Multciasting with Axis M7001

[samuelw]

I'm attempting to get VLC to display multicast video from an Axis M7001 video encoder. It can open a unicast RTSP feed just fine with the usual URL:
rtsp://IPaddress:554/axis-media/media.amp

Multicast streaming works when you install the Axis Media Control utility through IE and use Windows Media Player to play their proprietary axrtpm:// link type, but VLC doesn't support this (as far as I can tell). Nor can I get VLC to display the video even when I use Media Player to kick-off the multicast stream on the same computer and tell it the right multicast address and port numbers I set on the Axis box (and confirm from WireShark captures).

Is there any way of getting VLC to display this multicast stream or am I stuck in proprietary land?

Thank you,
-sam

VLC v1.1.9; Windows XP

[ivoire]

1) have you tried with the latest vlc version ?
2) do you have the logs ?

[Sébastien Escudier]

Try the --mcast option from command line
Or go to preferences -> input/codec -> rtp/rtsp -> force multicast

If this does not work you'll have to look at full vlc logs (linux command line, or msys rxvt)

[samuelw]

Upgraded to 1.1.11.
Went to Preferences (Show all)->Input/Codecs->Demuxers->RTP/RTSP->Checked "Force multicast RTP via RTSP"
Retried and it worked via multicast.
Sébastien Escudier wins 2 points.

Thank you both for your help.
-sam

PS - I could never get logs to save. I sent a path and file via Pref->Advanced->Logging and played around with verbosity but VLC never wrote a file. No worries.

[VLC_help]

File logging is broken under Win32. Tools -> Messages (set Verbosity to 2) works.

[_saiko]

Same question/problem.
Kick-started the multicast stream with windows media player using the mrl

Code: Select all

axrtpm://[cam-ip]/axis-media/media.amp

I'm observing UDP/RTP packets being transfered from cam-ip->mcast-ip.
Using the latest VLC (2.0.0) with rtp://@mcast-ip:port i'm getting "SDP required" and a note that dynamic RTP payload format 96 isn't supported by the rtp:// MRL.
Sadly the RTP traffic i'm observing is exactly the 96 format...
Using the udp:// MRL nothing happens..

I enabled the "Force multicast RTP via RTSP" option.

So does anyone know how samuelw managed to get this to work?


here's the debug log from both sessions:

UDP MRL: http://pastebin.com/VPGUqXrH
RTP MRL: http://pastebin.com/dqDqGLxW

[Sébastien Escudier]

I already posted the solution, read the thread

[_saiko]

Read my post, i ENABLED force multicast and posted the logs.

[Sébastien Escudier]

Use the URL given in the first post

[_saiko]

If you meant the URL "rtsp://IPaddress:554/axis-media/media.amp", this DOESN't initiate the multicast stream from the cam/encoder.
In order to initiate the multicast stream, one has to use this url: "axrtpm://IPaddress:554/axis-media/media.amp".

[samuelw]

These are the steps I did:
1) Enable RTP on the Axis M7001 under System Options->Network->RTP and set it to whatever multicast address and port you like.
2) Do the enable force multicast as Sebastien mentioned above.
3) Open rtsp://a.b.c.d:554/axis-media/media.amp in VLC

It then starts spitting out multicast RTP and VLC plays (well at least it did a few months ago). I never found a way to just have the Axis always spitting out video, it needed at least one client to hit it with an RTSP request and then it went, and then any client could get that multicast. I verified the axrtpm:// magic worked with Windows Media PLayer when you install Axis's wonderful Windows drivers, but I was trying to avoid that kind of custom install step for every client.

Hope this helps,
-sam

[_saiko]

Hi,

Now it makes sense!
And yes i managed to get it working.
Thanks for the reply.

I was actually misguided from the moment you mentioned kickstarting mcast with axrtpm protocol.
I thought you managed to access the mcast stream, that was started with axrtpm, directly with VLC...

Althought how does one view a raw (withouth sdp/metadata) stream with rtp://@ or udp://@ ?
Is that only valid for MPEG TS?

[wil3438d]

Hello,

I followed the instructions, VLC is playing but I cannot see the video.
Actually I am using the Q7401 video encoder (Firmware version: 5.20.3 ), but it should be same. rtsp or udp, it doesn't matter, I just want to display the video with VLC.
Any help would be appreciate. Thanks