IPyCam - Pure Python Virtual IP Camera

A lightweight, pure Python virtual IP camera that provides ONVIF discovery, RTSP streaming, and PTZ controls. Perfect for testing, development, or creating custom camera solutions.

📺 Demo Video

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1d3afd23-1ab8-40f6-876c-3f3f9a0089fe

YouTube

Features

• ONVIF Compliance: Full WS-Discovery support for automatic camera detection
• RTSP Streaming: High-performance video streaming via go2rtc (optional) or native Python fallback
• WebRTC Support: Direct browser streaming with native Python implementation
• PTZ Controls: Digital Pan-Tilt-Zoom with preset positions
• Hardware Acceleration: Automatic detection and use of NVENC, QSV, or CPU encoding (with go2rtc)
• Native Fallback: Pure Python streaming (WebRTC, MJPEG) when go2rtc is not available
• Web Interface: Built-in configuration and live preview
• Low Latency: Optimized async frame pipeline for real-time streaming
• Flexible Input: Accept frames from any source (webcam, video file, generated content)

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• Optional: FFmpeg + go2rtc for hardware-accelerated encoding (recommended for high performance)
• Optional: aiortc (pip install aiortc) for native WebRTC streaming fallback

Note: IPyCam can run without go2rtc using pure Python streaming. However, go2rtc + FFmpeg provides significantly better performance, especially for high-resolution streams.

Quick Start

Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/olkham/IPyCam.git

Setup Scripts (Windows and Linux)

If you prefer a guided setup, use the provided scripts. They install dependencies and prepare the environment for running the examples.

Windows (PowerShell or Command Prompt):

setup.bat

Linux/macOS (bash):

chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh

Tip: Run the script from the project root (the folder that contains setup.bat and setup.sh).

Installation

Install directly from GitHub:

pip install git+https://github.com/olkham/IPyCam.git

Or install from source:

git clone https://github.com/olkham/IPyCam.git
cd ipycam
pip install -e .

Optional: Enhanced Streaming Performance (Recommended)

For hardware-accelerated encoding with go2rtc:

1. Install go2rtc: Download from go2rtc releases
2. Start go2rtc with IPyCam configuration:

   go2rtc.exe --config ipycam\go2rtc.yaml
   

   Keep this running in a separate terminal.

Without go2rtc, IPyCam will automatically fall back to native Python streaming.

Optional: 360° Camera Support

For the 360_ptz.py example with equirectangular projection:

pip install "ipycam[camera360] @ git+https://github.com/olkham/IPyCam.git"

or install FrameSource separately:

pip install git+https://github.com/olkham/IPyCam.git
pip install git+https://github.com/olkham/FrameSource.git

Basic Usage

import cv2
from ipycam import IPCamera, CameraConfig

# Create camera with custom config
config = CameraConfig(
    name="My Virtual Camera",
    main_width=1920,
    main_height=1080,
    main_fps=30,
)

camera = IPCamera(config)
camera.start()

# Stream from webcam
cap = cv2.VideoCapture(0)

try:
    while camera.is_running:
        ret, frame = cap.read()
        if ret:
            camera.stream(frame)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    pass
finally:
    cap.release()
    camera.stop()

Running as a Module

python -m ipycam

Then access:

• Web UI: http://localhost:8080/
• RTSP Main Stream: rtsp://localhost:8554/video_main
• RTSP Sub Stream: rtsp://localhost:8554/video_sub
• ONVIF Service: http://localhost:8080/onvif/device_service

Testing the Stream

Test the RTSP streams using ffplay:

# Test main stream
ffplay rtsp://localhost:8554/video_main

# Test sub stream
ffplay rtsp://localhost:8554/video_sub

Configuration

Configuration is stored in camera_config.json:

{
  "name": "Virtual Camera",
  "manufacturer": "PythonCam",
  "model": "VirtualCam-1",
  "main_width": 1920,
  "main_height": 1080,
  "main_fps": 30,
  "main_bitrate": "4M",
  "sub_width": 640,
  "sub_height": 360,
  "native_width": 640,
  "native_height": 480,
  "native_fps": 15,
  "native_bitrate": "500K",
  "hw_accel": "auto"
}

Hardware acceleration options (go2rtc only):

• "auto" - Try NVENC → QSV → CPU (default)
• "nvenc" - NVIDIA GPU encoding
• "qsv" - Intel Quick Sync Video
• "cpu" - Software encoding (libx264)

Native fallback settings:

• native_width/height/fps/bitrate - Used when go2rtc is not available
• Lower resolution recommended for software encoding performance

PTZ Controls

The camera includes digital PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) support:

# Access PTZ through ONVIF or directly
camera.ptz.continuous_move(pan_speed=0.5, tilt_speed=0.0, zoom_speed=0.0)
camera.ptz.stop()
camera.ptz.goto_preset(preset_token="preset1")

PTZ presets are stored in ptz_presets.json.

Performance Tips

1. Use hardware acceleration: Enable NVENC (NVIDIA) or QSV (Intel) for best performance
2. Match resolutions: Set camera input to match streaming resolution to avoid resize overhead
3. Adjust FPS: Most webcams are limited to 30fps
4. Disable PTZ: Set camera to home position (0,0,0) to skip PTZ transforms

Architecture

ipycam/
├── __init__.py       # Package exports
├── __main__.py       # CLI entry point
├── camera.py         # Main IPCamera class
├── config.py         # CameraConfig dataclass
├── streamer.py       # Video encoding and streaming pipeline
├── ptz.py            # Digital PTZ implementation
├── onvif.py          # ONVIF SOAP service
├── discovery.py      # WS-Discovery server
├── http.py           # HTTP request handler
└── static/           # Web UI and SOAP templates

Development

Running Tests

IPyCam includes a comprehensive test suite using pytest. To run the tests:

# Install dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run with verbose output
pytest -v

# Run with coverage report
pytest --cov=ipycam --cov-report=term-missing

# Run specific test file
pytest tests/test_config.py
pytest tests/test_ptz.py
pytest tests/test_mjpeg.py
pytest tests/test_onvif.py

The test suite covers:

• CameraConfig: Configuration serialization, URL generation, hardware acceleration settings
• PTZController: Positioning, presets, hardware handler callbacks, frame transforms
• MJPEGStreamer: Client management, frame streaming, statistics
• ONVIFService: SOAP response generation, PTZ command parsing, device info

Troubleshooting

Camera freezes after a few frames

• With go2rtc: Check FFmpeg is installed and in PATH, verify go2rtc.exe is running
• Native mode: Install PyAV (pip install av) for RTSP or aiortc for WebRTC
• Check hardware encoder availability (go2rtc only)

Low FPS performance

• Recommended: Use go2rtc with hardware acceleration
• Native mode: Reduce native_width, native_height, and native_fps in config
• Check CPU/GPU usage
• Ensure webcam supports requested FPS

ONVIF discovery not working

• Check firewall allows UDP port 3702
• Verify local network allows multicast
• Use ONVIF Device Manager to test

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Credits

• Built with Python, NumPy, and OpenCV
• Uses go2rtc for RTSP streaming
• ONVIF protocol implementation based on WS-Discovery specs