Troubleshooting
RTSP Recording Troubleshooting: Live View Works, NVR Does Not
A structured checklist for RTSP cameras that display live video but fail to create, retain, or play NVR recordings.
1. Confirm the selected recording stream
Make sure the recorder is using the stream you tested. Applications may use a main stream for live view and a sub stream for continuous recording. Open the exact sub-stream URL for several minutes and confirm that it carries a supported codec with stable timestamps.
If only one role fails, compare profile, resolution, frame rate, audio codec, and transport settings between the streams.
2. Check storage access and free space
Create a short manual recording in the selected destination. Confirm that the volume is mounted, writable, and still authorized after restarting the app. External drives can appear connected while a security-scoped permission or mount path has changed.
Leave headroom above the configured recorder budget. A nearly full filesystem can fail segment finalization or database updates before it reports zero free bytes.
3. Inspect time and segmentation
Bad or discontinuous camera timestamps can make segments overlap, appear in the wrong timeline position, or fail muxing. Compare camera time, NVR host time, and the timestamps reported by the stream. Rebooting a camera may reset its media clock even when wall-clock time looks correct.
Try a shorter segment duration only as a diagnostic. The root cause may be a keyframe interval longer than the segment policy.
4. Test recovery paths
Disable and re-enable recording, reconnect the camera, restart the app, and remount storage one variable at a time. After each action, verify the newest segment timestamp rather than relying on a green “online” indicator.
Export a diagnostic report after reproducing the issue. Redact credentials and include camera model, firmware, stream role, codec, transport, and the first time at which the timeline stops advancing.
5. Reduce to a known-good baseline
Temporarily disable audio, advanced detection, live push, and optional integrations. Record one H.264 camera to local storage. If that works, reintroduce the sub stream, external storage, audio, and analysis one at a time.
This is faster than changing several parameters together because every successful step narrows the failing layer.
Frequently asked questions
Why are recording files present but missing from the timeline?
The media index or database may not match the files. Use the application’s storage audit or rebuild tools instead of renaming files manually.
Why does playback stop at every segment boundary?
Segment timestamps, codec initialization data, or keyframe placement may be inconsistent. Capture a diagnostic sample and compare adjacent segments.
Should I delete and re-add the camera?
Only after recording the current settings and testing storage. Re-adding can hide the original cause and remove useful diagnostics.
Sources and further reading
Build your NVR on the Apple devices you already own.
Monitor, record, review, and retain RTSP and ONVIF camera video locally.