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COVA - Registering Cameras with RTSP

Updated

Registering Cameras with RTSP for COVA

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Affected Roles: Administrator

Related DW Product: COVA

Last Edit: July 1, 2026

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RTSP Camera Streaming

There may be circumstances where users and integrators are unable to use direct PoE connection or ONVIF registration through the network while adding cameras to a COVA recorder. A camera is added via ONVIF primarily when ONVIF compatibility is unavailable, such is the case with older, non-compliant cameras.

When dealing with cheaper, generic, or proprietary cameras that lack proper ONVIF implementation or use outdated ONVIF profiles, users can utilize a camera’s RTSP stream, which is usually used as a fallback to stream video directly when automatic device discovery fails.

This article will outline how to manually register a camera to a COVA recorder using a camera’s RTSP stream.

 

Supported/Affected Devices:

  • DW COVA Recorder Series
    • DW-COVA16xT
    • DW-COVA8xT
    • DW-COVA4xT

 

Camera Registration with RTSP

Part 1: Create a Custom Protocol

To add a camera to a COVA recorder using RTSP, first create a custom RTSP protocol.

  1. Open the COVA Settings menu and navigate to the Camera menu.
  2. Click the Camera Management button then select “Add Manually”.

 

  1. The Add Manually pop-up window will display.

    Use the drop-down and set the Protocol to “RTSP”.

 

  1. In the RSTP setup window configure the following:

    • Main Stream - Enter hi-stream URL
    • Sun Stream- Enter low-stream URL
    • Username - Enter camera login ID
    • Password- Enter cameras password

Example:

Main Stream – rtsp://192.168.0.246:554/profile1
Sub Stream – rtsp://192.168.0.246:554/profile2

     

       5. Click the OK button when finished.

 

The registered device will appear in the camera list once added.

 

 

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