RTSP Streaming

Overview

RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) is a network control protocol designed for streaming media servers. It’s commonly used in IP cameras, surveillance systems, and professional broadcasting equipment.

Key Benefits

Widely supported: Standard protocol for IP cameras and surveillance
Low overhead: Efficient streaming with minimal latency
Bidirectional: Supports commands and control (play, pause, seek)
Transport flexibility: Works over UDP, TCP, or HTTP
Professional grade: Used in broadcast and production environments
Codec agnostic: Supports H.264, H.265, MJPEG, and more

Pulling RTSP Streams

Ant Media Server can pull RTSP streams from cameras and convert them to WebRTC, HLS, DASH, or RTMP. Source: StreamFetcher.java

Via REST API

# Add RTSP stream source
curl -X POST "https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/rest/v2/broadcasts/create" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "IP Camera 1",
    "streamId": "camera1",
    "type": "streamSource",
    "streamUrl": "rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream1"
  }'

# With authentication
curl -X POST "https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/rest/v2/broadcasts/create" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Authenticated Camera",
    "streamId": "camera2",
    "type": "streamSource",
    "streamUrl": "rtsp://username:password@192.168.1.101:554/stream"
  }'

Via Web Panel

Navigate to Ant Media Server web panel
Go to Application → New Live Stream → Stream Source
Enter stream details:
- Name: Camera name
- Stream URL: rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream
- Stream Type: Stream Source
Click Create
Click Start Broadcasting

RTSP URL Formats

Common Camera URL Patterns

rtsp://[username:password@]host[:port]/path

# Examples:
rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream1
rtsp://admin:password@192.168.1.100:554/live/ch0
rtsp://camera.local/axis-media/media.amp

Playing RTSP Streams

Once pulled into Ant Media Server, RTSP streams are available as:

<script src="https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/js/webrtc_adaptor.js"></script>
<video id="remoteVideo" autoplay controls></video>

<script>
  const webRTCAdaptor = new WebRTCAdaptor({
    websocket_url: "wss://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/websocket",
    mediaConstraints: { video: false, audio: false },
    peerconnection_config: {
      iceServers: [{ urls: "stun:stun1.l.google.com:19302" }]
    },
    sdp_constraints: {
      OfferToReceiveAudio: true,
      OfferToReceiveVideo: true
    },
    remoteVideoId: "remoteVideo",
    callback: (info) => {
      if (info === "initialized") {
        webRTCAdaptor.play("camera1");
      }
    }
  });
</script>

Configuration Options

RTSP URL Parameters

Ant Media Server supports RTSP URL parameters for advanced configuration:

rtsp://camera.ip/stream?param=value

# Allowed media types (video, audio, or both)
rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream?allowed_media_types=video
rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream?allowed_media_types=audio
rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream?allowed_media_types=video+audio

Source: StreamFetcher.java:176-199

Transport Protocol

# RTSP transport options
rtsp_transport=tcp     # TCP (more reliable, higher latency)
rtsp_transport=udp     # UDP (lower latency, less reliable)
rtsp_transport=http    # HTTP tunneling (firewall-friendly)

Timeout Settings

# Stream fetcher timeout (milliseconds)
settings.streamFetcherBufferTime=0

# Connection timeout
connection_timeout=10000000  # 10 seconds in microseconds

Advanced FFmpeg Options

# Pull RTSP with custom options
ffmpeg -rtsp_transport tcp \
  -allowed_media_types video \
  -i rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream \
  -c copy \
  -f flv rtmp://localhost/WebRTCAppEE/camera1

# With buffering control
ffmpeg -rtsp_transport tcp \
  -rtsp_flags prefer_tcp \
  -fflags nobuffer \
  -flags low_delay \
  -i rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream \
  -c:v copy -c:a copy \
  -f flv rtmp://localhost/WebRTCAppEE/camera1

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Cannot Connect to Camera:

