Checking all the Android App with RTSP server
Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2021 8:36 pm
I've been testing so far many apps but any of them are stable enough or have enough functionality
1. RTSP Camera Server: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
Doesn't provide RTSP auth! Useless
2. VXG RTSP Server: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
Doesn't provide RTSP auth! Useless
3. Astra Streaming Studio: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
Very promising but after 30 minutes of streaming, a message appears in the middle of the screen Source Timeout and can't keep streaming with a RTSP streaming. Essentially, the cam gets corrupted and requires an Android softboot. Still, with a more conservative bitrate, it's slightly more stable. To remove the watermark it costs $10
4. Free Security Camera: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
The icon is a joke, but so far, the only stable RTSP camera with auth. I'm missing many of the functionality of the Astra Streaming Studio, but at least it works. The video output although, is not good, blurs too much.
5. CamON Live Streaming: Amazing piece of software. It has plenty of functionality similarly to Astra Streaming Studio, and is 100% free, though it runs with ads. If I were confident with JAVA Android programming it would be worth a fork to be introduced as an "official" app for the Zoneminder project. This guy has even thought in one of the most interesting functionalities embedded within, I've always had to solve with 3rd party apps: syncing dynamic 4G IP with dynamic DNS updaters. It's based on this abandoned project by Muhammad Zia Shahid https://github.com/boygaggoo/spynet-camera. It can be self-compiled and it will be from ads, but it won't have the whole CamON functionality which is updated regularly (due to the ad revenue) while the spy-net Cam GPL project was abandoned 4 years ago. The only issue that CamON doesn't offer is the timestamping straightly from the source. If you are going to go pass-through you won't have timestamps embedded on the recording which is a pity. I've contacted the developer, and he doesn't even know how to put them. For some type of video surveillance purposes the timestamps are a requirement, so unless you encode in the server and put the timestamp via ZM you will have an issue in this aspect.
Conclusions up to now (22/4/21):
CamON Live Streaming is the best alternative if you want to record with the pass-through option which need a RTSP stream to be stable enough. I've noticed that after some tweaks on the mobile side, Astra Streaming Studio can also gain a lot more stability and maybe paying the extra bucks is worthy.
It's just important to set the bitrate to the minimum viable, since going 1080p 60fps unless we are using a powerful phone (something above Snapdragon 835), it will get locked. It's better to fly lower with 720p 30fps or even less for old/cheap phones (720p 10fps).
Other Honourable Mentions:
- IP Webcam
- DroidX
... not RTSP
If anyone knows more alternatives to be tested, please post them here and I will be checking them!
Thanks!
1. RTSP Camera Server: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
Doesn't provide RTSP auth! Useless
2. VXG RTSP Server: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
Doesn't provide RTSP auth! Useless
3. Astra Streaming Studio: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
Very promising but after 30 minutes of streaming, a message appears in the middle of the screen Source Timeout and can't keep streaming with a RTSP streaming. Essentially, the cam gets corrupted and requires an Android softboot. Still, with a more conservative bitrate, it's slightly more stable. To remove the watermark it costs $10
4. Free Security Camera: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... l=en&gl=US
The icon is a joke, but so far, the only stable RTSP camera with auth. I'm missing many of the functionality of the Astra Streaming Studio, but at least it works. The video output although, is not good, blurs too much.
5. CamON Live Streaming: Amazing piece of software. It has plenty of functionality similarly to Astra Streaming Studio, and is 100% free, though it runs with ads. If I were confident with JAVA Android programming it would be worth a fork to be introduced as an "official" app for the Zoneminder project. This guy has even thought in one of the most interesting functionalities embedded within, I've always had to solve with 3rd party apps: syncing dynamic 4G IP with dynamic DNS updaters. It's based on this abandoned project by Muhammad Zia Shahid https://github.com/boygaggoo/spynet-camera. It can be self-compiled and it will be from ads, but it won't have the whole CamON functionality which is updated regularly (due to the ad revenue) while the spy-net Cam GPL project was abandoned 4 years ago. The only issue that CamON doesn't offer is the timestamping straightly from the source. If you are going to go pass-through you won't have timestamps embedded on the recording which is a pity. I've contacted the developer, and he doesn't even know how to put them. For some type of video surveillance purposes the timestamps are a requirement, so unless you encode in the server and put the timestamp via ZM you will have an issue in this aspect.
Conclusions up to now (22/4/21):
CamON Live Streaming is the best alternative if you want to record with the pass-through option which need a RTSP stream to be stable enough. I've noticed that after some tweaks on the mobile side, Astra Streaming Studio can also gain a lot more stability and maybe paying the extra bucks is worthy.
It's just important to set the bitrate to the minimum viable, since going 1080p 60fps unless we are using a powerful phone (something above Snapdragon 835), it will get locked. It's better to fly lower with 720p 30fps or even less for old/cheap phones (720p 10fps).
Other Honourable Mentions:
- IP Webcam
- DroidX
... not RTSP
If anyone knows more alternatives to be tested, please post them here and I will be checking them!
Thanks!