What you need

Ensure your Dahua camera is powered on and connected to the same network as your computer.

Dahua IP camera or NVR on your network
Camera credentials (default: admin / admin)
A computer on the same LAN
A PanoraCast account

Step 1: Find your camera's IP address

Download Dahua's ConfigTool from their website. Run it to scan your network — it will find all Dahua devices and display their IP addresses, model numbers, and firmware versions. You can also check your router's DHCP client list.

Step 2: Access the web interface

Open a browser and go to http://<camera-ip>. Log in with your credentials. Navigate to Setup > Network > Port to verify the RTSP port (default 554). Some models may require installing a browser plugin for live view, but this is not needed for RTSP streaming.

Step 3: Copy your RTSP URL

Dahua uses a straightforward RTSP URL format. The channel parameter selects the camera (1 for standalone cameras, 1-16 for NVRs), and subtype selects the stream quality.

bash

# Main stream (high quality)
rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0

# Sub stream (lower bandwidth)
rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1

# NVR camera 3, main stream
rtsp://admin:[email protected]:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=3&subtype=0

Stream types explained

subtype=0 is the main stream (highest resolution, more bandwidth). subtype=1 is the sub stream (lower resolution, less bandwidth). For web streaming, the sub stream is often sufficient and saves bandwidth. You can configure resolution and bitrate in Setup > Camera > Encode.

Step 4: Add to PanoraCast

In your PanoraCast dashboard, click 'Add Camera', select 'Dahua' from the brand list, paste your RTSP URL, and test the connection. Save and create your embed stream.

Network access

If your camera is behind a router/firewall, you'll need to set up port forwarding for RTSP port 554. Alternatively, some Dahua cameras support RTMP push — configure this in Setup > Network > RTMP to push directly to PanoraCast without opening inbound ports.

Troubleshooting

Common issues:

Connection refused — Verify RTSP port 554 is enabled in Setup > Network > Port
Authentication error — Default credentials are admin/admin. Reset via the physical reset button if locked out
No video — Check encoding is H.264 in Setup > Camera > Encode. H.265 may not be supported by all players
Amcrest cameras — Amcrest is a Dahua OEM brand. These same URLs work for Amcrest cameras

How to Connect a Dahua Camera