9 Best Free RTSP Viewer Software for Windows

Here is a list of Best Free RTSP Viewer Software for Windows. Using these freeware, you can easily play RTSP streams. RTSP, which stands for Real Time Streaming Protocol, is a network control protocol which is used in establishing and controlling the media stream between client devices and server. You can read more about it here.

While most of these are standard media players (check this article), others are IP camera monitoring software. You can easily play RTSP streams of IP cameras and other sources through URLs using these. In case of IP cameras, you can setup their configurations like model, IP address, port number, protocol, etc. In many of these, you can also record and save RTSP streams. Many of these support other protocols too, such as ONVIF, MMS, UDP, HTTP, etc.

My favorite Free RTSP Viewer for Windows:

PMPlayer is a nice RTSP viewer as it lets you play RTSP streams of IP cameras as well as other sources. RTSP Camera View is also good as you can view multiple RTSP streams simultaneously in it.

You may also like some best CCTV Security Surveillance Software, Video Streaming Software, and Video Switching Software for Windows.

PMPlayer

PMPlayer is a versatile media player software for Windows. In it, you cannot only enjoy local media files, but you can also play RTSP streams. You can watch RTSP streams of IP cameras or other media sources. It also provides some professional tools including Media Publishing, Direct Video Call, Motion Detection, Video Converter, and Recorder.

How to play RTSP stream of IP camera or other sources in this free media player:

If you want to watch RTSP stream of IP camera, you can do so by going to Open > IP Camera > Connect to IP Camera. A dialog window will open up where you can add connection URL. It lets you setup some settings such as enable/disable video sync, UDP transport, etc. Also, if authentication is required, enter username and password. If you want to add RTSP stream from any other source, you can do that too by providing the URL. After providing the URL, you can hit the Connect button and view the RTSP stream. The good thing is that it also lets you record RTSP stream and save the recording in a predefined location.

Overall, it is one of the best RTSP viewer software in my opinion.

VLC media player

VLC media player is a popular media player which also supports RTSP streaming. You can watch any RTSP stream using this open source video player.

How to play RTSP stream in VLC media player:

• Go to Media menu and click on Open Network Stream option.
• In the new dialog window, go to Network tab and enter an RTSP URL.
• Lastly, press the Play button to view RTSP stream in it.

In it, you can also stream RSTP media to use locally, on your private network, or on the Internet. For that, click on Play > Stream option and setup media source, select destinations to stream to (file, HTTP, RSTP, UDP, Icecast, etc.), setup transcoding options, etc.

In general, it is a convenient option as an RTSP viewer for regular users of VLC media player.

RTSP Camera View

RTSP Camera view is a free portable RTSP viewer software for Windows. Using it, you can play multiple RTSP streams simultaneously. As you open this software, it displays some sample RTSP streams. You can edit the streams or add new ones.

The process of watching RTSP streams in it is pretty simple. You can add a new camera window or simply select an existing camera window and then modify its source and settings from the left panel. In its source, you can enter camera name, RTSP connect string, aspect ratio, enable/disable inherit global option, etc. From Settings tab, you can personalize matrix dimensions (number of cameras to view on screen), setup alert control, and customize camera name display. You can turn on full-screen mode to view a particular RTSP stream.

Overall, it is another good RTSP viewers on this list.

Note: This software requires VLC 2.1.x win 32 version in order to work.

NetCamCenter CamNebula

NetCamCenter CamNebula is another RTSP viewer for Windows. You can view as well as record RTSP streams of IP camera using it. In its free edition, you can register a free account and monitor 4 IP cameras at most. If you don’t register an account, you can use it only as a viewer.

To start with, you can setup camera configurations. These include maker, model (RTSP based device), RTSP port, address, username and password (if required), protocol, output video settings, timer, alarm, etc. You can start the recording (ASF file) and it will be saved at the predefined location. Apart from that, it lets you adjust view mode too.

It is basically a software to monitor and record IP cameras. It supports HTTP and RTSP UDP/TCP/HTTP protocols. You can know more about its features on its homepage given below.

FFmpeg

FFmpeg is a command line based media processing tool. It can be used for playing, recording, converting, and streaming audio and video. You can also use it as an RTSP viewer as it lets you play RTSP streams in it. To do so, you need to execute a simple command. Let’s see what is the command.

How to play RTSP stream using command in FFmpeg:

Open Command Prompt and enter the path of its ffplay.exe application and then the RTSP stream URL. Your command will look something like:

ffplay.exe rtsp://195.200.199.8/mpeg4/media.amp

After writing the command, press Enter. You will be able to watch RTSP stream in a new player window.

It is a nice command line RTSP viewer. To know more about related commands, you can checkout its streaming guide here.

5KPlayer

5KPlayer is a featured media player for Windows. It lets you play various videos and audio in various common and uncommon formats. You can also play YouTube videos in it. Apart from that, it can also be used as an RTSP viewer as it lets you play RTSP streams.

How to play RTSP stream in this free media player:

After launching 5KPlayer, go to its Live module. Now, enter the RTSP stream URL in the ‘Input a URL’ search bar and then hit the Play button. You will now be able to watch RTSP stream with basic playback controls like pause, stop, play, next, previous, seekbar, etc. It also lets you rotate screen, take screencaps, etc.

Perfect IP Camera Viewer

Perfect IP Camera Viewer is a free software to monitor IP cameras from your computer. For this, it supports RTSP streaming protocol as well as HTTP and ONVIF protocols. You first need to add a camera by setting up its configurations and then view RTSP stream. It lets you add multiple IP cameras and view respective RTSP streams.

Some nice features of this RTSP viewer:

• You can scan network to view available cameras.
• It lets you manually add an IP camera with specifications like model, IP address, port number, etc. Or, you can directly enter stream path.
• You can view single or multiple camera streams by selecting desired camera layout.

Note: In this free version, monitoring actions, web access, and recording features are limited for 2 hours per session.

RealPlayer

RealPlayer is a media player which also lets you play RTSP video stream. Simply go to its File > Open File option and enter RTSP stream URL to start playing it. You get all standard playback control in this media player too, such as seekbar, volume control, view window, etc.

Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player is an inbuilt media player for Windows. Along with audio, video, and playlist, it also lets you view RTSP streams in it.

How to play RTSP stream in Windows Media Player:

First, press Alt button and go to File > Open URL option. Now, simply enter RTSP connection string and play it. You will be able to view the RTSP stream with basic playback control.

Although its a convenient RTSP viewer for Windows, it is not an ideal one. During testing, it was not able to view all RTSP streams, caused unknown errors, etc. This is why I have kept it lower on this list.