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RTMP Streamer

A Milestone XProtect admin plugin that streams live camera video to RTMP/RTMPS destinations. Pure H.264 passthrough from XProtect cameras with silent AAC audio track. No transcoding, no FFmpeg, no native dependencies.

Quick Start

  1. Open the Management Client, the plugin appears under MIP Plug-ins > RTMP Streamer
  2. Right-click RTMP Streams and select Create New
  3. Pick a camera and enter the RTMP destination URL
  4. Click Save, streaming starts automatically

Configuration

All configuration is done in the Management Client under MIP Plug-ins > RTMP Streamer > RTMP Streams.

  1. Right-click RTMP Streams and select Create New
  2. Enter a name for the stream
  3. Click Select camera... to pick a camera
  4. Enter the RTMP destination URL, for example:
    • YouTube: rtmp://a.rtmp.youtube.com/live2/xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx
    • Twitch: rtmps://live.twitch.tv/app/live_xxxxxxxxx
    • Facebook: rtmps://live-api-s.facebook.com:443/rtmp/FBxxxxxxxxx
    • Custom: rtmp://your-server:1935/live/stream-key
  5. Check Allow untrusted certificates if using a self-signed RTMPS server
  6. Click Save

Status Icons

Icon State Meaning
Green Streaming Video is being sent to RTMP server
Normal Starting/Connecting Helper is initializing or connecting
Red Error Connection failed, codec error, etc.
Grey Disabled Stream is disabled via checkbox

Live Log

When you select an enabled stream, the detail panel shows a live log at the bottom displaying the most recent output from the streaming process in real time.

  • The log shows the last 40 messages and refreshes automatically about twice per second
  • Log lines are color-coded: INFO (green), WARN (yellow), ERROR (red), DEBUG (gray)

Requirements

  • Cameras must be configured with H.264 encoding (H.265 and MJPEG are not supported)
  • Event Server must be running (the BackgroundPlugin manages streaming)
  • Management Client for configuration

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
No video on RTMP server Check Event Server logs. Ensure camera uses H.264 encoding.
Helper keeps restarting Check System Log for crash entries. Common: wrong server URI, camera not found.
"Helper exe not found" Ensure RTMPStreamerHelper.exe is in same directory as RTMPStreamer.dll.
YouTube/Twitch rejects stream Ensure correct URL format. Twitch/Facebook require rtmps://.
"Camera is using H.265 codec" Change camera to H.264 in Recording Server configuration.
RTMP connection refused Verify RTMP server is running. Check firewall for port 1935/443.
Certificate error with RTMPS Check Allow untrusted certificates in stream config.
DLLs blocked / plugin not loading Unblock the ZIP before extracting.

Log Locations

Event Server logs: 

C:\ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Event Server\Logs\

Milestone System Log, significant events under the RTMP Streaming category:

Event Severity When
Stream connected Info Helper successfully publishing to RTMP server
Stream error Error Connection failed, TLS error, codec mismatch, etc.
Stream stopped Info Stream stopped normally
Helper crashed Warning Helper process died unexpectedly, auto-restarting
Plugin started Info BackgroundPlugin initialized with N active streams
Plugin stopped Info BackgroundPlugin shutting down

Known Limitations

  • H.264 only: cameras must use H.264 encoding (not H.265 or MJPEG)
  • Silent audio only: the AAC audio track is silent (camera audio is not captured)