Setup Simulated RTSP Stream#

This guide explains how to set up a simulated RTSP stream. It includes a script that helps you quickly create a looped RTSP stream from a local video file.

The setup_proxy_rtsp.sh script allows you to:

  • Stream one or more local video files as live RTSP feeds

  • Loop all videos indefinitely

  • Publish multiple RTSP endpoints in one script run

The setup uses:

  • FFmpeg → for video streaming

  • MediaMTX (RTSP server) → to serve the stream

Prerequisites#

Before you run the script, make sure the following prerequisites are met:

✅ System Requirements

  • Ubuntu Linux (required)

  • Bash shell

  • Internet access (for installation)

The script checks /etc/os-release and runs only on Ubuntu. It exits with an error on Edge Microvisor Toolkit and other non-Ubuntu distributions.

✅ Required Tools

The script automatically installs:

  • ffmpeg

Ensure that Docker is installed on your system.

Script Setup#

  1. Go to the scripts directory.

    cd edge-ai-suites/metro-ai-suite/live-video-analysis/live-video-captioning/scripts

  2. Make the script executable.

    chmod +x setup_proxy_rtsp.sh

Usage#

Basic Usage#

Before running the command, make sure the video file exists.

./setup_proxy_rtsp.sh -i <your-input-video-file>

👉 Default stream URL for one input:

rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/stream1

Multiple Inputs in One Run#

Use -i multiple times to stream multiple input videos in a single script run.

Each input video is published to its own RTSP endpoint in this mode (one-to-one mapping), not to a shared endpoint.

./setup_proxy_rtsp.sh -i video1.mp4 -i video2.mp4 -i video3.mp4

👉 Auto-generated default stream URLs:

rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/stream1  # video1.mp4
rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/stream2  # video2.mp4
rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/stream3  # video3.mp4

Custom RTSP Endpoint#

./setup_proxy_rtsp.sh -i <your-input-video-file> -o rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cam1

👉 Custom stream URL:

rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cam1

Multiple Custom RTSP Endpoints#

Use -o multiple times to map each input video to a specific output URL.

./setup_proxy_rtsp.sh \
   -i video1.mp4 -i video2.mp4 \
   -o rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cam1 \
   -o rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cam2

Config File Input (JSON)#

For multiple streams, you can provide all input/output mappings in a JSON file.

  1. Create a JSON config file.

    Example with custom outputs:

    {
   "inputs": [
      "video1.mp4",
      "video2.mp4"
   ],
   "outputs": [
      "rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cam1",
      "rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cam2"
   ]
}

    Example without outputs (auto-generates stream1, stream2, …):

    {
   "inputs": [
      "video1.mp4",
      "video2.mp4"
   ]
}

  2. Run the script with the config file..

    ./setup_proxy_rtsp.sh -c <your-config-file>.json

Note:

  • Use either -c or -i/-o in a single run (do not mix them).

  • Relative input paths in JSON are resolved relative to the JSON file location.

  • -c mode uses jq, and the script installs it automatically if missing.

Important:

  • If -o is omitted, the script auto-generates stream1, stream2, …

  • If -o is provided, the number of -o values must match the number of -i values.

Help Option#

./setup_proxy_rtsp.sh -h

Viewing the stream#

To verify outputs, open the RTSP streams in VLC on the same machine.

Examples:

rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/stream1
rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/stream2
rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/cam1

You can also access the stream from other devices on the same network by using the IP address of the host running the script.

Replace 127.0.0.1 with the host IP address:

# Example
rtsp://<host-ip>:8554/stream1

The stream is now ready to use in the Live Video Captioning application.

Stopping the Stream#

Stop FFmpeg#

From the script terminal, press:

CTRL + C

Stop RTSP Server#

docker stop mediamtx-server