RTSP Player for Android - Qt and libVLC

A minimal example of an RTSP player for Android, developed with Qt and libVLC to provide low-latency video streaming (0.5 - 1 second without buffer accumulation).

Features

• Real-time RTSP stream playback with minimal latency
• Optimized for low-latency transmission
• Built on Qt 6.x and libVLC
• Full Android ARM64 support
• Clean and educational codebase

Requirements

Build Dependencies

• Qt 6.x (minimum 6.6)
• CMake 3.16+
• Android SDK
• Android NDK
• libVLC for Android

libVLC Library Dependencies

The project requires specific libVLC components that must be placed in the correct Android directories.

Installation and Configuration

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/JulSCode/RTSPStream.git
cd RTSPSream

2. Adding libVLC Files

Download the required libVLC files from Maven Repository and place them in the following directory structure:

Project File Structure

RTSPStream/
├── android/
│   ├── libs/
│   │   └── libvlc-all-4.0.0-eap23.aar          ← Download from Maven
│   ├── jniLibs/
│   │   └── arm64-v8a/
│   │       ├── libc++_shared.so                 ← Download from Maven
│   │       ├── libvlc.so                        ← Download from Maven
│   │       └── libvlcjni.so                     ← Download from Maven
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── org/qtproject/example/
│   │       ├── SystemUIHelper.java
│   │       └── ... (other Java files)
│   └── AndroidManifest.xml
├── include/
│   ├── androidhelper.h
│   └── vlcbridge.h
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp
│   ├── androidhelper.cpp
│   └── ... (other C++ files)
├── res/
│   ├── icons/
│   │   ├── icon1.png
│   │   ├── icon2.png
│   │   ├── pause.png
│   │   ├── play.png
│   │   └── stop.png
│   └── resources.qrc
├── CMakeLists.txt
└── README.md

3. Extracting libVLC Files from AAR

The file libvlc-all-4.0.0-eap23.aar is a compressed archive (ZIP format). To extract the native libraries:

1. Unpack the AAR file:

   # On Windows (PowerShell)
   Expand-Archive android/libs/libvlc-all-4.0.0-eap23.aar -DestinationPath libvlc_temp
   
   # On Linux/macOS
   unzip android/libs/libvlc-all-4.0.0-eap23.aar -d libvlc_temp

2. Copy the required files:

   # On Windows (PowerShell)
   Copy-Item libvlc_temp/jni/arm64-v8a/libc++_shared.so android/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/
   Copy-Item libvlc_temp/jni/arm64-v8a/libvlc.so android/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/
   Copy-Item libvlc_temp/jni/arm64-v8a/libvlcjni.so android/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/
   
   # On Linux/macOS
   cp libvlc_temp/jni/arm64-v8a/*.so android/jniLibs/arm64-v8a/

3. Clean up the temporary directory:

   rm -r libvlc_temp

4. Building the Project

mkdir build
cd build
cmake -GNinja -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=<path_to_NDK>/build/cmake/android.cmake \
      -DANDROID_PLATFORM=android-28 \
      -DANDROID_ABI=arm64-v8a ..
cmake --build .

Or use Qt Creator:

1. Open CMakeLists.txt in Qt Creator
2. Select the Android profile
3. Choose the ARM64 configuration
4. Click "Build"

Usage

After successful build, install the application on an Android device:

# If built with CMake
cmake --install . --config Release

# Or using adb
adb install app.apk

Run the application and enter the RTSP stream URL for playback.

Project Structure

• src/ - C++ source code
• include/ - Header files
• android/ - Android-specific files and resources
• res/ - Application resources (icons, QML files)
• CMakeLists.txt - Build configuration

Latency Optimization Notes

To achieve minimum latency (0.5 - 1 second):

• Uses libVLC 4.0.0 EAP23 with streaming optimizations
• ARM64 devices are recommended for better performance
• Ensure stable network connectivity
• Depending on the RTSP source, additional buffer configuration may be required

License

MIT License

Author

JulSCode

Contributing

Pull requests and issues are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss the proposed changes.

Useful Links

• Qt for Android Documentation
• libVLC Android Documentation
• Maven Repository libvlc-all
• RTSP Protocol Specification