The Live Streaming module for the geoDVR allows the geoDVR to stream live video to remote devices over a network. Multiple channels can be streamed simultaneously, provided enough bandwidth is available. The geoDVR acts as the Live Streaming server, and the RTSP media streaming protocol is used.
Setting up Live Streaming
In order to Live Stream, several requirements must be met:
- The geoDVR has the Live Stream module installed.
- The geoDVR is configured for and connected to a network. This documentation will assume the default network configuration for Port 1 (Static IP 192.168.0.10/24).
- A remote client is on the same network, with no firewalls or ports being blocked between them.
- Remote client has video player software that supports RTSP and H.264 playback, along with suitable hardware to handle H.264 decoding. This documentation will use a Windows PC with VLC as an example.
Configuration – geoDVR (Server)
By default, LAN Port 1 on the geoDVR is assigned to 192.168.0.10 and subnet mask 255.255.255.0, and LAN Port 2 is set to DHCP (unless otherwise being used in a custom geoDVR setup). When using a direct network connection (server to client), LAN Port 1 is recommended. Advanced users may configure the LAN ports / IP address settings in Windows by going to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center.
The streams must first be enabled within the geoDVR interface. The channels can be selected by going to the Live Streaming menu then selecting the video channels to enable.
NOTE: To always keep Live Streaming enabled, select File > Save Current Settings as Default so the settings are saved and used after geoDVR restarts.
The geoDVR uses the following settings for the RTSP server:
- Username: None. If a username is required by client, “root” can be used, otherwise it can be left out.
- Password: None. If a password is required by client, “root” can be used, otherwise it can be left out.
- Port: 554. This port must be accessible and can not be blocked by any firewalls.
- URL Format: rtsp://{geoDVR IP Address}:554/session{N}.mpg, where {geoDVR IP Address} is the IP address the geoDVR is using, and {N} is the channel stream to play, starting at 0 for the first channel.
For example, if connected to LAN Port 1 (where geoDVR has been assigned IP address 192.168.0.10), to play back the first channel the URL for the stream would be rtsp://192.168.0.10:554/session0.mpg . To play the second channel, the stream URL would be rtsp://192.168.0.10:554/session1.mpg.
Configuration – Playing the Stream (Client)
NOTE: In this example, the client is a Windows PC that is directly connected to LAN Port 1 via Ethernet cable (direct Server to Client). and the playback software is VLC media player, which is available free at https://www.videolan.org/.
In order for the Windows PC to communicate with the geoDVR, it must have its network settings configured so that it resides on the same network.
Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center then click Change adapter settings on the left-hand side:
Right click on your network connection and click Properties.
Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) in the list and click the Properties Button
Select Use the following IP address, and enter a valid, unique IP address that is on the same subnet. In this example 192.168.0.20 is used. For Subnet mask, enter 255.255.255.0 (it should auto-populate). Gateway and DNS server are left blank. Click OK.
The server (geoDVR) and client (Windows PC) are now on the same network. To test the connectivity, open a Command Prompt and type ping 192.168.0.10 to make sure there is a response. Once connectivity is verified, you are ready to begin streaming. Open VLC, then select Media > Open Network Stream:
The Open Media window will come up:
The geoDVR has the IP address 192.168.0.10, and the port number for RTSP is 554. To play back the first video channel, the stream ID would be session0.mpg. Thus, the full URL is rtsp://192.168.0.10:554/session0.mpg.
NOTE: By default, VLC uses a cache of 1000ms (one second), which will add a one second delay to playback. If you select show more options, you can manually set this value – however playback may suffer if set too low. Our recommendation is 300ms for a balanced value to use.
Click the Play button to begin playing the stream.
NOTE: You can play multiple streams simultaneously by opening new instances of VLC and connecting to different session IDs (stream ID). For a four channel system, your session IDs will be:
Channel 1: session0.mpg
Channel 2: session1.mpg
Channel 3: session2.mpg
Channel 4: session3.mpg
NOTE: Each active stream will consume bandwidth, which can vary by resolution (HD or SD), framerate, motion, video quality, and what the cameras are recording.