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Connect to an RTSP Stream for RTSP Inspector: Setup and Workflow Guide

URL format

Use a standard RTSP URL:

rtsp://<ip-address>:<port>/<path>

Examples:

  • rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream1 — camera on local network, port 554, path /stream1
  • rtsp://admin:password@192.168.1.100:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 — Dahua/Hikvision style
  • rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/axis-media/media.amp — Axis camera style
  • rtsp://10.0.0.50:8554/live — custom RTSP server on alternate port

The URL format is camera-specific. Check your camera's documentation for the correct path. Common patterns:

  • Axis: /axis-media/media.amp
  • Dahua: /cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0
  • Hikvision: /Streaming/Channels/101
  • Generic ONVIF: varies by manufacturer

Transport modes

RTP over TCP (interleaved) — RTP packets travel inside the RTSP TCP connection on port 554. This is the most firewall-friendly option and works through most NAT configurations. Select this first.

RTP over UDP — RTP packets travel on separate UDP ports (typically in the client-specified port range). Lower latency but more likely to be blocked by firewalls. Requires the client to be reachable on the UDP ports it advertises in the SETUP request.

First test workflow

  1. Enter the RTSP URL
  2. Keep "RTP over TCP" selected for the first test
  3. Click Connect
  4. Wait for the diagnosis cockpit to populate (DESCRIBE → SETUP → PLAY → RTP)
  5. Check the Diagnosis tab before drilling into packet tables

Common connection failures

Connection refused — the camera is unreachable on port 554. Check: camera powered on? Correct IP? Firewall blocking port 554?

401 Unauthorized — credentials are wrong or the camera requires a different auth method. Verify username/password. Some cameras use digest auth, others basic.

404 Not Found — the stream path is wrong. This is the most common issue with IP cameras. Different manufacturers use completely different URL paths for the same RTSP functionality. Check the camera documentation.

DESCRIBE returns HTML instead of SDP — you're hitting the camera's web interface, not the RTSP endpoint. The URL path is wrong.

What's not supported

URLs using http://, https://, HLS, FLV, or WebRTC are intentionally outside RTSP Inspector's scope. The tool works exclusively with RTSP streams.

Related workflows