| name | rhombus-edge-streaming |
| description | Implement edge streaming and third-party camera integration with Rhombus — RTSP bridging via edgecaster, ONVIF camera ingestion via rhombus-libonvif, custom analytics seekpoint generation, and embedded player usage. Use whenever the user mentions RTSP, ONVIF, "edge ingest", "secure raw streams", "seekpoint", "third-party camera", "non-Rhombus camera", "NVR integration", "edgecaster", "Jetson", "roboflow", or asks to stream video out of or into the Rhombus platform via a non-standard path. Also trigger for questions about the Player-example repo and lightweight web camera embeds. |
| argument-hint | [rtsp|onvif|seekpoint|player] [question] |
Rhombus Edge Streaming
Rhombus supports four edge-streaming scenarios beyond the standard in-platform camera experience. This skill covers the right tool and repo for each.
1. RTSP bridging — edgecaster-stream-converter
Scenario: You have a non-Rhombus camera that speaks RTSP and want its feed visible inside the Rhombus platform, or you want a Rhombus camera's feed available as RTSP for a third-party NVR.
Tool: edgecaster-stream-converter — Python-based edge gateway that bridges RTSP ↔ Rhombus Secure Raw Streams.
Repo: https://github.com/RhombusSystems/edgecaster-stream-converter
Architecture:
[Third-party camera] --RTSP--> [edgecaster gateway] --Secure Raw Stream--> [Rhombus platform]
OR
[Rhombus camera] <--RTSP-- [edgecaster gateway] <--Secure Raw Stream-- [Rhombus platform]
When to recommend: The user has cameras that can't be replaced, or needs to integrate a legacy NVR that only speaks RTSP.
Alternative first: Check if the user's camera is ONVIF-compliant. If yes, rhombus-libonvif may be simpler than edgecaster. See section 2.
2. ONVIF ingestion — rhombus-libonvif
Scenario: You want to pull video from an ONVIF camera using Rhombus's ML pipeline (YOLOX object detection) without routing through edgecaster.
Tool: rhombus-libonvif — C++ library for ONVIF discovery and streaming, combined with YOLOX for on-device inference. LGPL 2.1.
Repo: https://github.com/RhombusSystems/rhombus-libonvif
When to recommend: Edge-AI use cases where the user is doing analytics locally (on a NUC, Jetson, or similar) rather than in the cloud.
Companion repo: rhombus-jetson-roboflow for NVIDIA Jetson + Roboflow integration — preferred starting point if the user is specifically on Jetson hardware.
3. Custom analytics — seekpoint generator
Scenario: You have a third-party AI model (object detection, LPR, pose estimation) producing events, and want those events to appear as seekpoints/markers on the Rhombus video timeline.
Tool: rhombus-seekpoint-generator-example — Python reference for posting custom events to the Event Webservice.
Repo: https://github.com/RhombusSystems/rhombus-seekpoint-generator-example
Architecture:
[Your model] --detections--> [seekpoint generator] --POST /event/createEvent--> [Rhombus timeline]
When to recommend: The user has their own AI model (e.g., PPE detection, forklift safety, queue counting) and wants its output first-class in the Rhombus UI.
Key endpoints: Event Webservice — createEvent, createSeekpoint, and the Search Webservice for retrieval.
4. Lightweight embedded player
Scenario: You want to embed a Rhombus camera feed in a third-party web app without using the iframe share-stream approach.
Tool: Player-example — minimal HTML + DashJS player.
Repo: https://github.com/RhombusSystems/player-example
Architecture:
[Browser] --federated session token--> [Your server] --API key--> [Rhombus /camera/getMediaUris]
[Browser] --MPEG-DASH via DashJS--> [media.rhombussystems.com]
Why not iframe: Iframe share-stream (createSharedLiveVideoStream) is simpler but has less control over UX. Use Player-example when you need custom overlays, multi-camera grids, or integration with third-party identity.
Never: embed API keys in browser code. Always use federated session tokens with a server-side proxy.
Decision tree
Non-Rhombus camera needs to be IN Rhombus?
→ Is it ONVIF? → rhombus-libonvif (or rhombus-jetson-roboflow on Jetson)
→ RTSP only? → edgecaster-stream-converter
Rhombus camera needs to be OUT of Rhombus?
→ Need RTSP? → edgecaster-stream-converter (reverse direction)
→ Need MPEG-DASH in a browser? → player-example + federated session tokens
Custom AI events on Rhombus timeline?
→ rhombus-seekpoint-generator-example + Event Webservice
Reference sheet
See references/rtsp-onvif.md for:
- edgecaster install + config walkthrough
- ONVIF discovery gotchas (multicast, firewall, auth)
- Seekpoint payload shape
- Player-example server-side token proxy snippet
