RTSP Streaming System

This project aims to implement a real-time video streaming application using the RTSP protocol, Gstreamer, Flask and RestApi. It includes a web server and a client application, allowing for video streams to be shared and controlled over a network.

Features

Web Server (web.py)

• Hosts an RTSP stream using GStreamer.
• Provides an HTTP API for clients to request and control streams.

Client Application (client.py)

• Connects to the RTSP server to receive video streams (also using GStreamer).
• Allows users to start, stop, or exit the stream interactively (Using REST).

Technologies that I Used

• Python 3.7 or higher
  • Flask
  • Requests
  • PyGObject (gi module)
• GStreamer with RTSP support

I also used MSYS2 enviroment on my Windows computer.

Usage

After installing libraries like flask and gstreamer on your system you can do the following:

1. Run the Web Server

pyhton web.py

The server will start on http://0.0.0.0:5000.

RTSP streams will be available at rtsp://<server-ip>:8554/stream.

1. Run the Client Application

pyhton client.py

The client application requests and connects to the RTSP stream.

Available Commands:

• start : Requests the server to start the RTSP stream and begins playback.
• stop : Stops the current stream.
• exit : Exits the client application.

API Endpoints

1. Request RTSP Stream

GET /request_stream_client

Parameters: streamer_id (string)

Response: RTSP URL for the client.

2. Control Stream

POST /control

Body: {"action": "start" | "stop"}

Response: Success or error message based on the requested action.

GStreamer Pipelines

These pipelines are designed for Windows os.

Server Pipline

ksvideosrc ! video/x-raw,format=YUY2,width=640,height=480,framerate=30/1 ! \
    videoconvert ! x264enc tune=zerolatency ! rtph264pay name=pay0 pt=96

Client Pipeline

rtspsrc location=<rtsp_url> latency=0 ! rtph264depay ! h264parse ! openh264dec ! videoconvert ! autovideosink

Example Workflow

Run web.py to start the RTSP server and HTTP API.

Run client.py

The client (client.py) requests the RTSP URL from the server via the /request_stream_client endpoint.

Use the client commands (start, stop, exit) to control the video stream.

Notes to self

• can add a video stream to localhost in flask
• can add additional features like real time chat