WINK Media Bridge

v1.0.0 | April 2023

A simple RTSP to HLS testing tool. No frills, just works.

Installation

Download the binary for your platform. No installation required.

Platform	Download
Windows x64	wink-media-bridge-windows-amd64.exe
Windows ARM64	wink-media-bridge-windows-arm64.exe
macOS Intel	wink-media-bridge-darwin-amd64
macOS Apple Silicon	wink-media-bridge-darwin-arm64
Linux x64	wink-media-bridge-linux-amd64
Linux ARM64	wink-media-bridge-linux-arm64

On macOS/Linux, make the binary executable:

chmod +x wink-media-bridge-*
./wink-media-bridge-darwin-arm64 --rtsp rtsp://camera/stream

Basic Usage

# Minimal - just the RTSP URL
./wink-media-bridge --rtsp rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream

# With credentials in URL
./wink-media-bridge --rtsp rtsp://admin:password@192.168.1.100:554/stream

# With credentials as flags
./wink-media-bridge --rtsp rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream --user admin --pass password

# Different port
./wink-media-bridge --rtsp rtsp://camera/stream --listen :9000

# UDP transport (if TCP doesn't work)
./wink-media-bridge --rtsp rtsp://camera/stream --transport udp

# Debug logging
./wink-media-bridge --rtsp rtsp://camera/stream --log-level debug

Then open http://localhost:8000 in your browser.

Command Line Flags

Flag	Default	Description
`--rtsp`	required	RTSP URL of the camera
`--user`		Username (if not in URL)
`--pass`		Password (if not in URL)
`--transport`	tcp	Transport: tcp, udp, or auto
`--timeout`	10s	Connection timeout
`--listen`	:8000	HTTP server address
`--reconnect`	true	Auto-reconnect on disconnect
`--reconnect-max`	30s	Maximum reconnect delay
`--segment-duration`	2s	HLS segment length
`--playlist-size`	3	Segments in playlist
`--log-level`	info	debug, info, warn, error
`--no-ansi`	false	Disable colored output

HTTP Endpoints

Endpoint	Description
`GET /`	Browser player page
`GET /hls/index.m3u8`	HLS master playlist
`GET /hls/video1_stream.m3u8`	HLS video playlist
`GET /hls/*.mp4`	HLS segments
`GET /api/status`	JSON status

Status API

curl http://localhost:8000/api/status

Response:

{
  "state": "streaming",
  "connected": true,
  "rtsp_url": "rtsp://192.168.1.100:554/stream",
  "transport": "tcp",
  "connected_at": "2023-04-15T10:30:00Z",
  "uptime_seconds": 125.4,
  "reconnect_count": 0,
  "last_error": null,
  "segments_served": 62,
  "bytes_served": 15234567
}

State values: starting, connecting, streaming, reconnecting, error

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Clean shutdown
1	General error
2	Authentication failed (401)
3	Connection refused
4	Connection timeout
5	Unsupported codec (H.265)
6	HLS muxer error
7	HTTP port in use

Common RTSP URL Formats

Different manufacturers use different URL patterns:

Hikvision

rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/Streaming/Channels/101   # Main stream
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/Streaming/Channels/102   # Sub stream

Dahua / Amcrest

rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0  # Main
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1  # Sub

Reolink

rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/                  # Main stream
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/Preview_01_sub    # Sub stream

Axis

rtsp://user:pass@IP/axis-media/media.amp

Ubiquiti UniFi

rtsp://IP:7447/CAMERA_ID

Generic ONVIF

rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/stream1    # Main
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/stream2    # Sub

Troubleshooting

"connection refused"

Camera is offline or wrong IP address
RTSP port blocked (default 554)
Try: ping <camera-ip>

"401 Unauthorized"

Wrong username or password
Try putting credentials in the URL

"no H.264 track found"

Camera is sending H.265/HEVC
Change camera video settings to H.264

"connection timeout"

Camera is slow to respond
Try: --timeout 30s

Video plays but stutters

Network congestion or bitrate too high
Try the sub-stream (lower resolution)
Try: --transport udp

Browser shows "Stream not ready"

Bridge is still connecting
Wait a few seconds, refresh

Architecture

┌──────────────┐      RTSP/RTP       ┌─────────────────┐
│  IP Camera   │ ──────────────────▶ │  wink-media-    │
│  (H.264)     │                     │  bridge         │
└──────────────┘                     └────────┬────────┘
                                              │ HLS
                                              ▼
                                     ┌─────────────────┐
                                     │  Browser        │
                                     │  (hls.js)       │
                                     └─────────────────┘

gortsplib - RTSP client, RTP demuxing
gohlslib - HLS muxer, fMP4 segments
hls.js - Browser HLS playback (bundled)

Requirement

H.264 video codec only. H.265/HEVC is not supported.

License & Disclaimer

WINK Media Bridge is provided under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International).

This is a testing and debugging tool only. It is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied. Use at your own risk. WINK Streaming makes no guarantees regarding reliability, accuracy, or fitness for any particular purpose.

For production video streaming deployments, see WINK Forge and WINK Media Router.

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Created by WINK Streaming