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Connect a camera without port forwarding (RTMP)

2026-11-04

Normally, watching a camera from the internet means opening ports on your router, a static IP or DDNS. With RTMP you need none of that: the camera connects out to our server by itself and sends the video — the same way your phone opens a website. Nothing to change on your router.

What you need

  • A camera with RTMP in its settings (Hikvision, Dahua, Uniview and many others — it often appears after a firmware update).
  • Any internet connection: home, office or mobile (a 4G router works too).
  • An account with us.

1. Add the camera in the dashboard

  1. Open Cameras → Add camera.
  2. Enter a name (e.g. "Yard") and choose "The camera sends video to us (RTMP)".
  3. Click Save. You'll see:
    • Server — the server address;
    • Stream key — a secret key for this camera only;
    • Full URL — server and key in one line (some cameras have a single field).

The key is shown only once. Copy it right away. Lost it? Create a new one in the camera's "Setup".

2. Enter the details in the camera

Open the camera's web interface (e.g. http://192.168.1.64) and look for RTMP (usually Network → RTMP or Network → Advanced → RTMP).

  • Turn RTMP on.
  • One field — paste the Full URL.
  • Two fields — the server goes into Server / URL, the key into Stream Key.
  • Choose Sub Stream as the stream to send.

Model-specific steps: Hikvision, Dahua, Uniview.

3. Recommended video settings

In the camera's Video settings, for the stream you send:

  • Codec: H.264 (not H.265)
  • Resolution: 1280×720 (720p)
  • Bitrate: 1024–1536 Kbps
  • Frame rate: 15–25
  • I-frame interval: frame rate × 2 (e.g. 25 fps → 50)

Browsers can't play H.265 — if the camera sends it anyway, the dashboard tells you. A short I-frame interval makes the video start quickly.

4. Check it

A few seconds after saving in the camera, the dashboard status turns Online and the picture appears. That's it!

If it doesn't connect

  • Still offline: check the key was pasted in full (no extra spaces at the start or end) and RTMP is turned on.
  • Key was changed: after creating a new key the old one stops working — enter the new one in the camera.
  • "Unsupported codec": switch the stream to H.264.
  • Video starts slowly: lower the I-frame interval (see the table).
  • No RTMP on your camera: update the firmware or connect over RTSP — RTSP with port forwarding.