Ghosting / Artifacts on RTSP IP Cam

[SuperiorBuds]

I run a 24/7 stream with multiple IP cameras connected via RTSP. The majority of my cameras are hardwired PoE cams and have (near) zero issues.

I recently installed a new outdoor wifi cam and even though the network is rather stable it does get some small drops here and there. Normally this is not an issue -- the camera renders perfectly fine in the mobile app as well as via VLC on any of my PCs. However inside of OBS I get pretty bad artifacting / ghosting / rainbows. I had hoped that 27.2 with the update to CEF would reduce this issue, but it's still happening with RC1.

I am currently getting around this issue by keeping VLC open in the background and using Window Capture to grab the image. This works for a single camera but I lose the ability to shutdown the source when it's not visible, which helps a lot for cleaning up on long running streams.

OBS Media Source vs VLC + Window Capture

Besides hardwiring everything (which is nearly impossible in a log home) is there anything else I can check here? I'm about out of ideas.

https://obsproject.com/logs/vdjhLrRdx7dv1NW9

 

[Axle8877]

I have the same problem, significant ghosting in OBS but displays fine in VLC using rtsp stream. Anyone found a permanent fix?

 

[deFrisselle]

I run a 24/7 stream with multiple IP cameras connected via RTSP. The majority of my cameras are hardwired PoE cams and have (near) zero issues.

I recently installed a new outdoor wifi cam and even though the network is rather stable it does get some small drops here and there. Normally this is not an issue -- the camera renders perfectly fine in the mobile app as well as via VLC on any of my PCs. However inside of OBS I get pretty bad artifacting / ghosting / rainbows. I had hoped that 27.2 with the update to CEF would reduce this issue, but it's still happening with RC1.

I am currently getting around this issue by keeping VLC open in the background and using Window Capture to grab the image. This works for a single camera but I lose the ability to shutdown the source when it's not visible, which helps a lot for cleaning up on long running streams.

OBS Media Source vs VLC + Window Capture

View attachment 79694 View attachment 79695

Besides hardwiring everything (which is nearly impossible in a log home) is there anything else I can check here? I'm about out of ideas.

https://obsproject.com/logs/vdjhLrRdx7dv1NW9

VLC integrates into OBS, why are you not using VLC Video Source

 

[Kwadwo]

I run a 24/7 stream with multiple IP cameras connected via RTSP. The majority of my cameras are hardwired PoE cams and have (near) zero issues.

I recently installed a new outdoor wifi cam and even though the network is rather stable it does get some small drops here and there. Normally this is not an issue -- the camera renders perfectly fine in the mobile app as well as via VLC on any of my PCs. However inside of OBS I get pretty bad artifacting / ghosting / rainbows. I had hoped that 27.2 with the update to CEF would reduce this issue, but it's still happening with RC1.

I am currently getting around this issue by keeping VLC open in the background and using Window Capture to grab the image. This works for a single camera but I lose the ability to shutdown the source when it's not visible, which helps a lot for cleaning up on long running streams.

OBS Media Source vs VLC + Window Capture

Besides hardwiring everything (which is nearly impossible in a log home) is there anything else I can check here? I'm about out of ideas.

https://obsproject.com/logs/vdjhLrRdx7dv1NW9

Since you already have VLC installed, instead of using Window Capture choose VLC as source

 

[SuperiorBuds]

VLC integrates into OBS, why are you not using VLC Video Source

The VLC source is the one that has the ghosting/artifacts inside of OBS.

Since you already have VLC installed, instead of using Window Capture choose VLC as source

As I said above, the VLC source is the one that causes the artifacting. The Window Capture was a short-term workaround since VLC itself doesn't have this problem.

This thread was 7 months old and I've long since switched to mostly hardwired PoE cameras so this is not as big of an issue for me. However, the problem still persists in OBS (not allowing us to use TCP instead of UDP like we can in VLC).

 

[Kwadwo]

The VLC source is the one that has the ghosting/artifacts inside of OBS.



As I said above, the VLC source is the one that causes the artifacting. The Window Capture was a short-term workaround since VLC itself doesn't have this problem.

This thread was 7 months old and I've long since switched to mostly hardwired PoE cameras so this is not as big of an issue for me. However, the problem still persists in OBS (not allowing us to use TCP instead of UDP like we can in VLC).

Have you tried using media source. Uncheck local file and input rtsp address.

 

[Suslik V]

The Media Source may become useful but not earlier than OBS v28.0.0 will be released.
There were some changes in the code, that relaxes some restrictions (on setting custom parameters):

obs-ffmpeg: Add ability to set FFmpeg options by stopforumspam · Pull Request #4967 · obsproject/obs-studio

Description Added the ability to pass options to the media source to provide ffmpeg which options, such as forcing the RTSP transport protocol This is a feature for the Media Source but does requir...

github.com

 

[SuperiorBuds]

The Media Source may become useful but not earlier then OBS v28.0.0 will be released.
There were some changes in the code, that relaxes some restrictions (on setting custom parameters):

obs-ffmpeg: Add ability to set FFmpeg options by stopforumspam · Pull Request #4967 · obsproject/obs-studio

Description Added the ability to pass options to the media source to provide ffmpeg which options, such as forcing the RTSP transport protocol This is a feature for the Media Source but does requir...

github.com

Yup, that's the one I've been waiting for. Glad to see it finally made it through testing and is set for v28.

 

[john13542]

Have you tried using media source. Uncheck local file and input rtsp address.

I have been working on fixing a ghosting problem with Rumble. I'm using a media source and also tried VLC. I solved the ghosting/rainbows by looking at the Rumble recommended streaming specs. Most importantly, I ran the auto configuration wizard in the tools menu. It can tell you your current bitrate. Lower your speed down to 720p 30 frames to start. It will automatically pick an encoder and set the control rate. After you get a good picture, you can Increase your resolution to 1080p 30 frames or higher. My ghosting disappeared when the encoder was corrected and the internet speed was fast enough. The h264 4.1 is for 30 fps and the h264 4.2 is for 60 fps.

 

[Uzer2103]

The VLC source is the one that has the ghosting/artifacts inside of OBS.



As I said above, the VLC source is the one that causes the artifacting. The Window Capture was a short-term workaround since VLC itself doesn't have this problem.

This thread was 7 months old and I've long since switched to mostly hardwired PoE cameras so this is not as big of an issue for me. However, the problem still persists in OBS (not allowing us to use TCP instead of UDP like we can in VLC).

Correct, OBS actually can use TCP over RTSP stream. Editing the codec transport to TCP will clean the video receiving

It does not matter how fast your bandwith, standard 20mbps still display a good quality video when using TCP protocol

I'm using old DVR CCTV as main camera, with old H.264 codec. Streaming the RTSP link into OBS media source menu.

With the right settings, old PC Intel dual core 2GB RAM can give the best video transmiting source

But we all know when using IP based camera, delay is something you can not fix but can be managed.

 

[tuday]

I've been struggling with artifacts and turns out I was UDP streaming my webcam, thank you so much for this! I added the tcp parameters to ffmpeg and it's working flawlessly now.