What it is

rtp2httpd is a C-based IPTV streaming forwarder that converts multicast RTP/UDP and RTSP sources into unicast HTTP streams for clients that cannot join multicast directly. It lives in the IPTV media-streaming ecosystem, with topics including china-iptv, iptv, iptv-m3u, iptv-player, msd-lite, multicast, rtp, rtp-proxy, rtsp-proxy, and udpxy.

The project addresses the fact that many IPTV services deliver television as multicast RTP or RTSP, which ordinary browsers, mobile clients, and LAN media clients often cannot consume. It converts those feeds into HTTP, proxies internal HLS sources outward, normalizes M3U playlists, and supports fast channel change so users can watch IPTV on common devices without relying only on operator set-top boxes.

Key capabilities

• It converts multicast RTP/UDP to HTTP and RTSP to HTTP, with UDP NAT traversal STUN and RTSP time-shift playback.
• It provides full reverse proxy for HTTP-to-HTTP streaming, allowing internal IPTV HLS sources to be served to LAN or public network clients.
• It integrates M3U and M3U8 playlists, converts RTP or RTSP addresses into HTTP proxy format, handles catchup-source time-shift addresses, and exposes a converted playlist at /playlist.m3u.
• It reduces packet loss and jitter by reordering out-of-sequence RTP packets and supporting Reed-Solomon FEC recovery when the multicast upstream provides FEC.
• It supports carrier FCC fast channel change, delivers IDR frames for immediate decoding, and provides HTTP channel snapshots to reduce client-side decoding load.
• It offers a web status page at /status that shows client IP, state, bandwidth, transferred data, logs, dynamic log levels, and forced client disconnect.
• It includes a built-in browser player at /player with adaptive desktop and mobile UI, EPG, time-shift, automatic deinterlacing, and AMD FSR 1 upscaling.

Who uses it and how

• IPTV users on OpenWrt routers, optical modems, NAS, or other embedded devices convert multicast TV feeds into HTTP streams for local clients.
• Operators proxy private IPTV HLS sources to home networks or public clients using the HTTP-to-HTTP reverse proxy mode.
• Clients consume generated M3U or M3U8 playlists through udpxy-compatible URLs, enabling players that expect standard HTTP streaming.
• Advanced IPTV setups pair the server with carrier FCC servers and optimized players such as mytv-android, TiviMate, or Cloud Stream for faster channel switching.

Getting started

Typical deployment follows the OpenWrt quick-start guide or the platform-specific installation documentation, with related tutorials for DHCP authentication, routing, multicast, and firewall setup.

When to use it — and when not to

Use it when you need a lightweight C forwarder for multicast IPTV, RTSP sources, and HTTP proxying on embedded or self-managed hardware. Do not choose it for a fully hosted IPTV platform or when you cannot manage multicast routing, carrier FCC servers, RTSP catch-up sources, or FEC-capable upstream streams. The built-in browser player also inherits browser decoding limits, so some channels may fail to show video or audio.