How do I stream an IP cam with RTSP?

You can use the RTSP protocol for live streaming if you have an IP camera. RTSP stands for Real-Time Streaming Protocol.

To integrate an RTSP-enabled network camera, you need the address where you can retrieve the live stream from the camera. Please read your camera manual and search for "RTSP" or look on the internet with the excellent search command "RTSP + URL + manufacturer + camera model."

ATTENTION! Do not use standard user data for IP cams, and always assign a secure password! ATTENTION! Activate password protection for your RTSP streams to prevent unauthorized access!

Add a video source via RTSP

YouTube Video: Add video source of IP-Cams with a few clicks

How do I find the RTSP address of a network camera?

If you don't know how to get the RTSP address of your network camera, learn it in this guide.

Example of the RTSP syntax of the manufacturer HIKVISION

Fig. 1: Video and audio settings HIKVISION

Fig. 2: Select and configure channel

rtsp:// [USERNAME] : [PASSWORD] @ [ADDRESS] : [RTSP PORT] /Streaming/Channels/ [CH] 0 [STREAM TYP]

• [USER] - This is the username for accessing the stream

• [PASSWORD] - String, for access or access control to the device.

• [ADDRESS] - Network address of the IP cam.

• [RTSP PORT] - default port is 554

• [CHANNEL] - HIKVISION cameras provide 2 to 3 channels, where channel 1 is mostly 4:3 format and is used for internal viewing

• [STREAM TYPE] - 1 for First/Mainstream, 2 for Substream 4:3 format (internal use), 3 for Secondstream (sometimes has to be enabled separately)

Example 1

HIKVISION network camera in LAN with a local network address.

In this example, the IP address of the IP cam in the LAN is: 192.168.1.64 and the RTSP port is on the default port: 554. The username is: admin and the password is: password. The 3 possible streaming channels are addressed.

The RTSP streaming addresses are:

1 Main Stream: rtsp://admin:passwort@192.168.1.64:554/Streaming/Channels/101 2 Substream: rtsp://admin:passwort@192.168.1.64:554/Streaming/Channels/102 3 Dritter Stream: rtsp://admin:passwort@192.168.1.64:554/Streaming/Channels/103

Example 2

HIKVISION network camera on WAN with a public IP address.

The IP address on the LAN is: 181.112.101.124 and the RTSP port is on the default port: 554. All other parameters are identical to Example 1 on the LAN.

The RTSP streaming addresses are:

1 Main Stream: rtsp://admin:passwort@181.112.101.124:554/Streaming/Channels/101 2 Substream: rtsp://admin:passwort@181.112.101.124:554/Streaming/Channels/102 3 Dritter Stream: rtsp://admin:passwort@181.112.101.124:554/Streaming/Channels/103

Don't forget to forward active ports in routers and firewalls to be publicly available over the Internet.

Open RTSP video with VLC Media Player

If the RTSP stream does not work, you can check with VLC. To do this, install the free VLC player from the manufacturer's website: https://www.videolan.org/.

• Navigate via the tab "Media" to the option "Open network stream" or open the menu via the key combination "Ctrl + N".

• Enter RTSP address as described above

• Click on the "Open RTP/UDP stream" button to start the stream.

• If the video does not start, check the video source and firewall settings in your network.

If you have a working RTSP address, the rest is ready to live stream with a few clicks.

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