IP Camera Streaming - Ant Media Server

Overview

Ant Media Server can pull streams from IP cameras and re-stream them to viewers. This feature supports:

RTSP Camera Sources - Pull streams from any RTSP-enabled camera
ONVIF Protocol - Auto-discover and configure ONVIF cameras
PTZ Control - Pan, tilt, and zoom control for compatible cameras
Multiple Cameras - Manage hundreds of camera streams
Recording & Transcoding - Record camera feeds and create adaptive streams

Supported Protocols

RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol)

Most common protocol for IP cameras:

RTSP/TCP - Reliable, works through firewalls
RTSP/UDP - Lower latency, may have packet loss
RTSP/HTTP - Tunnels through port 80/443

Example RTSP URLs:

rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0
rtsp://192.168.1.101/stream1
rtsp://camera.example.com:8554/live.sdp

ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum)

Standardized protocol for IP cameras:

Auto-discovery of cameras on network
Retrieve camera capabilities
Get RTSP stream URLs automatically
Control PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom)
Configure camera settings

ONVIF Integration

Ant Media Server includes a full ONVIF client implementation:

public class OnvifCamera implements IOnvifCamera {
    public static final int CONNECTION_SUCCESS = 0;
    public static final int CONNECT_ERROR = -1;
    public static final int AUTHENTICATION_ERROR = -2;
    
    private OnvifDevice nvt;
    private PtzDevices ptzDevices;
    private List<Profile> profiles;
    private String profileToken;
    
    @Override
    public int connect(String address, String username, String password) {
        // Extract IP from address (may include http:// or https://)
        String camIP = getIPAddress(address);
        String protocol = getProtocol(address);
        
        nvt = new OnvifDevice(camIP, protocol, username, password);
        nvt.getSoap().setLogging(false);
        
        // Get device capabilities
        nvt.getDevices().getCapabilities().getDevice();
        nvt.getDevices().getServices(false);
        
        // Initialize PTZ if available
        ptzDevices = nvt.getPtz();
        profiles = nvt.getDevices().getProfiles();
        
        // Find profile with PTZ support
        for (Profile profile : profiles) {
            if (profile.getPTZConfiguration() != null) {
                profileToken = profile.getToken();
                break;
            }
        }
        
        return CONNECTION_SUCCESS;
    }
    
    @Override
    public String getRTSPStreamURI() {
        return nvt.getMedia().getRTSPStreamUri(profileToken);
    }
}

Connection Methods

The ONVIF client supports both HTTP and HTTPS:

public String getProtocol(String address) {
    if (address.startsWith("http://")) {
        return "http";
    } else if (address.startsWith("https://")) {
        return "https";  
    }
    return null;
}

Adding IP Cameras

Via Web Panel

Navigate to Streams

Go to LiveApp → Streams in the web dashboard

Add IP Camera

Click New Live Stream → IP Camera

Enter Camera Details

Name: Friendly name for the camera
RTSP URL: Full RTSP URL with credentials
ONVIF Address: (Optional) ONVIF device address
Username: Camera admin username
Password: Camera admin password

Configure Options

Enable recording if needed
Set up transcoding profiles
Configure preview generation

Start Streaming

Click Create - the stream will start automatically

Via REST API

Add a camera programmatically:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/rest/v2/broadcasts/create" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Front Door Camera",
    "type": "ipCamera",
    "ipAddr": "rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/stream1",
    "streamId": "camera-front-door"
  }'

PTZ Control

Control pan, tilt, and zoom on ONVIF cameras:

PTZ Movement Types

Continuous
Relative
Absolute

Move continuously until stop command:

public boolean moveContinuous(float x, float y, float zoom) {
    return ptzDevices.continuousMove(profileToken, x, y, zoom);
}

Parameters:

x: Pan speed (-1.0 to 1.0)
y: Tilt speed (-1.0 to 1.0)
zoom: Zoom speed (-1.0 to 1.0)

Move relative to current position:

public boolean moveRelative(float x, float y, float zoom) {
    return ptzDevices.relativeMove(profileToken, x, y, zoom);
}

Example: moveRelative(0.1, 0, 0) pans right by 10%

Move to absolute position:

public boolean moveAbsolute(float x, float y, float zoom) {
    return ptzDevices.absoluteMove(profileToken, x, y, zoom);
}

Coordinates range from -1.0 to 1.0 for pan/tilt

REST API for PTZ

# Continuous move (pan right)
curl -X POST "http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/rest/v2/broadcasts/{streamId}/ptz/move" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"x": 0.5, "y": 0, "zoom": 0}'

# Stop movement  
curl -X POST "http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/rest/v2/broadcasts/{streamId}/ptz/stop"

Stop Movement

public boolean moveStop() {
    return ptzDevices.stopMove(profileToken);
}

Camera Settings

Image Settings

Adjust brightness, contrast, etc.:

public boolean setBrightness(float brightness) {
    ImagingSettings20 imageSettings = nvt.getImaging()
                                        .getImagingSettings(profileToken);
    imageSettings.setBrightness(brightness);
    return nvt.getImaging().setImagingSettings(profileToken, imageSettings);
}

Available settings:

Brightness - 0.0 to 100.0
Contrast - 0.0 to 100.0
Saturation - 0.0 to 100.0
Sharpness - 0.0 to 100.0
Focus Mode - Auto / Manual

