Put a Reolink camera live on your website

Your camera already speaks RTSP. OctoStream turns that into a player you can paste into Squarespace, WordPress, or Wix. About ten minutes if RTSP is already on. No YouTube account, no Raspberry Pi.

Put this camera on my site — Create stream → Starter.

What you need

A Reolink camera or NVR that supports RTSP (most plug-in PoE and Wi-Fi models do)
The camera's username and password (special characters in the password will break the URL — change it first)
Either a way for OctoStream to reach the camera (port 554), or a computer on the same network to push the stream (no port forwarding)

Step 1 — Turn RTSP on

RTSP is off by default on a lot of Reolink hardware.

On a standalone camera: Network → Advanced → Server / Port Settings → enable RTSP.

On an NVR or Home Hub: enable RTSP on the NVR/Hub, not on the camera. Use the NVR/Hub IP in the URL.

Default RTSP port is 554. Leave it unless you already changed it.

Step 2 — Copy the URL

One camera, plugged into power (RLC, CX, Duo 2/3, PoE/Wi-Fi doorbell):

rtsp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@CAMERA_IP:554/Preview_01_main

Sub stream (use this if the picture is 4K, upload is tight, or the main stream fails):

rtsp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@CAMERA_IP:554/Preview_01_sub

NVR or Home Hub (RLN, B800 kits, battery doorbell on a Hub):

rtsp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@NVR_IP:554/Preview_01_main

Change 01 to 02, 03… for the channel. Channel numbers in the URL are 1-based. If you look up channels via Reolink's CGI they come back 0-based — add one.

If that 404s on an older 4K camera (RLC-810A, RLC-820A, Duo 2), try the legacy path:

rtsp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@IP:554/h265Preview_01_main
rtsp://USERNAME:PASSWORD@IP:554/h264Preview_01_sub

Step 3 — Get it to OctoStream

If the camera has a public address (you already forward 554, or it's on a VPS/VPN):

Create a stream in OctoStream
Paste the RTSP URL
Open the watch page. When it plays, copy the embed code from the dashboard
Set allowed domains before you drop it on a public site

If the camera is only on your LAN (this is most hotels, jobsites, and churches): do not open port 554 to the internet. Create the stream as Push from OBS or Encoder, copy the RTMP publish URL, and stream from a PC on the same network as the camera. Full no-port-forward path: Don't open port 554.

Step 4 — Paste the player on your site

Embed starts on Starter ($9.99/mo). The free plan is a watch link only.

<iframe
  width="100%"
  style="aspect-ratio: 16 / 9;"
  src="YOUR_WATCH_PAGE_URL"
  frameborder="0"
  allow="autoplay; encrypted-media"
  allowfullscreen>
</iframe>

Use the embed code from the dashboard, not a hand-built iframe, so domain-lock and your logo apply.

Will my model work?

Hardware	24/7 on a website?	URL
RLC-511 / 511W, RLC-410, RLC-520A	Yes	`Preview_01_main` on the camera IP
CX410 / CX810	Yes	Same
RLC-810A / 820A / other 4K	Yes	Try `Preview_01_main`, then `h265Preview_01_main`. Prefer `_sub` if it flakes
Duo 2 / Duo 3 PoE or Wi-Fi	Yes	Same as a single camera, channel `01`. Enable RTSP, it ships off
Doorbell PoE / Wi-Fi	Yes	Camera IP, `Preview_01_main`
Doorbell Battery, Argus, Altas	Not 24/7	Only through a Home Hub, and each RTSP session dies at ~5 minutes
B800 / D800 / no-UID kit cams	Only through the NVR	NVR IP + channel. The camera's own IP has no RTSP
4G / LTE (Go, Duo 2 LTE, TrackMix LTE)	No	Reolink does not offer RTSP on LTE

Common failures

White player / "can't connect": RTSP is still off, or OctoStream cannot reach the IP. If the URL only works on your laptop, it is a LAN URL. Use the push path instead of opening 554.
ERR_UNKNOWN_URL_SCHEME: you put rtsp:// in an HTML <video> tag. Browsers cannot play RTSP. That's the whole product.
4K plays for a second then dies: main stream is H.265. Switch to _sub, or drop the camera's clear-stream codec.
Password with @, #, /: the URL parser splits on those. Change the password.
Battery cam that "worked in VLC": VLC on the LAN is not a website. Hub RTSP sleeps after five minutes. Don't sell this as a beach cam.

Why not YouTube

YouTube is what the Reolink forum will tell you to do. It's free, and it puts a resort cam next to ads, related videos, and a YouTube homepage on delay. OctoStream is the camera on your domain, with a password link for the owner and a schedule for "back on air Monday 7am."