The Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) is an open standard for streaming video and audio over the Internet (RFC 2326). RTSP/RTP are used widely by DVR manufactures to implement the feature of being able to remotely view, live or stored, video from security cameras over the Internet. RTSP is in effect a protocol for controlling the transmission of a multimedia stream, such as one implemented using RTP. By analogy, RTSP is to multimedia streaming what the TV remote control is to television.

Streaming video was developed to serve the consumer market for playing videos and music over the Internet. Unfortunately, this means the standards do not specify how to implement playback of video surveillance clips. Thus, even if a manufacturer uses RTSP as the underlying protocol to stream video over the Internet, the product is unlikely to interoperate with other manufactures that also use the RTSP specification as the underlying mechanism of controlling transport.

RTSP/RTP is the emerging standard and has been widely incorporated into multi-media products.

   Apple: www,apple,com/quicktime/products/qtss.

To learn more about RTSP see: www,rtsp,org/2001/faq,html.