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What is RTMP vs. RTSP?

RTMP primarily carries live encoded media among publishers, servers, and compatible players. RTSP controls media sessions with commands such as play and pause and is commonly paired with RTP for media transport.

How RTMP vs. RTSP works

RTMP and RTSP occupy different layers of a live-media system. RTMP combines a persistent session with message delivery and is widely encountered on the publishing leg from an encoder to an ingest server. RTSP resembles remote control for a media resource, negotiating a session whose packets are commonly carried by RTP over UDP or interleaved over the control connection. Conversion gateways must therefore translate session behavior and often repackage media, even when the compressed codecs can be copied.

Key facts

  1. RTMP usually initiates a client connection to a server endpoint for publishing or playback, whereas RTSP clients address media resources and negotiate them with methods such as SETUP and PLAY.
  2. RTSP can interleave RTP and RTCP over its TCP connection when separate UDP flows are unsuitable; RTMP already carries its messages over its established transport session.
  3. Neither protocol name guarantees browser playback: web delivery commonly requires a gateway to package the feed into a browser-supported streaming or real-time transport.

When RTMP vs. RTSP matters

Choose between them according to endpoint support and whether the workflow needs publishing transport or session control. IP cameras often expose RTSP, while ingest services may accept RTMP, so gateways can be required.

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