14 Free Open-source IP-Camera RTSP Viewer and Player for Windows Systems
What is RTSP and What is it Used For?
RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) is a network protocol used for controlling the streaming of multimedia content over the Internet. It enables remote control over a streaming server, allowing users to play, pause, and stop media streams in real time. RTSP is commonly used with IP cameras, CCTV systems, and security cameras for live video streaming.
It provides the framework for accessing media resources (e.g., live feeds or on-demand videos) but relies on protocols like RTP (Real-time Transport Protocol) to transmit the media content itself.
What is an RTSP Server?
An RTSP server manages and delivers media streams over the RTSP protocol. It handles requests from clients, such as initiating or stopping a video stream, and delivers content to the client (e.g., video players).
It is often used in surveillance systems to stream live footage from IP cameras and supports features like user authentication and stream encryption. Examples include Wowza Streaming Engine and FFmpeg.
What is an RTSP Player?
An RTSP player is software that can connect to an RTSP server to receive and play multimedia streams. These players handle the media content transmitted over RTSP, enabling real-time playback. Examples of RTSP players include VLC Media Player, PotPlayer, and embedded HTML5-based players designed for browsers.
Free RSTP Players and Stream Viewers for Windows
1- VLC Player
Yes, you heard right, the famous open-source free video/ media play VLC or VideoLAN play is a portable cross-platform play that do more than playing video files, it also play live streams and RTSP IP-camera streams directly on your desktop (Windows, Linux, macOS), Android and iOS devices.
Out-of-the-box, VLC supports dozens of input media streams and file format that include: UDP/RTP Unicast, UDP/RTP Multicast, HTTP / FTP, MMS, TCP/RTP Unicast, and DCCP/RTP Unicast.
It also supports IPv6, CPU acceleration, Mozilla/Firefox plugin, ActiveX plugin, Bonjour protocol, and many more.
2- EasyPlayer-RTSP
EasyPlayer-RTSP is a free and open-source fast RTSP stream player for Windows systems. It supports H.264, H.265, MPEG4, MJPEG for video encoding, G711A, G711U, G726, AAC for audio, RTSP over TCP/UDP protocol, and soft/hard decoding.
Features
- Ultra-low latency RTSP player [core competitiveness];
- Super device compatibility and customizability;
- Perfect support for multi-window and multi-instance playback;
- Support RTSP TCP/UDP mode switching;
- Support real-time setting of playback end Buffer, with low-latency frame tracking technology;
- Seconds to start playback function;
- Support custom playback layout;
- Encoding, decoding, display, and playback source code are fully open, more flexible;
- Support OSD text watermark;
- Support real-time recording and immediate capture;
- Detailed log output callback;
3- Win RTSP Player
This RTSP Windows player is a fork of complete RTSP streaming media player project developed by TSINGSEE Qingxi open platform.
Video encoding supports H.264, H.265, MPEG4, MJPEG, and audio supports G711A, G711U, G726, AAC. Supports RTSP over TCP/UDP protocol. It also supports soft/hard decoding, and is an excellent set of playback components for security streaming media platforms!
Features
- Auto playback during startup
- Support RTSP TCP/UDP mode switching;
- Turn on the playback function in seconds;
- The codec, display, and playback source codes are all open and more flexible;
- Detailed log output callback;
- Turn on the playback function in seconds;
- Perfectly supports multi-window and multi-instance playback;
e1z04- AnotherRTSP
AnotherRTSP app is your ultimate solution for effortless monitoring of video cameras while maintaining peak productivity. Seamlessly integrating into your desktop environment, it ensures that surveillance never compromises your workflow.
With its intuitive layout, you can arrange camera feeds in a single column, always within reach, without cluttering your workspace.