# Test RTSP connectivity
ffprobe -rtsp_transport tcp rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream

# Check camera is reachable
ping 192.168.1.100

# Test port
telnet 192.168.1.100 554
nc -zv 192.168.1.100 554

# Try different transports
ffplay -rtsp_transport tcp rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream
ffplay -rtsp_transport udp rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream

Authentication Errors:

# Verify credentials
ffprobe rtsp://admin:password@192.168.1.100:554/stream

# URL encode special characters in password
# Example: password with @ symbol
rtsp://admin:p%40ssword@192.168.1.100:554/stream

Timeout Issues:

# Increase timeout
ffmpeg -stimeout 5000000 \
  -rtsp_transport tcp \
  -i rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream \
  -c copy output.mp4

# Check server logs
tail -f /usr/local/antmedia/log/antmedia-error.log | grep -i rtsp

Stream Quality Issues

Pixelation/Artifacts:

# Check stream codec info
ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=codec_name,width,height,bit_rate \
  rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream

# Transcode if needed
ffmpeg -i rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream \
  -c:v libx264 -preset fast -b:v 2000k \
  -c:a aac -b:a 128k \
  -f flv rtmp://localhost/WebRTCAppEE/camera1

Packet Loss (UDP):

# Switch to TCP
ffplay -rtsp_transport tcp rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream

# Increase buffer
ffplay -rtsp_transport udp \
  -buffer_size 1024000 \
  rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream

Audio/Video Sync Issues:

# Check timestamps
ffprobe -show_frames rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream | grep -E "pkt_pts_time|media_type"

# Fix sync with re-encoding
ffmpeg -i rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream \
  -async 1 \
  -vsync 1 \
  -c:v libx264 -c:a aac \
  -f flv rtmp://localhost/WebRTCAppEE/camera1

Performance Optimization

Reduce Latency:

# Disable buffering
settings.streamFetcherBufferTime=0

# Use TCP for reliability
rtsp_transport=tcp

# Minimize HLS latency
settings.hlsTime=2
settings.hlsListSize=3

Handle Multiple Streams:

# Monitor system resources
top -p $(pgrep -d',' java)

# Check stream count
curl http://localhost:5080/WebRTCAppEE/rest/v2/broadcasts/count

# Optimize encoder settings for IP cameras
settings.encoderSettings=[]
# Use direct copy when possible

Best Practices

Production Recommendations

Use TCP transport: More reliable than UDP for most networks
Monitor stream health: Set up webhooks for stream failures
Implement reconnection: Configure automatic restart on failure
Use substreams: Pull lower resolution for bandwidth savings
Secure credentials: Use environment variables or vault for passwords
Network isolation: Keep cameras on separate VLAN

Camera Configuration

Optimal Settings:

Resolution: 1280x720 or 1920x1080
Frame Rate: 15-30 fps
Bitrate: 1000-4000 Kbps
Codec: H.264 (baseline or main profile)
GOP: 60 frames (2 seconds at 30fps)
Audio: AAC 128kbps (if needed)

Disable on Camera:

Motion detection overlays
Timestamp overlays
Privacy masks (if not needed)
Audio (if not required)

Security

# Never use default passwords
# Common defaults to avoid:
admin:admin
admin:12345
root:root
admin:(empty)

Integration Examples

Motion Detection Integration

// Start/stop camera based on motion detection
const startCamera = async (cameraId) => {
  await axios.post(
    `https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/rest/v2/broadcasts/${cameraId}/start`
  );
  console.log(`Camera ${cameraId} started`);
};

const stopCamera = async (cameraId) => {
  await axios.post(
    `https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/rest/v2/broadcasts/${cameraId}/stop`
  );
  console.log(`Camera ${cameraId} stopped`);
};

// Motion detected
motionSensor.on('motion', () => {
  startCamera('camera1');
  
  // Stop after 5 minutes
  setTimeout(() => stopCamera('camera1'), 5 * 60 * 1000);
});

