Video Streaming Infra

Problem

Managing CCTV cameras usually means proprietary NVR software with vendor lock-in, no API access, and limited remote viewing. We needed an open, web-based solution that:

• Ingests RTSP streams from any IP camera brand
• Converts to browser-playable HLS format
• Stores recordings on S3-compatible object storage
• Provides a clean admin dashboard for camera management

Solution

A modern video streaming infrastructure platform:

1. Camera CRUD: Add/remove/edit cameras via Ant Design admin panel
2. FFmpeg Pipeline: Worker process continuously transcodes RTSP → HLS segments
3. MinIO Storage: HLS .ts segments and .m3u8 playlists stored in S3-compatible MinIO
4. Live Preview: hls.js player embedded in browser for zero-plugin viewing
5. Recording Archive: Past recordings browsable by camera and date range

Architecture

IP Camera (RTSP) → FFmpeg Worker (transcode) → MinIO S3 (HLS segments)
                                                      ↓
Browser ← hls.js player ← HLS .m3u8 playlist ← MinIO presigned URL

Key Tech Decisions

FFmpeg as a Node.js child process

Rather than using a wrapper library, FFmpeg runs as a child process spawned by the Node.js worker. This gives full control over transcoding parameters (resolution, bitrate, segment duration) and proper process lifecycle management. The worker monitors FFmpeg health and auto-restarts on crash.

MinIO over AWS S3

Self-hosted MinIO provides S3-compatible API without egress costs for recording retrieval. Presigned URLs allow secure time-limited access to recordings without exposing bucket credentials to the browser.

HLS over WebRTC

Chose HLS for simplicity and CDN compatibility. WebRTC would require STUN/TURN servers and complex signaling. HLS works everywhere and the 5-10s latency is acceptable for surveillance use cases.

Metrics

Metric	Value
Streaming Protocol	RTSP → HLS
Storage Backend	MinIO S3
Browser Playback	hls.js (zero plugin)