RTSP and camera - Huawei Enterprise Support Community

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Good day to you!

In this topic, I'll show you what RTSP is, how it works, how to use VLC to play RTSP streams, etc.

What is a protocol?

In the realm of computer science, protocols provide a set of rules governing how data travels from one communicating system to another. For instance, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) defines how webpage data and hypertext links are transmitted across the World Wide Web by governing communications between web servers and browsers.

By extension, streaming protocols handle the delivery of live and on-demand streaming content. RTSP is one of the foundational technologies making up the streaming protocol suite, designed to establish and maintain sessions between a source and the streaming server.

What does RTSP means?

The Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) is a network control protocol designed for use in entertainment and communications systems to control streaming media servers. The protocol is used for establishing and controlling media sessions between endpoints. Clients of media servers issue VHS-style commands, such as play, record and pause, to facilitate real-time control of the media streaming from the server to a client (Video On Demand) or from a client to the server (Voice Recording).

It is the protocol of choice for IP cameras.

RTSP

How RTSP works

When a user or application attempts to stream video from a remote source, the client device sends an RTSP request to the server to determine the available options, such as pause, play and record. The server then returns a list of the types of requests it can accept through RTSP. Once the client knows how to make a request, it transmits a media description request to the streaming server, and the server responds with a description of the media. From there, the client sends a setup request, and the server responds with information about the transport mechanism. Once the setup process is complete, the client initiates the streaming process by telling the server to send the bitstream -- a binary sequence -- using the transport mechanism specified in the setup request.

Why it's important

RTSP started as a way to allow users to play audio and video straight from the internet, rather than having to download media files to their devices. The protocol has been applied for various uses, including internet camera sites, online education and internet radio.

RTSP uses the same concepts as basic HTTP, which makes it easily compatible with existing HTTP networks. The protocol also allows for a great deal of flexibility. Clients can request the features they want to use in an effort to find out if the media server supports them. Likewise, whoever owns the media can deliver media streams from multiple servers. The protocol is also designed to accommodate for future growth of the media so the media creator can amend the protocol moving forward if necessary.

What is RTSP port?

Systems implementing RTSP MUST support carrying RTSP over TCP and MAY support UDP. The default port for the RTSP server is 554 for both UDP and TCP.

RTSP and IP cameras

Most IP cameras use the RTSP protocol to pull data to the media server. From surveillance to conferencing, IP cameras work great when you want to live-stream from one location without getting too fancy. These user-friendly streaming devices don't require a separate encoder, and RTSP works great when pairing IP cameras with a stateful server. What's more, broadcasters can aggregate the content for delivery to any device with a live transcoding solution.

RTSP and camera

What is RTSP url

The RTSP URL of each product is determined by the product. You are advised to view the corresponding product documentation or contact technical support.

Huawei RTSP

For details, see

https://forum.huawei.com/enterprise/en/rtsp-stream-issues-of-huawei-cameras/thread/588512-887

How to play RTSP stream with VLC player

1. Download and install VLC Player from http://www.videolan.org/vlc/.

2. Open VLC player and select Open Network Stream from the Media menu.

3. Type the network URL in the dialog box below, and then click Play to play the video with RTSP stream.

By default, VLC media player is configured with a very small caching buffer. This can lead to choppy playback initially but it will eventually smooth out over time as VLC automatically increases the size of this buffer. The steps below explain how to change the default cache size before connecting to the stream.

To set the default cache size and play a live or on demand stream:

1. On the VLC media player Media menu, click Open Network Stream.

2. At the bottom of the Open Media dialog box, select the Show more options check box.

3. Set the Caching value to a higher value such as 1200 ms. This value is retained between VLC media player playback sessions and restarts.

Thanks for reading!

Hope it helpful!