Get Camera Time

public java.util.Date getTime() {
    return nvt.getDate();
}

Streaming Configuration

Stream Pull Settings

Configure how AMS pulls from cameras:

{
  "ipCameraPullPeriod": 10000,
  "ipCameraRestartPeriod": 30000,  
  "ipCameraAutoStart": true
}

Setting	Description	Default
`ipCameraPullPeriod`	How often to check camera availability (ms)	10000
`ipCameraRestartPeriod`	Wait time before reconnecting after failure (ms)	30000
`ipCameraAutoStart`	Auto-start camera streams on server startup	true

Transport Protocol

Choose between TCP and UDP for RTSP:

{
  "rtspPullTransportType": "tcp"
}

Options:

tcp - More reliable, works through NAT/firewalls
udp - Lower latency, may drop packets
http - Tunnel through HTTP (port 80/443)

Recording Camera Streams

Enable recording for camera streams:

curl -X PUT "http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/rest/v2/broadcasts/{streamId}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "mp4Enabled": 1,
    "hlsEnabled": 1
  }'

Use scheduled recording to save storage by only recording during specific hours (e.g., business hours).

Multi-Camera Management

Bulk Operations

Manage multiple cameras efficiently:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/rest/v2/broadcasts/bulk/start" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"streamIds": ["camera-1", "camera-2", "camera-3"]}'

Camera Groups

Organize cameras by location or purpose:

{
  "name": "Building A Cameras",
  "streamIds": [
    "camera-entrance",
    "camera-lobby",  
    "camera-parking"
  ]
}

Playback Options

HLS Streaming

Camera feeds available as HLS:

<video id="camera" controls>
  <source src="http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/streams/camera-front-door.m3u8" type="application/x-mpegURL">
</video>

<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/hls.js@latest"></script>
<script>
  const video = document.getElementById('camera');
  const hls = new Hls();
  hls.loadSource('http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/streams/camera-front-door.m3u8');
  hls.attachMedia(video);
</script>

WebRTC Playback

Ultra-low latency viewing:

const webRTCAdaptor = new WebRTCAdaptor({
  websocket_url: 'ws://localhost:5080/LiveApp/websocket',
  streamId: 'camera-front-door',
  callback: (info, obj) => {
    if (info === 'play_started') {
      console.log('Camera stream started');
    }
  }
});

webRTCAdaptor.play('camera-front-door');

Troubleshooting

Cannot connect to camera

Common causes:

Wrong IP address or port
Incorrect username/password
Camera not on same network
Firewall blocking RTSP (port 554)

Debugging:

# Test RTSP connection
ffplay rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/stream1

# Check network connectivity
ping 192.168.1.100
telnet 192.168.1.100 554

Stream keeps disconnecting

Possible issues:

Network instability
Camera firmware issues
Resource limits on AMS server
TCP/UDP protocol mismatch

Solutions:

Increase ipCameraRestartPeriod
Switch between TCP/UDP transport
Check camera logs for errors
Monitor server resources (CPU/memory)

ONVIF discovery not working

Reasons:

Camera doesn’t support ONVIF
ONVIF disabled in camera settings
Different subnet
Authentication required

Fix:

Verify ONVIF support in camera specs
Enable ONVIF in camera web interface
Use direct RTSP URL instead
Provide username/password in connection

PTZ controls don't work

Check:

Camera supports PTZ
ONVIF connection established
Correct profile selected
PTZ not locked by another client

Test:

# Verify PTZ capability
curl "http://localhost:5080/LiveApp/rest/v2/broadcasts/{streamId}/onvif/capabilities"

Best Practices

Use Substreams

Configure cameras to provide multiple streams. Use main stream for recording, substream for live viewing to reduce bandwidth.

Secure Credentials

Never hardcode camera passwords. Use environment variables or secure credential storage.

Monitor Health

Set up alerts for camera disconnections. Use webhooks to get notified when streams fail.

Optimize Storage

Use scheduled recording and configure retention policies to manage storage for camera recordings.

Get Started

Core Concepts

Deployment

Configuration

Streaming

Features

Security

Storage

SDKs

Operations

​Overview

​Supported Protocols

​RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol)

​ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum)

​ONVIF Integration

​Connection Methods

​Adding IP Cameras

​Via Web Panel

​Via REST API

​PTZ Control

​PTZ Movement Types

​REST API for PTZ

​Stop Movement

​Camera Settings

​Image Settings

​Get Camera Time

​Streaming Configuration

​Stream Pull Settings

​Transport Protocol

​Recording Camera Streams

​Multi-Camera Management

​Bulk Operations

​Camera Groups

​Playback Options

​HLS Streaming

​WebRTC Playback

​Troubleshooting

​Best Practices

Use Substreams

Secure Credentials

Monitor Health

Optimize Storage

​Related Resources

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Supported Protocols

RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol)

ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum)

ONVIF Integration

Connection Methods

Adding IP Cameras

Via Web Panel

Via REST API

PTZ Control

PTZ Movement Types

REST API for PTZ

Stop Movement

Camera Settings

Image Settings

Get Camera Time

Streaming Configuration

Stream Pull Settings

Transport Protocol

Recording Camera Streams

Multi-Camera Management

Bulk Operations

Camera Groups

Playback Options

HLS Streaming

WebRTC Playback

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

Related Resources