Features
- Ultra-low latency RTSP player;
- Super device compatibility and customizability;
- Perfectly supports multi-window and multi-instance playback;
- Support custom playback layout;
e1z05- Sunny Player
Sunny Player is a versatile streaming player frontend with extensive capabilities. It supports streaming and broadcasting across networks, including internet radio and video. Supported protocols include MMS, RTP, RTSP, HTTP, TCP, and UDP.
Sunny Player utilizes the VLC Media Player as its backend for media handling. It is compatible with Linux, Windows (Win32), and macOS platforms. Additionally, it offers a custom encoder for the Windows (Win32) version.
Features
- Streaming & Broadcasting Support: VOD, live media streaming, and network streaming via RTP, RTSP, HTTP, TCP, UDP, and MMS.
- Input Sources: Supports media from screen, camera, files, CDs/DVDs, and network streams.
- Recording & Streaming: Seamless recording of live broadcasts and streams.
- Playlists: Organize media with playlists, including local files, stream lists, and internet radio/TV lists.
- Drag-and-Drop Interface: Easily rearrange playlists or media items with drag-and-drop.
- System Tray Integration: Minimize to the system tray for easy access.
- Marquee Text Display: On-screen marquee text for notifications.
- Chat Support: Built-in chat functionality for user interaction during streams.
- Media Information: Displays metadata, codec details, and playback status.
- Subtitle Features: Subtitle notifications and integrated subtitle finder.
- Dynamic Interface: Automatically switches between audio and video modes for a smooth user experience.
- Grid Streaming (Future Feature): Multi-stream grid view for advanced streaming setups.
- Cascadable Playback (Upcoming Feature): Play multiple streams in cascading order for uninterrupted media consumption.
6- Starbuck's FreePlayer
Starbuck's FreePlayer is a simple and complete media player based on the powerful MPlayer project. FreePlayer is gratis (free of charge) and its code is open-source. Starbuck's FreePlayer runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X platforms.
Starbuck's FreePlayer can play audio and video files (Xvid/DivX, H.264, MKV, WebM, MPEG-2, FLV, MP4, WMV, AC-3, AAC, DTS, MP3...), DVD and Bluray discs and folders, and files from the network, using the HTTP, FTP, MMS or RTSP/RTP protocol.
Running MPlayer and MPlayer2 as backend, Startbuck's FreePlayer is fast and powerful. Another great feature of MPlayer is the wide range of supported output drivers (X11, Xv, DGA, OpenGL, SVGAlib, fbdev, AAlib, DirectFB, GGI, SDL, VESA). Most of them support software or hardware scaling, so you can enjoy movies in full screen.
Not just a MPlayer GUI, Starbuck's FreePlayer includes a full-featured video web browser and it can save audio and video network streams to your local filesystem.
Features
- Platform Compatibility: Available on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Wide Format Support: Plays Xvid, DivX, H.264, MKV, WebM, MPEG-2, FLV, MP4, WMV, AC-3, AAC, DTS, MP3, and more.
- Physical Media Playback: Supports DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and disc folders.
- Network Stream Support: Streams media via HTTP, FTP, MMS, RTSP/RTP protocols.
- MPlayer and MPlayer2 Backend: Provides speed, power, and stability.
- Multiple Output Drivers: Supports X11, Xv, OpenGL, SVGAlib, DirectFB, SDL, VESA, and others for flexibility in video output.
- Fullscreen Playback: Software and hardware scaling for optimal fullscreen viewing.
- Integrated Video Web Browser: Browse and play video content directly from the player.
- Stream Saving: Save network audio and video streams to your local filesystem.
s-r-grass7- RTSP Camera view
This free app allows you to view IP-camera RTSP in grid, auto bandwidth, full-screen, command line support.
