How to find the RTSP URL for a Swann camera

This applies to Swann's recorders (DVRs and NVRs) and the wired cameras that plug into them, the kit with a local login and an IP address on your network. Swann's SWIFI range of consumer Wi-Fi and battery cameras (CoreCam and its relatives) is a different matter: those talk only to the Swann Security app and Swann's cloud, aren't ONVIF compliant, and Swann's own support pages say third-party streaming isn't supported on them. If that's what you have, no URL on this page will help, and the honest answer is that the hardware can't do it.

Why there isn't one Swann URL

Swann doesn't build every product line on the same platform; over the years it has shipped hardware from more than one manufacturer, and each has its own RTSP path. Older DVR and NVR lines and most wired standalone cameras use a channel-based path like /ch01/0, while many of the newer NVRs run Hikvision-derived firmware, so they answer at the same /Streaming/Channels/101 address a Hikvision recorder would. A handful of standalone models use /live/h264 instead. The model number won't reliably tell you which platform you've got, which is why testing the candidates in turn beats guessing.

The candidate URLs, most likely first

1. rtsp://username:password@ip:554/ch01/0 is channel 1's main stream on much of the range. /ch01/1 is its sub stream and /ch02/0 is channel 2, and if it refuses, try the same path without the leading zero (/ch1/0), which some models expect.
2. rtsp://username:password@ip:554/Streaming/Channels/101 on newer Hikvision-based NVRs. 101 is channel 1's main stream, 102 its sub stream, and channel 2 starts at 201, exactly as on a Hikvision recorder.
3. rtsp://username:password@ip:554/live/h264 on some standalone models. If none of the three connect, a community-maintained camera URL database will usually list your exact model's path.

Recorder or camera?

If your cameras hang off a Swann recorder, connect to the recorder rather than to each camera: one login covers every channel by changing the channel number in the path, and the recorder's IP is the only address you need. Going direct to a camera only makes sense for standalone models that were never paired with a recorder. Either way, the credentials in the URL are the local admin sign-in for that device, the one you'd type on the recorder itself or its web page, not your Swann Security app account.

1. 01

   Find the device's IP address

   Check your router's connected-device list, or the network settings screen on the recorder itself.

2. 02

   Pick your target

   Use the recorder's IP if you have one; a camera's own IP only if it's standalone.

3. 03

   Test the first candidate in VLC

   Open Media > Open Network Stream and paste rtsp://username:password@ip:554/ch01/0.

4. 04

   Work down the list

   No luck? Try /ch1/0, then /Streaming/Channels/101, then /live/h264, changing nothing else in the URL.

5. 05

   Note what worked

   Record the exact path and its channel convention; every other camera on the same recorder follows the same pattern.

Using it with Svid

Once one candidate connects, the hard part is over. Paste the working URL into Svid's Add screen and it captures the stream server-side, so there's no new hardware and no viewer left running on a PC. The feed is described frame by frame and becomes searchable and checkable like any other footage, and the general RTSP connection guide covers the account setup and what happens once the stream is added.

What port does Swann use for RTSP?

554, the RTSP standard, across effectively the whole range. If nothing answers on 554, the likelier explanation is a wrong path or a camera line with no RTSP at all, not a changed port.

Should I use the recorder's URL or each camera's?

The recorder's, where one exists. One login covers every connected camera by channel number, and cameras paired to a Swann NVR often aren't reachable individually anyway. Go direct to a camera only when there's no recorder in the picture.

Why doesn't my Swann Wi-Fi camera have an RTSP URL?

Swann's SWIFI range (CoreCam and similar Wi-Fi and battery models) streams only to the Swann Security app through Swann's cloud. It isn't ONVIF compliant, and Swann's support pages confirm third-party streaming isn't supported, so there's no URL to find on those models.

What username and password go in the URL?

The device's own local admin credentials, the ones you'd type into the recorder or its web interface. Your Swann Security app account is a separate cloud login and won't authenticate an RTSP stream.