What is ONVIF?

ONVIF is an open industry standard for IP cameras and security devices. Most modern IP cameras support ONVIF, which provides a standardized way to discover devices and retrieve their RTSP stream URLs — even if the brand isn't listed in our other guides.

What you need

This guide works for any ONVIF-compatible camera.

Any IP camera that supports ONVIF (check the manufacturer spec sheet)
Camera credentials
A Windows PC on the same network (for ONVIF Device Manager)
A PanoraCast account

Step 1: Install ONVIF Device Manager

Download ONVIF Device Manager (ODM) — a free, open-source tool for Windows. It discovers all ONVIF cameras on your network and can retrieve their RTSP URLs automatically.

ONVIF Device Manager interface — ONVIF Device Manager discovers cameras and shows their stream URLs

Step 2: Discover your camera

Launch ONVIF Device Manager. It will automatically scan your network. Your camera should appear in the device list with its IP address and model. Click on it and enter your camera credentials when prompted.

Step 3: Get the RTSP URL

In ONVIF Device Manager, select your camera and go to the 'Live video' tab. The RTSP URL is shown in the stream URI field. Copy this URL — it's the exact URL your camera uses for RTSP streaming.

Common ONVIF RTSP paths

If you can't use ONVIF Device Manager, try these common RTSP paths that many ONVIF cameras use:

bash

# Common ONVIF paths — try these in order
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/onvif1
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/stream1
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/live/ch0
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/Streaming/Channels/101
rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/h264Preview_01_main

Step 4: Add to PanoraCast

In your PanoraCast dashboard, click 'Add Camera', choose 'Generic ONVIF' or the closest brand match, paste the RTSP URL, and test the connection.

Troubleshooting

Common issues:

Camera not discovered — Ensure the camera and your computer are on the same subnet. Some cameras disable ONVIF by default — enable it in the camera's web interface
Authentication failed — ONVIF uses its own credentials which may differ from the camera's web interface login. Check ONVIF settings in the camera
RTSP URL not working — The URL from ONVIF Device Manager may use the camera's internal IP. If accessing remotely, replace with the public IP and set up port forwarding
Camera not ONVIF — Not all cameras support ONVIF. Check the onvif.org conformant products list

How to Connect Any ONVIF Camera