Feature
- Expanding the entire window by double-clicking on the stream
- Automatic switching to high / low resolution stream
- Support for command line parameters
- Launching on the screen with the specified number, full-screen'ed
- Customizable source name
- Alert on video lost
- Supported formats: UDP/RTP Unicast, UDP/RTP Multicast, HTTP / FTP, TCP/RTP Unicast, DCCP/RTP Unicast
- Supported formats: Any video for fun: file:////Movies/Shrek.mkv
grigory-lobkov8- RTSP Viewer
RTSP Viewer is a simple tool that allows you to view multiple RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) streams simultaneously. This tool is configured using a .env file, providing an easy and customizable way to manage multiple camera feeds.
RTSP Viewer is written in Python, which makes it can run on Windows, Linux and macOS.
9- Restreamer 2 RTMP/RTSP (Streaming Server + Player)
Restreamer by datarhei is a free, open-source solution designed to facilitate live video streaming without relying on third-party streaming services. It supports real-time H.264 streaming, making it suitable for use with devices such as IP cameras, USB cameras, and Raspberry Pi setups.
Restreamer’s primary aim is to offer easy, self-hosted streaming with minimal configuration, built on Docker for quick deployment across platforms like Windows, macOS, Linux, and Raspberry Pi.
It comes with a powerful open-source HTML5 responsive video player that plays HD, Full-HD, and 4K video with audio in fullscreen.
10- RTSP Viewer
Provide the ability to watch an RTP stream from my security camera without requiring VLC media player.
jpenny199311- Transcode & Play RTSP Video Streams in Browser
This open-source project focuses on enabling RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) video streams, such as those used by security cameras, to be viewed in modern web browsers without relying on outdated plugins like RealMedia or Flash.
Modern browsers have phased out support for these binary plugins due to security risks, making direct playback of RTSP streams challenging.
vladmandic12- IP Security Camera System
This project offers a solution for viewing IP security camera feeds, which typically provide RTSP streams, directly in a web browser. The goal is to eliminate the need for proprietary software by leveraging FFmpeg, a powerful media conversion tool, to process and stream RTSP feeds in real-time.
By installing and configuring FFmpeg, the RTSP stream from the IP camera is re-encoded or encapsulated into a browser-compatible format like WebRTC or HLS. This allows the user to access the camera feed via standard HTML5 <video> elements in a browser. The setup provides flexibility for integrating with analytic tools and ensures a seamless, accessible viewing experience from any modern web interface.
SaundersB13- A Python rtsp player with object detection
This open-source project enables you to play many IP-Camera stream directly to your desktop with Object detection support.
It uses Python3 rtsp h264 decoder player, adding real-time object detection module.
donkeyofking14- Qt rtsp
Qt RTSP is a free simple rtsp-player for video surveillance cameras.
Bonus RTSP Players for Android Devices
1- RTSP-Player (Android)
This is a simple video stream player, primarily designed for viewing feeds from IP cameras. It is available for free on Google Play Store and has been downloaded over 50,000 times.
Features
- Url templates
- Advanced settings for screen rotation in player
- Backup/import streams and settings
- PIP mode
- Camera groups
- Material Design 3
- Selection of the starting camera - preview of the camera when the application starts
- Selection of connection protocol (TCP/UDP) - global option
2- VXG RTSP Player for Android
RTSP Player is a very simple IP camera viewer. Fast application to playback network stream from IP cameras, video servers and surveillance systems.
Features
- Supported types of streaming: RTSP, RTP, UDP (Multicast stream support), HTTP-HLS, RTMP, MMS
- Recording from live camera
- Digital zoom and picture shifting
- Thumbnails for live streams
- Support M3U channel list
- Easy streams list control – add, delete and modify your streams
- Preview video while browsing in camera list
- Replay for live HLS stream
- Hardware decoder using hardware acceleration with processor optimization – high speed rendering for modern platform
- Multi-core decoding provides the dual-core device’s performance
More RTSP Resources
Hazem Abbas
Hazem Abbas
Hazem Abbas
Hazem Abbas
Open-source Live Streaming Servers
Hazem Abbas
Hazem Abbas
Hazem Abbas
Media Servers
Hazem Abbas
