The only reason we'd get a receive on errCh from this side is if its been
+	// closed. This means that we've exceeded the "startup error" period, and that
+	// either the error is normal from stopping the input, or we can no longer inform
+	// the caller and just need to log the problem.
+	case <-errCh:
+		if errors.Is(err, io.EOF) || errors.Is(err, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF) {
+			m.log.Debug("got expected error", "error", err)
+			return
+		}
+		m.log.Error("got unexpected error", "error", err)
+
+	// This means that a problem occured pretty early in lexing.
+	default:
+		m.log.Error("unexpected error during lex startup", "error", err)
+		errCh <- err
+	}
+	m.log.Error("finished writing slate")
+}
 
 // delete removes a broadcast from the record.
 func (m *broadcastManager) delete(broadcast Broadcast) error {
@@ -281,7 +432,7 @@ func main() {
 	// lumberjack and netloggers.
 	log := logging.New(logVerbosity, io.MultiWriter(fileLog, netLog), logSuppress)
 
-	bm := &broadcastManager{log: log, broadcasts: map[MAC]Broadcast{}}
+	bm := newBroadcastManager(log)
 	http.HandleFunc("/recv", bm.recv)
 	http.HandleFunc("/control", bm.control)
 	http.ListenAndServe(*host+":"+*port, nil)
diff --git a/codec/codecutil/lex.go b/codec/codecutil/lex.go
index b8a1ce7d..9772bd22 100644
--- a/codec/codecutil/lex.go
+++ b/codec/codecutil/lex.go
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ func newRingBuffer(sz, cap int, timeout time.Duration) *ringBuffer {
 		buf: make([][]byte, cap),
 		n:   cap,
 		ch:  make(chan []byte, cap),
+		timeout: timeout,
 	}
 	for i := range rb.buf {
 		rb.buf[i] = make([]byte, sz)
diff --git a/device/file/file.go b/device/file/file.go
index bb211782..0e3d0f01 100644
--- a/device/file/file.go
+++ b/device/file/file.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"sync"
 
 	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/av/revid/config"
 	"bitbucket.org/ausocean/utils/logging"
@@ -39,14 +40,23 @@ import (
 // audio or video data.
 type AVFile struct {
 	f         *os.File
-	cfg       config.Config
+	path      string
+	loop      bool
 	isRunning bool
 	log       logging.Logger
+	set       bool
+	mu        sync.Mutex
 }
 
 // NewAVFile returns a new AVFile.
 func New(l logging.Logger) *AVFile { return &AVFile{log: l} }
 
+// NewWith returns a new AVFile with required params provided i.e. the Set
+// method does not need to be called.
+func NewWith(l logging.Logger, path string, loop bool) *AVFile {
+	return &AVFile{log: l, path: path, loop: loop, set: true}
+}
+
 // Name returns the name of the device.
 func (m *AVFile) Name() string {
 	return "File"
@@ -54,15 +64,22 @@ func (m *AVFile) Name() string {
 
 // Set simply sets the AVFile's config to the passed config.
 func (m *AVFile) Set(c config.Config) error {
-	m.cfg = c
+	m.path = c.InputPath
+	m.loop = c.Loop
+	m.set = true
 	return nil
 }
 
 // Start will open the file at the location of the InputPath field of the
 // config struct.
 func (m *AVFile) Start() error {
+	m.mu.Lock()
+	defer m.mu.Unlock()
 	var err error
-	m.f, err = os.Open(m.cfg.InputPath)
+	if !m.set {
+		return errors.New("AVFile has not been set with config")
+	}
+	m.f, err = os.Open(m.path)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("could not open media file: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -72,6 +89,8 @@ func (m *AVFile) Start() error {
 
 // Stop will close the file such that any further reads will fail.
 func (m *AVFile) Stop() error {
+	m.mu.Lock()
+	defer m.mu.Unlock()
 	err := m.f.Close()
 	if err == nil {
 		m.isRunning = false
@@ -83,33 +102,38 @@ func (m *AVFile) Stop() error {
 // Read implements io.Reader. If start has not been called, or Start has been
 // called and Stop has since been called, an error is returned.
 func (m *AVFile) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
-	if m.f != nil {
-		n, err := m.f.Read(p)
-		if err != nil && err != io.EOF {
-			return n, err
-		}
+	m.mu.Lock()
+	defer m.mu.Unlock()
+	if m.f == nil {
+		return 0, errors.New("AV file is closed, AVFile not started")
+	}
 
-		if (n < len(p) || err == io.EOF) && m.cfg.Loop {
-			m.log.Info("looping input file")
-			// In the case that we reach end of file but loop is true, we want to
-			// seek to start and keep reading from there.
-			_, err = m.f.Seek(0, io.SeekStart)
-			if err != nil {
-				return 0, fmt.Errorf("could not seek to start of file for input loop: %w", err)
-			}
-
-			// Now that we've seeked to start, let's try reading again.
-			n, err = m.f.Read(p)
-			if err != nil {
-				return n, fmt.Errorf("could not read after start seek: %w", err)
-			}
-		}
+	n, err := m.f.Read(p)
+	if err != nil && err != io.EOF {
 		return n, err
 	}
-	return 0, errors.New("AV file is closed")
+
+	if (n < len(p) || err == io.EOF) && m.loop {
+		m.log.Info("looping input file")
+		// In the case that we reach end of file but loop is true, we want to
+		// seek to start and keep reading from there.
+		_, err = m.f.Seek(0, io.SeekStart)
+		if err != nil {
+			return 0, fmt.Errorf("could not seek to start of file for input loop: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		// Now that we've seeked to start, let's try reading again.
+		n, err = m.f.Read(p)
+		if err != nil {
+			return n, fmt.Errorf("could not read after start seek: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	return n, err
 }
 
 // IsRunning is used to determine if the AVFile device is running.
 func (m *AVFile) IsRunning() bool {
+	m.mu.Lock()
+	defer m.mu.Unlock()
 	return m.f != nil && m.isRunning
 }
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 85f7d39d..7addbb62 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@ module bitbucket.org/ausocean/av
 
 go 1.16
 
-replace bitbucket.org/ausocean/utils v1.3.2 => ../utils
-
 require (
 	bitbucket.org/ausocean/iot v1.3.3
 	bitbucket.org/ausocean/utils v1.3.2