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Connect an RTSP camera with port forwarding

2026-11-04

If your camera has no RTMP, we connect it over RTSP: here our server connects to your camera, so the camera must be reachable from the internet. That takes one port forwarding rule on your router.

The easier way: if your camera has RTMP, you don't need any ports — Connect a camera without port forwarding.

1. Give the camera a fixed local address

In your router (DHCP → Address Reservation or similar) reserve a fixed local IP for the camera, e.g. 192.168.1.64, so the forwarding rule survives router restarts.

2. Find the RTSP URL

The most common formats:

Hikvision:  rtsp://user:password@address:554/Streaming/Channels/102
Dahua:      rtsp://user:password@address:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1
Uniview:    rtsp://user:password@address:554/unicast/c1/s1/live

Test the URL on your home network first in VLC (Media → Open Network Stream).

3. Check that you have a public IP

  1. On your router's status page, find the WAN / Internet IP.
  2. Open any "What is my IP" website from a phone or computer.
  3. If the two match — you have a public IP, carry on.
  4. If they don't match (or the router shows 10.x, 100.64–100.127.x, 192.168.x) — your provider shares one IP between customers and port forwarding won't work. Ask your provider for a public (ideally static) IP, or use RTMP.

If your public IP changes from time to time, turn on DDNS (in the router or the camera, e.g. No-IP, DynDNS) and use the DDNS name instead of the IP.

4. Forward the port

In the router, find Port Forwarding / Virtual Server / NAT and add a rule:

  • External port: something uncommon, e.g. 10554 (not 554 — it attracts fewer automated scans)
  • Internal IP: the camera's address (e.g. 192.168.1.64)
  • Internal port: 554
  • Protocol: TCP

For several cameras give each its own external port: 10554, 10555, 10556…

Don't forward the camera's web interface port (80/443) — only the video stream should be reachable from the internet.

5. Test from outside

Turn off Wi-Fi on your phone (use mobile data), open VLC and try the URL with your public address and external port:

rtsp://user:password@public-ip-or-ddns:10554/Streaming/Channels/102

If you see video in VLC, you're all set.

6. Add the camera in the dashboard

Cameras → Add camera → "We fetch video from the camera (RTSP)" → paste the URL from step 5 → Save.

Your camera password is stored encrypted and never shown again. For security we never connect to local addresses (192.168.x, 10.x) — a public address is required.

Security

  • Create a separate view-only user in the camera and use it in the URL — not admin.
  • Use a strong password and keep the camera firmware updated.
  • Turn off UPnP on the router if you don't need it.

If it doesn't work

  • Works at home, not from outside: re-check the forwarding rule and the public IP (step 3). Some providers block incoming connections — ask them.
  • "Authorization failed": wrong user or password; special characters in the password (@, :, /) break the URL — change the password.
  • No video in the browser: switch the camera stream to H.264.