RTSPstä

RTSPstä, standing for Real-Time Streaming Protocol with Spatial-Temporal Augmentation, is a proposed extension to the Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) designed to improve coordination of multi-camera and immersive streaming deployments. It defines new negotiation surfaces and data channels that carry spatial layout information, synchronized timestamps, and enhanced transport parameters, while remaining compatible with the basic RTSP command set for backward compatibility in constrained environments.

Architecturally, RTSPstä retains the RTSP request/response model but introduces additional extensions: a spatial descriptor carried via an augmented Session Description Protocol (SDP) or a dedicated SDP-like media description; a multi-stream negotiation for synchronized delivery across cameras; and time-stamp and clock-distribution mechanisms to align playback across receivers. It uses the same RTP/RTCP transport as RTSP, augmented by optional payload types for spatial metadata and region-of-interest commands. Security considerations include mandatory TLS for control messages and optional SRTP for media streams, with access control integrated via standard authentication frameworks.

Status and usage: RTSPstä remains a draft specification in open standards repositories and has limited practical deployment. It is primarily discussed in research projects and pilot deployments aiming to enable coordinated multi-camera workflows, virtual reality streaming, and live event coverage. Interoperability relies on mutual support for the augmented SDP, extended verbs, and clock-sync semantics; interoperability gaps and increased negotiation complexity are common critiques. As a hypothetical or experimental standard, RTSPstä serves as a framework for evaluating spatial-temporal streaming requirements beyond traditional RTSP capabilities.