Configuring your cameras for live streaming via RTSP

A typical RTSP URL looks like this: rtsp://username:password@192.168.1.101:554/h264Preview_01_main * May differ with Camera brand

This guide has been constructed to provide an understanding of the steps required to connect a CCTV camera to the Unleash live

More information and FAQs can be found at http://knowledge.unleashlive.com
Please use the “Help” (?) icon on the left navigation bar in your account for additional information (opens the knowledge base and chatbot)

The objective of this guide

In order to connect a typical networked camera/s to Unleash live, we require a valid and working RTSP URL. A typical RTSP URL looks like this:

rtsp://username:password@123.123.123.123:554/h264Preview_01_sub

This URL is composed of the following components:

rtsp://<username>:<password>@<ip or domain>:<port>/<stream id or location>

<username>:<password>: Specified in the camera or NVR settings. Typically you should create a new user who only has access to the camera stream and is unable to make adjustments to the camera settings. The best practice is to avoid these characters: @/?% in username and password.

<ip or domain name>: This is the external ipv4 address of the router or domain name of your server. Note that having a static IP address is preferred as if a dynamic IP address is used Unleash live will be unable to access the camera when the underlying IP address changes. 

An alternative is setting up Dynamic DNS with a free provider such as noip, which is supported by most routers directly. 

<port>: Specified in the camera or NVR settings, and then port forwarded with your router. Typically port 554 is used for RTSP, however, any unused port is acceptable. 

<stream location>: This will be different per camera - for example, this website lists several cameras and their stream location. The camera user manual or configuration page should also list the various options for stream locations per camera.

Camera Username and Password 

Set up a new user and password - ideally something simple, without the use of special characters such as (, @, #, $, %, & or *, and with access only to the video stream.

RTSP Port Configuration

The default RTSP port should be set to the default 554. There is an option to change this and should not affect the functionality of the camera.  Please note however issues may arise when troubleshooting later if random ports are used.

Stream Location and encoding

The settings for the various camera streams can be adjusted here. Parameters such as resolution and frame rate can be adjusted to provide the best performance for your network.

Some cameras will allow you to adjust the stream location, but it is recommended to use the manufacturer-supplied settings for these.

Router Port Forwarding

To use RTSP over the internet, you will need to port-forward from your router to the Camera or NVR internal IP address over the correct port.

In this example, the camera's internal IP address is 192.168.1.101, and the default RTSP port is used (554).

Testing

Before continuing, we advise that you test to confirm that the Camera (or NVR) is producing a valid stream over RTSP.

Using VLC, select "Media" from the navigation bar, and then "Open Network Stream".

Please input the configured RTSP URL into the VLC text box - for example, rtsp://username:password@192.168.1.101:554/h264Preview_01_main, and press play.

If successful, the live camera feed will be displayed in VLC. Note that the IP address in this test should be the internal IP address for the camera or NVR, and the stream location could be different depending on your camera manufacturer - see the manual for more information.