Real Time Streaming Protocol

Not to be confused with RSTP.

The Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), developed by the IETF and created in 1998 as RFC 2326, is a protocol for use in streaming media systems, which allows a client to remotely control a streaming media server, issuing VCR-like commands such as "play" and "pause", and allowing time-based access to files on a server.

The sending of streaming data itself is not part of the RTSP protocol. Most RTSP servers use the standards-based RTP as the transport protocol for the actual audio/video data. The RTSP server from RealNetworks also features RealNetworks' proprietary RDT as the transport protocol.

Clients

• GStreamer
• Media Player Classic
• MPEG4IP
• MPlayer
• QuickTime
• RealPlayer
• Skype
• VLC media player
• Winamp
• Windows Media Player
• Xine
• MythTV via Freebox

Server software

• QuickTime Streaming Server: Apple's closed-source streaming server that ships with Mac OS X Server
• Darwin Streaming Server: Open-sourced version of Quicktime Streaming Server maintained by Apple
• pvServer: Formerly called PacketVideo Streaming Server, this is Alcatel-Lucent's streaming server product.
• Helix DNA Server: RealNetworks' streaming server. Comes in both open-source and proprietary flavors.
• Live555: Open source C++ server and client libraries used in well known clients like VLC and mplayer.
• VideoLAN: Open source media player and streaming server
• Windows Media Services: Microsoft's streaming server included with Windows Server.
• VX30: Streaming video server and embedded JAVA client from Maui X-Stream.

See also

• Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP)
• Fusion RTSP solution for embedded systems, e.g. IPTV, internet TV and mobile internet devices.

Other websites

• RTSP.org, a central information repository about RTSP.
• RFC 2326, Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).
• RFC 3550, RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications.
• Tunneling RTSP and RTP Over HTTP A standard solution to help RTSP work through firewalls and web proxies