README.md

RTSP-FFmpeg Demo Application

A complete demo application showcasing the rtsp-ffmpeg library's capabilities for streaming RTSP video feeds to web browsers in real-time.

Features

• 🎥 Real-time RTSP to JPEG streaming
• 🖥️ Clean, modern web interface
• 📊 Live FPS and frame count statistics
• 🔄 Start/Stop controls for each stream
• 💡 Lazy loading - FFmpeg only runs when clients are connected
• 🎨 Responsive design with beautiful gradients

Prerequisites

Before running this demo, ensure you have:

1. Node.js (version 6 or higher)
2. FFmpeg installed and accessible from command line
   • Download from: http://www.ffmpeg.org/
   • Verify installation: ffmpeg -version

Installation

1. Navigate to the demo directory:

   cd demo

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

Running the Demo

Start the server:

npm start

Then open your browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:3000

How It Works

1. The server creates FFmpeg streams for each configured RTSP source
2. When you click "Start Stream", the browser connects via Socket.io
3. FFmpeg spawns and begins converting RTSP video to JPEG frames
4. Each frame is sent to the browser and displayed on a canvas
5. When you stop or disconnect, FFmpeg automatically stops (lazy loading)

Demo Streams

The demo includes two public RTSP streams:

1. Big Buck Bunny - A classic test video
2. Hessdalen Camera - Live camera feed from Norway

These are publicly available streams and may occasionally be unavailable.

Customizing

Adding Your Own RTSP Stream

Edit server.js and add your stream to the streams array:

const streams = [
  {
    name: 'My Camera',
    uri: 'rtsp://your-camera-ip:554/stream'
  }
];

Adjusting Stream Quality

Modify the FFmpeg options in server.js:

const ffmpegStream = new rtsp.FFMpeg({
  input: stream.uri,
  resolution: '1280x720',  // Higher resolution
  quality: 1,              // Better quality (0-31, lower is better)
  rate: 15                 // Higher frame rate
});

Troubleshooting

FFmpeg not found

If you get an error like Error: spawn ffmpeg ENOENT:

1. Verify FFmpeg is installed: ffmpeg -version
2. If the FFmpeg command differs on your system, set it in your code:

   const rtsp = require('rtsp-ffmpeg');
   rtsp.FFMpeg.cmd = '/path/to/ffmpeg';  // e.g., 'C:\\ffmpeg.exe' on Windows

Stream not loading

• Check that the RTSP URL is correct and accessible
• Verify your firewall allows RTSP connections
• Some streams may be temporarily unavailable
• Check the server console for error messages

Poor performance

• Reduce the resolution: resolution: '320x240'
• Lower the frame rate: rate: 5
• Increase quality value: quality: 10

Architecture

Browser                Server              FFmpeg
   |                      |                   |
   |-- Connect Socket --->|                   |
   |                      |--- Spawn -------->|
   |                      |<-- JPEG frames ---|
   |<-- Emit 'image' -----|                   |
   |                      |                   |
   |-- Disconnect ------->|                   |
   |                      |--- Kill --------->|

Learn More

• Main library: rtsp-ffmpeg
• Socket.io: https://socket.io/
• FFmpeg: https://ffmpeg.org/

License

MIT