Recording Schedule

#!/bin/bash
# Start cameras during business hours

START_HOUR=9
END_HOUR=18
CURRENT_HOUR=$(date +%H)

if [ $CURRENT_HOUR -ge $START_HOUR ] && [ $CURRENT_HOUR -lt $END_HOUR ]; then
  # Start all cameras
  for i in {1..10}; do
    curl -X POST "https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/rest/v2/broadcasts/camera$i/start"
  done
else
  # Stop all cameras
  for i in {1..10}; do
    curl -X POST "https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/rest/v2/broadcasts/camera$i/stop"
  done
fi

Multi-Camera Dashboard

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Camera Dashboard</title>
  <style>
    .camera-grid {
      display: grid;
      grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(400px, 1fr));
      gap: 10px;
      padding: 10px;
    }
    video { width: 100%; height: auto; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <div class="camera-grid" id="cameras"></div>
  
  <script src="https://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/js/webrtc_adaptor.js"></script>
  <script>
    const cameras = ['camera1', 'camera2', 'camera3', 'camera4'];
    const grid = document.getElementById('cameras');
    
    cameras.forEach(cameraId => {
      const container = document.createElement('div');
      container.innerHTML = `
        <h3>${cameraId}</h3>
        <video id="${cameraId}" autoplay controls></video>
      `;
      grid.appendChild(container);
      
      // Initialize WebRTC for each camera
      const adaptor = new WebRTCAdaptor({
        websocket_url: "wss://your-server.com:5443/WebRTCAppEE/websocket",
        mediaConstraints: { video: false, audio: false },
        remoteVideoId: cameraId,
        callback: (info) => {
          if (info === "initialized") {
            adaptor.play(cameraId);
          }
        }
      });
    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

RTSP Server (Publishing)

RTSP server functionality for accepting RTSP streams (publishing) requires custom development or third-party integration. Ant Media Server natively supports RTSP as a client (pulling) but not as an RTSP server (receiving).

For RTSP publishing, consider:

Use RTMP for publishing to Ant Media Server
Use WebRTC for browser-based publishing
Use SRT for reliable contribution feeds
Deploy an RTSP server (like rtsp-simple-server) and pull from it

Get Started

Core Concepts

Deployment

Configuration

Streaming

Features

Security

Storage

SDKs

Operations

Overview

Key Benefits

Pulling RTSP Streams

Via REST API

Via Web Panel

RTSP URL Formats

Common Camera URL Patterns

Playing RTSP Streams

Configuration Options

RTSP URL Parameters

Transport Protocol

Timeout Settings

Advanced FFmpeg Options

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Stream Quality Issues

Performance Optimization

Best Practices

Production Recommendations

Camera Configuration

Security

Integration Examples

Motion Detection Integration

Recording Schedule

Multi-Camera Dashboard

RTSP Server (Publishing)

Resources

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Core Concepts

Deployment

Configuration

Streaming

Features

Security

Storage

SDKs

Operations

​Overview

​Key Benefits

​Pulling RTSP Streams

​Via REST API

​Via Web Panel

​RTSP URL Formats

​Common Camera URL Patterns

​Playing RTSP Streams

​Configuration Options

​RTSP URL Parameters

​Transport Protocol

​Timeout Settings

​Advanced FFmpeg Options

​Troubleshooting

​Connection Issues

​Stream Quality Issues

​Performance Optimization

​Best Practices

​Production Recommendations

​Camera Configuration

​Security

​Integration Examples

​Motion Detection Integration

​Recording Schedule

​Multi-Camera Dashboard

​RTSP Server (Publishing)

​Resources

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Key Benefits

Pulling RTSP Streams

Via REST API

Via Web Panel

RTSP URL Formats

Common Camera URL Patterns

Playing RTSP Streams

Configuration Options

RTSP URL Parameters

Transport Protocol

Timeout Settings

Advanced FFmpeg Options

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Stream Quality Issues

Performance Optimization

Best Practices

Production Recommendations

Camera Configuration

Security

Integration Examples

Motion Detection Integration

Recording Schedule

Multi-Camera Dashboard

RTSP Server (Publishing)

Resources