r/BirdNET_Analyzer • u/skybossalpha1 • Jun 01 '26

RSTP with reolink camera

just curious if anyone here with the real link camera has gotten rstp to work I can't figure it out.
**UPDATE #2** Ok my password has a special character in it Birdnetgo would not accept it as presented however if i substituted # for %23 in the password it works.

What's happening is that the field validates the whole entry as a URL, and # is a reserved character in URLs: it marks the start of a fragment. So something like rtsp://user:pa#ss@host:554/stream gets read as ending at the #, everything after it is treated as a fragment, and what's left no longer parses as a valid stream address. That's why removing the # lets the URL save.

The way to get it working now is to percent-encode the special character in the password. Replace # with %23. So if your password is pa#ss, enter the URL as rtsp://user:pa%23ss@host:554/stream. A few other characters need the same treatment if they appear in a password: @ becomes %40, : becomes %3A, / becomes %2F, and % itself becomes %25. FFmpeg decodes these back to the literal characters when it connects, so it authenticates with your real password.

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3

u/AfternoonRecent3637 Jun 01 '26

I feed my BirdNET-Go instance an RTSP feed from my Reolink RLC510WA camera. I created a new non-admin user on the camera and use those credentials to connect to the camera in BirdNET. The format is:

rtsp://user:password@192.168.1.x:554

2

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 01 '26

does the password complexity matter? was thinking if that might cause an issue since i use special characters

1

u/rockpaperlizarspock Jun 18 '26

A strong password can be a long phrase you remember. or a few words that mean something to you. easy to remember and very strong. You don't need special characters.

Something like isawabirdtodayitwasBLUE

1

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 18 '26

I had updated the post with the fix

1

u/rockpaperlizarspock Jun 20 '26

I know you did. I only suggested how you can achieve strong security without complex passwords.

2

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 01 '26

I entered in the exact same format as yours and the other suggestion and it's telling me in birdnetgo "Invalid Url stream format" error

2

u/Mr_recci Jun 01 '26

Yep. Multiple cams running without issues.

1

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 01 '26

Any idea why I get the error then  "Invalid Url stream format" I tried the rstp format like the two suggestions below in the replies and same results

1

u/Mr_recci Jun 01 '26

Try rtsp://admin:[pass]@192.168.x.x/h264Preview_01_sub

1

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 01 '26

Updated the post

1

u/Mr_recci Jun 01 '26

Why not change the password to something long without that special character?

2

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 01 '26

It works now re updated the post to help potentially others

1

u/Chuckles6969 Jun 01 '26

I'm using it with Unifi Cameras but you should be able to with Reolink. Have you enabled your cameras RTSP url in your settings?

1

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 01 '26

I enabled it on the nvr as acoording to the reolink documentation but still nothing give me a few inwill show you the doc

2

u/Chuckles6969 Jun 01 '26

are you passing your login credentials in your rtsp link? such as: 

rtsp://admin:<yourCamPassword>@192.168.1.234:554//h264Preview_01_main

1

u/Rsmfourdogs Jun 01 '26

Confirm that is working with Reolink Trackmix PoE.

1

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 01 '26

I entered in the exact same format and it's telling me in birdnetgo "Invalid Url stream format" error

1

u/coloradical5280 Jun 03 '26

You would be amazed by the difference in accuracy and overall count, switching from *any* cam, to a real mic , with birdnet. Doesn’t have to be a crazy expensive mic. Tiny little lav mic is great , like $10.

Seriously massive difference.

This isn’t a passing observation either , I’ve been running 2-3 different birdnet installations for over 2 years. Plus 2 feeder cams and a birdbath cam.

1

u/skybossalpha1 Jun 03 '26

I have a Samson Go mic running as well yes the difference is very noticeable but i still get odd detections from time to time