Using the VLC media player to verify RTSP streams

Overview

In some cases, the appliance won't be able to connect to a camera's RTSP stream to pull in the video. Using the VLC media player is one way to check if the camera's RTSP stream is working properly or not.

Download the VLC media player

The VLC media player can be downloaded at the following link: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/.

Checking the RTSP stream

To check the RTSP stream, you will need the RTSP path for the camera. In this example, it's in the format of the following:

rtsp://username:password@ipaddress:port/path

And ends up looking like the following with all the information entered:

rtsp://admin:spot1234@172.22.222.4:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0

Step 1: Open VLC media player

Step 2: Click on Media, then Open Network Stream...

Step 3: Enter the RTSP path for your camera and click Play

If the stream comes up, the RTSP path is working fine. If it fails to connect for any reason, an error window will pop up saying so and the next steps would be troubleshooting the camera's RTSP stream.

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