How do I setup frigate with Camera which has dynamic RTSP links changing all the time

[Vendo233]

rtsp://admin:****@192.168.20.51:554/live/1jfiegbshazua_p3_BUQIBZRTFARN

the last part of the stream is chaging all the time. This setup works but my ffmpeg is using 30% of CPU all the time. Tried increasing threshold for motion lower fps , using low res for detection, nothing helps.

the camera is 15$ Amazon Vimtag

`go2rtc:
streams:
vimtag: # Name it whatever you want
- "onvif://admin:@192.168.1.22:80" # Main ONVIF connection
vimtag_sub: # Optional lower-res stream for detection
- "onvif://admin:@192.168.1.22:80?profile=sub"

cameras:
vimtag:
ffmpeg:
hwaccel_args: preset-vaapi # Change based on your hardware (nvidia, intel-qsv, etc.)
inputs:
- path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/vimtag
roles:
- record
- path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/vimtag_sub
roles:
- detect
detect:
width: 640
height: 480
fps: 5
onvif: # Optional – for PTZ if your camera supports it
host: 192.168.1.22
port: 80
user: admin
password: *`

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

Your approach using ONVIF in go2rtc is correct for cameras with dynamic RTSP URLs - go2rtc will automatically discover and use the current stream path via ONVIF.(1)

For the high CPU usage issue, here are some things to check:

Verify Hardware Acceleration is Working

Your config shows preset-vaapi which is correct for Intel GPUs.(2) Check the Frigate logs - a message will either confirm hardware acceleration was detected or warn that none was found.(2)

If you're running on Intel, ensure you have the correct driver. The default driver is iHD, but older CPUs (gen1-gen5) may need i965 by setting the environment variable LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=i965.(2)

Reduce Connections

Since you're already using the restream, your config looks correct. Make sure both detect and record are pulling from the go2rtc restream at rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/ rather than directly from the camera.(1)

Check Stream Codec

If your camera is sending H.265 and your browser/system doesn't support it natively, go2rtc may be transcoding. You can check this in the go2rtc web interface at port 1984.(3) If transcoding is occurring, that would explain the high CPU usage.

Try adding hardware-accelerated transcoding if needed:

go2rtc:
  streams:
    vimtag:
      - "onvif://admin:password@192.168.1.22:80"
      - "ffmpeg:vimtag#video=h264#hardware"

(3)

Additional Recommendations

• Set your camera's video codec to H.264 if possible (avoid H.265 for better compatibility)(4)
• Ensure your detect resolution matches what you've configured (640x480 at 5fps is reasonable)(5)

📚 Sources:

1. Restream
2. Video Decoding
3. Configuring go2rtc
4. Live View
5. Full Reference Config

---

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[Vendo233]

@inkeep how do I check sub stream resolution in Frigate UI?

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

Frigate can automatically detect your stream resolution, so you don't need to manually specify the width and height in your detect config. By default, Frigate tries to automatically detect resolution.(1)

However, I don't have specific documentation on where in the Frigate UI you can view the detected stream resolution.

You can check your stream details through the go2rtc web interface which runs on port 1984. This will show you information about your streams including resolution and codec details.

For the detect stream specifically, if you want to explicitly set or verify the resolution, you can configure it in your camera config:

cameras:
  vimtag:
    detect:
      width: 640  # <- optional, by default Frigate tries to automatically detect resolution
      height: 480 # <- optional, by default Frigate tries to automatically detect resolution

(1)

You might also find useful information in Settings → Debug in the Frigate UI, which shows debug views for your cameras including detection information.(2)

📚 Sources:

1. Camera Configuration
2. Face Recognition

---

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[Vendo233]

@inkeep this is info from go2rtc , fo you see reason why CPU usage would be high? { "producers": [ { "id": 23, "format_name": "rtsp", "protocol": "rtsp+tcp", "remote_addr": "192.168.20.51:554", "url": "rtsp://admin:November78%2A@192.168.20.51:554/live/1jfiegbshazua_p0_IGHHPFOVUNAX", "sdp": "v=0\r\no=shenzhenmining\r\ns=sample\r\nm=video 0 RTP/AVP 96\r\na=rtpmap:96 H264/90000\r\na=framerate:25\r\na=fmtp:96 profile-level-id=4D0032; packetization-mode=1; sprop-parameter-sets=Z00AMo2NQBQAWtNwEBAUAAAjKAAFfkAQ,aO44gA==\r\na=control:trackID=1\r\nm=audio 0 RTP/AVP 97\r\na=rtpmap:97 mpeg4-generic/16000/1\r\na=fmtp:97 profile-level-id=1;mode=AAC-hbr;sizelength=13;indexlength=3;indexdeltalength=3;constantDuration=1024;config=1408\r\na=control:trackID=2\r\n", "user_agent": "go2rtc/1.9.10", "medias": [ "video, recvonly, H264", "audio, recvonly, MPEG4-GENERIC/16000" ], "receivers": [ { "id": 25, "codec": { "codec_name": "h264", "codec_type": "video", "level": 50, "profile": "Main" }, "childs": [ 26 ], "bytes": 54121660, "packets": 60339 }, { "id": 31, "codec": { "codec_name": "aac", "codec_type": "audio", "sample_rate": 16000 }, "childs": [ 32 ], "bytes": 1078125, "packets": 8625 } ], "bytes_recv": 56338853 }, { "url": "ffmpeg:vimtag#video=h264#hardware" } ], "consumers": [ { "id": 21, "format_name": "rtsp", "protocol": "rtsp+tcp", "remote_addr": "127.0.0.1:54336", "sdp": "v=0\r\no=- 1 1 IN IP4 0.0.0.0\r\ns=go2rtc/1.9.10\r\nc=IN IP4 0.0.0.0\r\nt=0 0\r\nm=video 0 RTP/AVP 96\r\na=rtpmap:96 H264/90000\r\na=fmtp:96 profile-level-id=4D0032; packetization-mode=1; sprop-parameter-sets=Z00AMo2NQBQAWtNwEBAUAAAjKAAFfkAQ,aO44gA==\r\na=recvonly\r\na=control:trackID=0\r\nm=audio 0 RTP/AVP 97\r\na=rtpmap:97 MPEG4-GENERIC/16000\r\na=fmtp:97 profile-level-id=1;mode=AAC-hbr;sizelength=13;indexlength=3;indexdeltalength=3;constantDuration=1024;config=1408\r\na=recvonly\r\na=control:trackID=1\r\n", "user_agent": "FFmpeg Frigate/0.17.1-416a9b7", "medias": [ "video, sendonly, ANY", "audio, sendonly, ANY" ], "senders": [ { "id": 26, "codec": { "codec_name": "h264", "codec_type": "video", "level": 50, "profile": "Main" }, "parent": 25, "bytes": 54121660, "packets": 60339 }, { "id": 32, "codec": { "codec_name": "aac", "codec_type": "audio", "sample_rate": 16000 }, "parent": 31, "bytes": 1078125, "packets": 8625 } ], "bytes_send": 56303209 } ] }

