Emulate an IP Camera

Question

I am using software (DVR) that is meant to talk directly to an IP camera. I am trying to pass a h264 stream directly into it, but it does not work if I just throw a stream onto it.

Can you recommend any "spoofing" software to emulate an IP camera? For the sake of argument, we can say that the camera we want to emulate is Axis P3301.

Given that a lot of software out there can talk to IP cameras, is there a way to use something like vlc/ffmpeg to look like its an IP camera ?

Thanks.

Solution 1

Axis IP cameras provide video through RTSP. Any RTSP server can be used to spoof the video aspect of an IP camera.

Examples:

Streaming with VLC

1. Open VLC

2. Select Media > Stream

3. Select source media, then click "Stream"

4. Click "next" to confirm the source

5. Under "New Destination" select "RTSP"

6. Deselect "Activate Transcoding" (make sure your source is h264/aac)

7. Click Add.

8. Select port and path to mimick the camera. Port is usually 554 but path varies by camera model.

9. Click Stream

Now you can connect with your DVR software.

Note that Axis cameras also have APIs to pant/tilt/zoom and set options like resolution and bitrate. You won't be able to emulate that.

Another good option is the Axis SDK that's available as part of their Application Development Partner program. The SDK includes software that will mimic an Axis camera perfectly. To join you fill out some paperwork and talk to a representative, but there's no cost and if you're working with Axis there are a ton of benefits.

http://www.axis.com/partner/adp_program/index.htm

Solution 2

If you want to fully emulate an Axis camera, there is a free software provided by Axis which allows you to do it with all the functionalities. It is mandatory to have that camera just one time to create the virtual camera template. Axis Virtual Camera Download

Comments

[thkala]

Which "receiver" software are you using, and which platform (OS + hardware) would that camera be emulated on? You should also provide a few real IP camera models that are compatible with your software.