Using RTSP URL's with VLC

VLC is a multi media player. It is a good source to use when trying to verify video streams. This can be useful when adding multi sensor cameras, you can verify each stream that is available.

It is also useful when troubleshooting a camera with no video stream, or one that has only one working stream, You can test different Codecs based on what the camera has to offer. It works for most all Codecs ie. H264, MJPEG, MP4 

To check your RTSP streams using VLC-

• In VLC click Media 

• Click on Open Network Stream.... 

• Select RTSP under protocol, then your URL will be the RTSP stream of the camera in question. 

                             (Example: rtsp://10.0.90.170/h264_2)

• Once you click Play, it will either start playing that stream or make you enter the cameras login credentials. 

To Use for Troubleshooting- 

When troubleshooting VLC can help you find why a stream isn't working properly. There is a tools option to find out what codec the camera is on and whether it is dropping packets, what frame rate and what bandwidth it is using, 

• Once you have the stream pulled up click the tools option in the upper toolbar

• You can choose the codec details to view resolution and frame rate, 

• you can choose statistics to see if the camera is dropping packets or what the actual bit rate is.