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

Looking at your go2rtc output, I can see a potential issue:

You have "ffmpeg:vimtag#video=h264#hardware" listed as a producer, but your camera is already sending H.264 (codec_name: h264). This means go2rtc is likely transcoding H.264 to H.264, which is unnecessary and would consume CPU even with hardware acceleration.(1)

Since your stream is already H.264, you don't need the ffmpeg transcoding line. Try removing it from your go2rtc config:

go2rtc:
  streams:
    vimtag:
      - "onvif://admin:password@192.168.1.22:80"
      # Remove the ffmpeg line - your stream is already H.264

(2)

The transcoding line is only needed when your camera sends H.265 and you need H.264 for compatibility.(1)

Additional observations from your stream info:

• Frame rate: Your camera is sending at 25fps (a=framerate:25), but you configured detect at 5fps. The full 25fps stream is still being decoded for recording, which uses CPU.
• Hardware acceleration for decoding: Make sure preset-vaapi is working correctly. Video decoding is CPU-intensive and hardware acceleration offloads this to your GPU.(3)

Check Frigate logs for any FFmpeg errors related to hwaccel to verify hardware decoding is actually being used.(3)

📚 Sources:

1. Configuring go2rtc
2. Restream
3. High CPU Usage

---

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[Vendo233]

@inkeep how to remove audio stream to avoid reencoding?

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

If your camera does not have audio or you want to strip the audio stream to avoid any processing, configure go2rtc to send video only:(1)

go2rtc:
  streams:
    vimtag:
      - ffmpeg:rtsp://admin:password@192.168.20.51:554/live/stream_path#video=copy

(1)

For your ONVIF setup, you can apply the same approach:

go2rtc:
  streams:
    vimtag:
      - "ffmpeg:onvif://admin:password@192.168.1.22:80#video=copy"

The #video=copy parameter tells go2rtc to copy only the video stream without any audio, avoiding any audio re-encoding overhead.(1)

📚 Sources:

1. Live View

---

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[Vendo233]

@inkeep if I use this go2RTC setup they both point to the main 2K stream . How should I configur go2RTC to pick up lower sub stream?
go2rtc:
streams:
vimtag: # Name it whatever you want

• "onvif://admin:@192.168.1.22:80" # Main ONVIF connection
  vimtag_sub: # Optional lower-res stream for detection
• "onvif://admin:@192.168.1.22:80?profile=sub"

[inkeep-ai-assistant[bot]]

Your ONVIF substream configuration syntax with ?profile=sub looks correct. However, if both streams are returning the main 2K stream, your camera may not be properly advertising the substream profile via ONVIF, or the profile name may differ.

go2rtc supports many stream types beyond ONVIF.(1) If the ONVIF substream discovery isn't working, you can try using the direct RTSP URL for the substream instead. You'll need to find the actual RTSP path your camera uses for the substream (check your camera's settings or documentation).

For example, based on similar camera configurations:

go2rtc:
  streams:
    vimtag:
      - "onvif://admin:password@192.168.1.22:80"
    vimtag_sub:
      - rtsp://admin:password@192.168.1.22:554/0/av1  # Direct RTSP path to substream

(2)

Then in your Frigate camera config, use the substream for detection:

cameras:
  vimtag:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/vimtag
          roles:
            - record
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/vimtag_sub
          roles:
            - detect

(3)

To find your camera's substream RTSP path, check the go2rtc web interface at port 1984 - it may show the available streams discovered via ONVIF.(1) Alternatively, consult your Vimtag camera's documentation or settings page for the substream URL format.

📚 Sources:

1. Configuring go2rtc
2. Setup go2rtc.yaml with onvif camera
3. Restream

---

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