Streamer is a service designed primarily for testing, demonstrations, training, and simulation scenarios. Its main purpose is to replay prerecorded video files as RTSP streams directly on the FLOW device and process analytics in the same way as for live camera streams.
Streamer is available on all FLOW devices except TrafficCamera (TrafficXRoads, TrafficEnterprise, and TrafficDrone) starting with FLOW version 2.3.
Logging In
The Streamer web interface with the login page is available at:
https://<device-ip>/streamer
Figure: Streamer login page. Inactive sessions are automatically terminated after 10 minutes
After logging in, users can upload videos, configure streaming options, start and stop streams, and monitor their status.
Figure: Streamer web interface.
Upload Video
Upload video files to the device. They are stored locally in /data/streamer/upload. Resumable uploads are implemented (tusd protocol), allowing interrupted transfers to continue automatically if the connection is unstable.
Figure: Streamer - Upload Video.
Upload Queue
Displays uploaded videos awaiting further processing. Available actions:
Transcode – converts the video into a streaming-optimized format. Video codec and bitrate may be selected. AAC is used for the audio codec, MKV as an output file format.
Play Original – adds the original file directly to the video library without transcoding.
Processing takes place directly on the device. Processed videos are automatically moved to /data/streamer/videos.
Transcoding Queue
Displays videos currently being transcoded. See Logs for details.
Figure: Transcoding logs.
Videos
The Videos section is a library of all videos stored on the device that are ready for streaming. The overview includes the following information and functions:
Thumbnail – preview image.
Name – video file name.
Size – file size.
Duration – total video duration.
Codec – codec information.
Progress – playback progress of the currently running stream. You may play the stream live using the embedded player, and adjust the live bitrate settings.
Figure: Embedded stream player.
Figure: Adjust live bitrate settings of the stream.
RTSP URL – stream endpoint accessible by FLOW analytics, VMS platforms, and RTSP-compatible clients.
Start Time (ISO or Epoch) – assigns the desired timestamp to the streamed video. Useful for setting the correct historical timestamp, or adjusting it to the current needs.
Loop – automatically restarts playback when the video ends. Continuous NTP preserves timestamp continuity between loops.
Autoplay – automatically starts the stream when the Streamer service starts.
State – current stream status.
Actions
Play/Stop
Set TS
Download – Downloads the video file from the device.
Delete – Permanently removes the video from the device.
Logs – Opens detailed stream logs.
Accessing the Stream
Streams can be accessed by FLOW analytics, or by any RTSP-compatible client, including media players (MPV, VLC Media Player etc.). Use the RTSP URL endpoint to play the stream.
Figure: Accessing an RTSP stream in FLOW Insights, using the standard Create analytics dialog.
Figure: Accessing an RTSP stream in a multimedia player.