# Connect an RTSP source

You can connect an RTSP source (such as an IP camera or another Pearl-2) to Pearl-2 over a network using the Admin panel.

RTSP video encoding is supported with H.264 video codec  and MP3 or AAC audio formats. We recommend using the hardware acceleration option for improved performance (enabled by default).

**Important considerations**

- If an RTSP source is connected but unused in any channel, only key frames are encoded to preserve CPU resources.

- **Pearl-2** - Multiple RTSP sources can be used with Pearl-2.

To synchronize timestamps between your RTSP source and Pearl-2, the same time synchronization server should be used for both. We recommend that you configure an NTP server on your Pearl-2 and use it as a time synchronization server for your RTSP source. The timestamps of an RTSP source and Pearl-2 tend to gradually go out of sync. If there's a **2500 –3000 ms** difference between the timestamp of your RTSP source and the Pearl-2, a "no signal" image displays and your RTSP source won't stream audio. Re-connect your RTSP source to reset any time synchronization issues.

**Connect an RTSP source using the Admin panel**

- Log in to the Admin panel as **admin**.

- From the Inputs menu, click **Add input**, and then click **Add RTSP input** The RTSP input page opens.

- Enter the **Input URL**, **Username **and **Password **for your RTSP source and select either **UDP** or **TCP** as the Preferred transport.

- (Optional) Select **Use hardware acceleration** for improved performance (default).

- (Optional) Rename the RTSP source

- (Optional) Configure a custom "No signal" image

- Click **Apply **to save your settings and connect your RTSP source.

After your RTSP source is connected, you can view basic video and audio signal information and packet loss statistics for the source under the **Status **header at the top of the page. Any warnings or errors associated with your RTSP stream are also displayed on this page.

Alternatively, you can view stream connection information when you click **check **at the bottom of the page.

### Connect an SRT stream as an input

Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) is a low-latency protocol used to stream over the Internet to SRT destinations (decoders), such as CDNs and other SRT decoders.

You can configure Pearl-2 as an SRT destination (decoder) and ingest SRT streams as video inputs that you can add to custom layouts for switching, recording, and streaming.

When adding an SRT input, be sure to select the correct SRT mode. For example, if the SRT source stream is using rendezvous mode, ensure you set the SRT input in the Admin panel to rendezvous mode. If the SRT source stream is using caller mode, then set the SRT input in the Admin panel to listener mode.

**What's needed for this setup**

- The IP address and SRT port of the SRT source (encoder) is needed for caller mode and rendezvous mode.

- For rendezvous mode, you must configure the SRT input to use the same port value as the SRT source.

- For caller/listener modes, you must know which mode the SRT source uses and configure the SRT input on Pearl-2 to use the corresponding mode.

- Caller mode can be used only for connection with the publicly accessed destination/source.

- Listener mode can be used for connection with any source/destination (including within a local network behind the firewall).

- For example, if the SRT source is in caller mode, then the input must be in listener mode.

- If AES encryption and a passphrase is required, consult your IT administrator for this information. Pearl-2 supports 128 bits, 192 bits, and 256 bits AES encryption. Special characters are not supported in the passphrase.

If AES encryption and a passphrase is configured, ensure this information is provided to the SRT source. The SRT stream from the source must use the same AES and passphrase values

**Add an SRT stream as an input using the Admin panel**

- Log in to the Admin panel as **admin**.

- From the Inputs menu, select **Add input** and select **Add SRT input**. The SRT input configuration page opens.

- In the **Connection mode** field, select the SRT mode:

- For **Caller** mode, enter the following:

- **URL **- the URL of the SRT source (encoder) using the format *srt://**<**encoder-ip-address**>**:**<**port**>*, where the *<**encoder-ip-address**>* and *<**port**>* could be a Pearl-2 sending an SRT stream.

- **Source port** - enter the port number for Pearl-2 to use for SRT traffic.

- **Stream ID** - In the **Stream ID** field, enter a unique name for this stream.

- For **Listener** mode, optionally enter the following:

-  Enter the **Port** number for this device to use for SRT traffic.

- For **Rendezvous **mode enter the following:

- **URL **of the SRT source (encoder) using the format *srt://**<**encoder-ip-address**>**:**<**port**>*, where the *<**encoder-ip-address**>* and *<**port**>* values are provided by the SRT encoder device.

- Enter the following optional settings:

- **Encryption** - select the check box and choose the AES **Key length** if the SRT destination requires AES encryption. These settings must match the encryption settings of the destination device.

- **Passphrase** - Enter a passphrase if one is required along with AES encryption.

- **Latency** - Add from 80 ms to 8000 ms of latency to the SRT stream. Increasing latency gives more time to buffer packets and resend any that got lost in transit to the destination. If the latency value set for the stream is too low and there is packet loss over the network, retransmission of lost packets will not be possible and the stream quality will suffer. If you require real-time responses from your audience, you should use as little latency as possible.

- **Audio delay** - The audio delay feature helps you adjust audio coming from external sources so that your video and audio sources are synchronized when captured, streamed, and recorded. You can apply from -300 ms to +300 ms of delay. By default, there's 0 ms of delay applied to audio sources.

- **Use hardware acceleration** - This is the default H.264 encoding preset. Choose this setting for best performance.

- **Disable color range conversion** - Color range conversion ensures that the ingested SRT video signal is full-range RGB (0-255), even if the signal was sent with limited RGB color range. By default, color range conversion is enabled.

- **No signal image** - Select an image to be displayed if there is no signal in the SRT stream. from the dropdown list. The **DEFAULT** image displays the words **NO SIGNAL**. To add a new image, select **Media** in the **Configuration** menu and click **Choose File**.

- **Timeout** - Select an amount of time with no signal before the **No signal image** appears.

- Click **Apply**.

We recommend using the default latency value for an initial test stream. After you perform a test stream, you can determine the Quality of Service (QoS) and calculate the latency requirements.

> product: pearl-2 · topic: streaming · source: pearl-2-userguide.md · updated: Oct 13, 2026