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How to Connect to Vivotek IP Camera in C# .NET

Video Capture SDK .Net Media Blocks SDK .Net

Brand Overview

Vivotek Inc. is a Taiwanese manufacturer of network surveillance solutions headquartered in New Taipei City. Founded in 2000, Vivotek is one of the world's leading IP camera brands, widely deployed in enterprise, retail, transportation, and city surveillance. Vivotek is known for its wide range of form factors including fisheye, panoramic, speed dome, and specialty cameras.

Key facts:

  • Product lines: FD (fixed dome), IP (box/bullet), IB (bullet), SD (speed dome), FE (fisheye), MD (mobile dome), CC (compact), VS (video servers/encoders)
  • Protocol support: RTSP, ONVIF (Profile S/G/T), HTTP/CGI, MJPEG
  • Default RTSP port: 554
  • Default credentials: root / (empty or set during setup); legacy models: root / root
  • ONVIF support: Yes (all current models)
  • Video codecs: H.264, H.265, MJPEG

RTSP URL Patterns

Current Models

All current Vivotek cameras use the live.sdp URL pattern for RTSP streaming:

Stream RTSP URL Notes
Stream 1 (main) rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Main stream, H.264/H.265
Stream 2 (sub) rtsp://IP:554/live2.sdp Sub stream
Stream 3 rtsp://IP:554/live3.sdp Third stream (if supported)
Stream 4 rtsp://IP:554/live4.sdp Fourth stream (some models)

Model-Specific URLs

Model Series RTSP URL Form Factor
FD81xx (fixed dome) rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Fixed dome
FD83xx (fixed dome) rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Fixed dome
FD8134/FD8136 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Mini dome
FD8161/FD8162/FD8166 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Fixed dome
FD8335H rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Fixed dome
FD8361/FD8362E/FD8372 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Fixed dome
FE8171V/FE8172V/FE8174 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Fisheye
IP7130/IP7131/IP7132 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Box camera
IP7160/IP7161 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Box camera
IP7330/IP7361 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Bullet
IP8130/IP8133/IP8152 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Box camera
IP8331/IP8332/IP8335H rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Box camera
IP8362/IP8364 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Box camera
SD8362E rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Speed dome
CC8130 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Compact
MD7560/MD8562 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Mobile dome

Legacy Models

Older Vivotek models (IP3xxx, IP6xxx, PT3xxx, PZ6xxx series) used HTTP-only streaming:

Model Series URL Notes
IP3121/IP3122/IP3133/IP3135 http://IP/cgi-bin/video.jpg?size=2 JPEG only
IP6127 http://IP/cgi-bin/video.jpg?size=2 JPEG only
PT3112/PT3122 http://IP/cgi-bin/video.jpg?size=2 Pan/tilt, JPEG
PZ6114/PZ6122 http://IP/cgi-bin/video.jpg?size=2 Pan/zoom, JPEG

Video Server URLs

Vivotek video servers encode analog camera feeds for IP streaming:

Model RTSP URL Notes
VS2403 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Video server, multi-channel
VS3100P http://IP/cgi-bin/video.jpg?size=2 Legacy encoder
VS7100 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Video server
VS8102 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Video server
VS8401 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp 4-channel server
VS8801 rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp 8-channel server

NVR URLs

Model RTSP URL Notes
NR8x01 NVR rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp Via NVR

Connecting with VisioForge SDK

Use your Vivotek camera's RTSP URL with any of the three SDK approaches shown in the Quick Start Guide:

// Vivotek camera, main stream
var uri = new Uri("rtsp://192.168.1.50:554/live.sdp");
var username = "root";
var password = "YourPassword";

For sub-stream access, use /live2.sdp instead.

Snapshot and MJPEG URLs

Type URL Pattern Notes
JPEG Snapshot http://IP/cgi-bin/viewer/video.jpg?resolution=640x480 Current models
JPEG Snapshot (channel) http://IP/cgi-bin/viewer/video.jpg?channel=1&resolution=640x480 Multi-channel
MJPEG Stream http://IP/video.mjpg Continuous MJPEG
MJPEG Stream (alt) http://IP/video2.mjpg Second stream
MJPEG (params) http://IP/video.mjpg?q=30&fps=33&id=0.5 With quality/fps params
Legacy Snapshot http://IP/cgi-bin/video.jpg Older models
Legacy Snapshot (sized) http://IP/cgi-bin/video.jpg?size=2 Older models, VGA
Snapshot CGI http://IP/snapshot.cgi Some models

Troubleshooting

Consistent URL pattern

Unlike many brands, Vivotek uses the same live.sdp RTSP URL pattern across virtually all their RTSP-capable models. If rtsp://IP:554/live.sdp doesn't work, try:

  • rtsp://IP:554/live2.sdp (sub stream)
  • rtsp://IP:554/live3.sdp (third stream)

Default credentials

  • Current models: root with password set during initial setup
  • Legacy models: root / (empty password) or root / root
  • Some models require setup via the web interface before RTSP is accessible

Non-standard ports on some models

Some Vivotek cameras may use non-standard RTSP ports (e.g., 1025, 1032) if configured. Check the camera's web interface under Network > RTSP settings if port 554 doesn't respond.

Legacy HTTP-only cameras

Very old Vivotek cameras (IP31xx, IP61xx, PT31xx, PZ61xx series) only support HTTP JPEG and MJPEG streams, not RTSP. These cameras cannot use the RTSP source -- use HTTP snapshot or MJPEG integration instead.

FAQ

What is the default RTSP URL for Vivotek cameras?

The standard URL is rtsp://root:password@CAMERA_IP:554/live.sdp for the main stream. Use live2.sdp for the sub stream and live3.sdp for the third stream. This pattern works across virtually all RTSP-capable Vivotek models.

Do Vivotek cameras support H.265?

Yes. Current Vivotek cameras support H.265 (HEVC). Use the same live.sdp URL -- the codec is configured in the camera's web interface, not in the URL.

What is the difference between live.sdp and live2.sdp?

live.sdp is the main (highest quality) stream, live2.sdp is typically a lower-resolution sub stream for bandwidth-constrained viewing, and live3.sdp is a third stream often used for mobile viewing.

Do Vivotek video servers support RTSP?

Yes. Current Vivotek video servers (VS2403, VS7100, VS8102, VS8401, VS8801) support RTSP using the same live.sdp URL pattern as cameras. Legacy servers (VS3100P) only support HTTP JPEG.