The RTSP link is used to integrate a camera, recorder or intercom with 3rd party software, recorders, or even pull the stream through VLC Media Player. The RTSP stream details provided are compatible with VIP and Watchguard cameras and recorders.
Full API Documentation can be found here.
RTSP URL Format
The RTSP URL format for VIP & Watchguard products is:
rtsp://USER:PASSWORD@IPADDRESS:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1
If it is a standalone camera or intercom, set the channel to 1. If the camera is from an NVR, set it to the channel number of the camera you wish to access.
Set the subtype value to 0 for Mainstream, 1 for Substream 1, and 2 for Substream 2.
For Example: rtsp://admin:admin123@10.1.1.65:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1
Retrieving Recorded Footage For a Specific Date & Time via RTSP
You can add a Start Time & End Time to retrieve footage from a specific Time Period.
For example to retrieve one minute of recorded footage from 13/2/2015 12:37:05 on NVR channel 1:
rtsp://username:password@IPADDRESS:554/cam/playback?channel=1&starttime=2015_02_13_12_37_05&endtime=2015_02_13_12_38_05
Retrieve a live snapshot JPEG file using a web browser
Use the following link format to retrieve a live snapshot of a specific NVR channel, by entering the channel number, or use 0 if connecting to a standalone camera.
Replace IPADDRESS and USER:PASS with actual credentials.
CH 3 of NVR
http://IPADDRESS/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?channel=3
Standalone IPC (channel 0)
http://USER:PASS@IPADDRESS/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?channel=0
http://USER:PASS@IPADDRESS/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?
NOTE: When taking snapshots on a standalone camera, the snapshot interval must be set to "1" and snapshot schedule set to "General" for every day. Otherwise a HTTP 500 error will be returned at random intervals when trying to retrieve a snapshot.
Using PHP to Retrieve Snapshots
Use PHP to retrieve snapshots from channel 1 and channel 2 of an NVR each time a someone visits the index.html page and display them on screen. Does not retrieve if images are less than 10s old.
Download both of these files and place them on a web server with PHP, then edit the PHP file to set your recorder details:
Testing RTSP Stream with VLC Media Player
Before attempting to add an RTSP steam to a 3rd Party NVR or software, it is recommend to test the stream first in VLC, to ensure the stream details are correct. This method can be used of any brand camera, however you will need to use the correct RTSP details for the particular camera you have.
1. Download VLC Media Player from the official website and install the software - https://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html
2. Select Media, then Open Network Stream.
3. Enter the stream details, then select Play. If the stream link is correct, the live video will be displayed. If it does not display, check the stream link is correct and the devices are in the correct IP range.
