How to establish an NVR RTSP server

Contents

Introduction

Requirements

Configuration

Configure RTSP Server on NVR

Use the RTSP URL to stream on a third-party client

Verification

Live View

Playback

Conclusion

Introduction

The latest version of NVR firmware supports RTSP server configuration. Through this configuration, customers can stream the device's video to a third-party client and view the preview and playback results on the client. You will need to prepare an NVR with a hard drive installed and then add the IPC to the NVR channel management.

Requirements

• VIGI IPC and NVR
• Third-party Clients

Configuration

Configure RTSP Server on NVR

Step 1. Log in to NVR’s web interface with its IP address. Enter your username and Password, then click Log in.

Step 2. Navigate to Settings > Network > Network Service > RTSP. Currently, the NVR enables the RTSP Server function by default. The default RTSP Port is 554, the default Authentication Algorithm is MD5, and the SRTP function is turned off by default. You may modify the RTSP Port and Authentication Algorithm and enable the SRTP function as needed.

Notes:

• We recommend using the default RTSP Port 554 to avoid firewall blocking.
• For authentication, there are three options: MD5, SHA256, and MD5/SHA256. By default, MD5 is used, which provides the widest compatibility. SHA256 offers higher security, but most third-party clients do not support it. The MD5/SHA256 option strikes a balance between compatibility and security; however, the actual method employed depends on the third-party client. In many third-party clients, it may still fall back to MD5 (without adopting the more secure SHA256), and some clients do not support the mixed mode at all.

• Please note that once the SRTP function is enabled, third-party clients and NVRs will no longer be able to pull the stream with the RTSP Server function. Currently, only our VIGI product line software clients support streaming with SRTP enabled.

Use the RTSP URL to stream on a third-party client

Step 1. Open a third-party client that supports streaming via RTSP URL. We use VLC Media Player as an example.

Step 2. Click Media, then click Open Network Stream.

Live View

Step 1. In the pop-up window, enter the RTSP URL of the live stream and click Play.

Notes:

The RTSP URL format for the live stream is:

rtsp://ip/live/ch/stream/avm

• IP is the IP address of the NVR.
• Ch is the channel number (IPC channels start from 1 up to the maximum number; channel 0 refers to Channel-Zero).
• Stream is the stream number (1 for the Main Stream, 2 for the Substream; currently, Channel-Zero only supports the Main Stream).
• Navigate to Settings > System > Basic Settings > Channel-Zero. You can choose to enable the Channel-Zero function. Once enabled, you’ll be able to view all cameras in a single live view video.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, enter the NVR’s Username and Password, then click OK to complete the RTSP authentication.

Playback

Step 1. In the pop-up window, enter the RTSP URL representing the playback stream from 12:00 to 12:20 on September 11, 2025, and then click Play.

Notes:

The RTSP URL format for the playback stream is:

rtsp://ip/replay/ch/stream/avm?starttime=YYYYMMDDtHHMMSSz&endtime=YYYYMMDDtHHMMSSz

• IP is the NVR’s IP address.
• Ch is the channel number (IPC channels start from 1 up to the maximum; currently, Channel-Zero does not support playback).
• Stream is the stream type (1 for Main Stream, 2 for Substream). It depends on the type of Storage Stream you have configured. You can only playback the kind of stream that you have set. You can navigate to Settings > Storage > Recording Control > Storage Stream to check which type of video stream you have selected for recording.

• starttime and endtime are the start and end times, both in UTC+0. The time format is YYYYMMDDHHMMSS (Year, Month, Day, Hour, Minute, Second). This means that when you are in a different time zone, if you want to play back a recording for a specific time, you need to convert it to UTC+0. You can navigate to Settings > System > Basic Settings > Date to check your device’s time zone. For example, if my device’s time zone is UTC-3 and I want to play back the stream from 12:00 to 12:20 on September 11, 2025, you need to convert it to UTC+0, which should be: starttime=20250911t150000z&endtime=20250911t152000z.
• Considering that some regions observe Daylight Saving Time, please ensure your device has DST enabled and is currently using it.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, enter the NVR’s Username and Password, then click OK to complete the RTSP authentication.

Verification

Live View

After completing RTSP authentication using the live stream URL, you will be able to view the live stream. The time displayed in the OSD must be consistent with your time zone.

Playback

After completing RTSP authentication using the playback stream URL, you will be able to view the recorded stream from September 11, 2025, 12:00 to 12:20.

Conclusion

You have successfully used the NVR’s RTSP server function to pull the video stream and play it on a third-party client.

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center | TP-Link to download the manual of your product.