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RTMP Push Driver

A Milestone XProtect device driver that receives direct RTMP push streams and passes H.264 video through to Milestone. Push from OBS, FFmpeg, drones, or any RTMP-capable source directly into XProtect. No intermediate media server required.

Quick Start

  1. Add hardware in Management Client (see Adding a Device)
  2. Point your RTMP source at rtmp://<milestone-server>:<port>/<stream-path> (or rtmps:// with TLS enabled)

Adding a New RTMP Device

After installing, add new hardware in the Management Client:

Credentials: Milestone requires a credential to connect, even though this driver does not verify them. Add any username/password combination (e.g. root / pass) and make sure it is checked.

Factory Default: If you use factory default as credentials, you need to manually select the driver (Hardware Model) in the Add Hardware tab.

Port = RTMP listening port

The port you enter in the Add Hardware tab becomes the RTMP listening port (e.g. 8783). The wizard defaults to port 80, so you must change it to your desired RTMP port.

Unique ports required

Each driver instance must use a unique port. If two instances share the same port, the second one will fail to add and show as not responding.

To add multiple instances, use localhost with a different port for each one.

Usage

Push an RTMP stream to rtmp://<milestone-server>:<port>/<stream-path> from any RTMP-capable source. The video encoder must be set to H.264.

OBS Studio

  1. Go to Settings > Stream
  2. Set Service to Custom...
  3. Set Server to rtmp://<milestone-server>:8783
  4. Set Stream Key to stream1
  5. Under Settings > Output, ensure the video encoder is set to x264 (H.264)

FFmpeg (Testing)

# Push a test pattern at 30fps
ffmpeg -re -f lavfi -i testsrc2=size=640x480:rate=30 \
  -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -tune zerolatency -g 30 \
  -f flv rtmp://localhost:8783/stream1

# Push a local file
ffmpeg -re -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -f flv rtmp://localhost:8783/stream1

Configuration

All settings are configured in the Management Client. Hardware settings apply to the entire driver; device settings are per-camera. Changes take effect immediately.

Hardware Settings

Setting Default Description
Server Port (from URI) RTMP listening port
Show Stream Offline Info true Show test pattern with device name and RTMP URL when offline
Max Concurrent Connections 32 Maximum simultaneous RTMP connections (1–1000)
Enable Rate Limiter true Per-IP connection rate limiting
Rate Limit Max Requests Per Second 10 Max new connections per second per IP (1–1000)
TLS Enable (RTMPS) false Wrap connections in TLS. Requires rtmp.pfx in driver folder.
TLS Certificate Password (empty) Password for the rtmp.pfx file

Note

Make sure to open the Server Port (TCP) on Windows Firewall and any network firewalls between the stream source and the Milestone server.

Device Settings (Per-Camera)

Setting Default Description
RTMP Push Stream Path /stream1 – /stream16 The RTMP path this camera listens on

Events

Event Triggered when
RTMP Stream Started An RTMP source begins pushing to the stream path
RTMP Stream Stopped The RTMP source disconnects or stops publishing

Use these to trigger recordings, send notifications, activate outputs, or raise alarms via XProtect Rules.

Connection Timeouts

Timeout Duration Description
Publish Timeout 10 seconds Clients that connect but never publish are disconnected
Video Data Timeout 15 seconds Publishers that stop sending video data are disconnected
TCP Receive Timeout 30 seconds Connections that stop sending any data are disconnected

TLS / RTMPS

The driver supports RTMPS (RTMP over TLS) to encrypt connections.

Enabling TLS

  1. Place a rtmp.pfx (PKCS#12) certificate file in the driver folder
  2. In the Management Client, set TLS Enable (RTMPS) to true
  3. Set TLS Certificate Password to the password for the .pfx file
  4. Clients must connect using rtmps:// instead of rtmp://

Creating a Self-Signed Certificate (Testing)

$cert = New-SelfSignedCertificate `
    -DnsName "localhost","<your-server-hostname>" `
    -CertStoreLocation Cert:\LocalMachine\My `
    -NotAfter (Get-Date).AddYears(1) `
    -KeyExportPolicy Exportable

$password = ConvertTo-SecureString -String "YourPassword" -AsPlainText -Force
Export-PfxCertificate -Cert $cert `
    -FilePath "C:\Program Files\Milestone\MIPDrivers\RTMPDriver\rtmp.pfx" `
    -Password $password

Security Notes

  • TLS encrypts the stream data in transit, preventing eavesdropping and tampering
  • TLS does not add authentication, the stream path still acts as the stream key
  • For production use, use a certificate from a trusted CA (e.g. Let's Encrypt)
  • The driver supports TLS 1.2
  • Changing any TLS setting restarts the RTMP server, momentarily disconnecting all active streams

Troubleshooting

Problem Solution
No video in Smart Client Check stream path matches camera config. Check driver log.
Stream connects but no video Ensure H.264 (not HEVC/H.265). Check log for SPS/PPS messages.
DLLs blocked / driver not loading Unblock the ZIP before extracting.
"Hardware not responding" Verify Recording Server is running and DLLs are in the correct path.
Port already in use Each driver instance must use a unique port. Change Server Port.
"Stream is already being published to" Only one source can push to a stream path at a time.
Connection rejected / rate limited Increase Rate Limit Max Requests Per Second or disable rate limiter.
TLS handshake failure Verify rtmp.pfx exists and password is correct. Ensure rtmps:// is used.

Log Location

C:\ProgramData\Milestone\XProtect Recording Server\Logs\DriverFramework_RTMPDriver.log

Known Limitations

  • H.264 only: HEVC/H.265 and other codecs are not supported

Examples