At the moment, there is a constantly increasing number of smart video cameras collecting and streaming video throughout the world.
Here's what you need to know about WebRTC vs. RTSP and their suitability for various streaming needs.
The Basics of WebRTC Let's start with WebRTC, which is a communication protocol that allows real-time streaming of audio and video directly in web browsers.
When you make a video call through a browser, WebRTC handles the transmission of your video and audio data to the person you're calling, and vice versa.
WebRTC Features WebRTC has a few features that set it apart.
How WebRTC Works P2P communication via WebRTC involves a few technical steps.
Some situations in which you might use WebRTC include the streaming of various events like concerts, sports events, interactive webinars, sharing sensitive files or data between browsers, streaming video footage from a smart camera to a browser, or real-time multiplayer gaming, among many others.
Understanding RTSP The Real-Time Streaming Protocol is not exactly a video streaming protocol like WebRTC. Instead, it's a network control protocol.
In a smart surveillance system, RTSP lets you start and stop the video feed from a security camera in real-time, so your commands almost instantly reach the device you're trying to control.
Generally, RTSP sends commands via a server that hosts and streams the media content, so the server is actually doing the most work, while RTSP merely sends commands.
For actual media streaming, you need to pair RTSP with other protocols.
If the video streaming connection needs to be established through a firewall, a developer can also perform TCP tunneling to establish a p2p-based tunnel without firewall hassles.
How RTSP With TCP Works Basically, RTSP requires some extra setup compared to WebRTC so the stream can get through firewalls.
When to Use RTSP A lot of older surveillance camera designs have built-in RTSP servers in their software stack for native handling the camera video feed.
RTSP is useful for systems in which users want to control video playback from a remote location, for example, with home security or streaming from drones.
Use Cases WebRTC started as being exclusively for browser-to-browser communication, so it initially wasn't ideal for situations in which you want to, say, control a video camera from your smartphone or view the feed through an app.
Now WebRTC is compatible with IoT and Android apps as well as IoT connectivity software.
As a result of all of its specialized features, WebRTC is mostly used in IoT situations for two-way communication, like telemedicine meetings, remote work, and other video conferencing scenarios, and now also for mobile-based video surveillance controls.
Final Thoughts The choice between WebRTC vs. RTSP is a complicated subject, and many different factors may affect which protocol you choose to use.
Both are important parts of the IoT ecosystem - particularly in video streaming.
This Cyber News was published on feeds.dzone.com. Publication date: Sat, 03 Feb 2024 19:43:04 +0000