GitHub - YashasVM/OpenStream: Turn any Android phone into a wireless camera source for OBS Studio. · GitHub
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Turn any Android phone into a wireless camera source for OBS Studio

Status Platform OBS Website

Open-source | Low-latency | Hardware-accelerated | Local Wi-Fi


Important

OpenStream V2 is a beta release. It is ready for local Wi-Fi camera workflows, but device-specific camera behavior and network quality can still vary. Please report bugs in GitHub Issues.

Quick Downloads

Step Download Install on
1 openstream-android.apk Android phone
2 openstream-obs-plugin-installer-windows-x64.exe Windows OBS PC
Fallback openstream-obs-windows-x64.zip Manual OBS plugin install

Need the non-technical walkthrough with screenshots? Start with docs/set-up.md.


What is OpenStream?

OpenStream sends your Android phone camera directly into OBS Studio over local Wi-Fi. It uses Camera2, MediaCodec video/audio encoding, MPEG-TS muxing, SRT transport, two-way LAN discovery, source-slot pairing, and a native OBS source plugin.

Phone camera -> HEVC/H.264 + AAC -> SRT over Wi-Fi -> OpenStream camera slot in OBS

What Changed in V2

Area V2 improvement
OBS setup The source properties now follow a Camera Slot -> Live Camera Controls -> Network & Pairing flow.
Upgrade safety Existing OpenStream V7 scene sources keep loading while new sources appear as OpenStream V8.
Pairing clarity OBS and Android both describe slots as production camera positions instead of raw listener ports.
Release polish Version defaults, release notes, and setup docs are aligned around the V2 beta release.

Quick Start

1. Install the Android App

Download the APK from the release, copy it to your Android phone, open it, and allow the install prompt. Grant camera and microphone permissions on first launch.

2. Install the OBS Plugin

Download and run openstream-obs-plugin-installer-windows-x64.exe on the Windows PC that has OBS Studio installed. Restart OBS after the installer finishes.

Note

If you prefer manual installation, download openstream-obs-windows-x64.zip, extract it, and run install-openstream-plugin.bat as administrator.

3. Add Camera Slots in OBS

In OBS, click + in Sources, choose OpenStream V8, keep the camera slot enabled, and press OK. Each source gets a slot such as CAM A or CAM B, so multi-phone setups can stay organized.

4. Pair the Phone

Open the OpenStream Android app on the same Wi-Fi network as the PC. Tap an available OBS camera slot from the phone, or choose a discovered phone from the OBS source properties. The camera feed should appear in OBS within a few seconds.

5. Stream

Use OBS as usual. Phone audio appears as a separate OBS mixer channel, camera controls live under 2. Live Camera Controls, and the selected phone is held for quick reconnects if Wi-Fi drops briefly.

Tip

Use a 5 GHz or Wi-Fi 6 network, keep both devices on the same subnet, and disable VPNs or router client isolation during first setup.


Compatibility & Limits

Area Current support
Phone OS Android 10+ with Camera2 and hardware MediaCodec support.
OBS host Windows x64 with OBS Studio and FFmpeg SRT support.
Network Same LAN/subnet; guest Wi-Fi, VPNs, and client isolation can block discovery.
Release maturity Beta. Expect device-specific camera quirks and Wi-Fi-dependent latency.

Features

Android App

Feature Details
Full HD Streaming Streams a 1080p camera feed at up to 60 fps over SRT.
Hardware Encoding Uses MediaCodec HEVC/H.265 with H.264 fallback.
Audio Streaming Sends microphone audio with the video stream as AAC.
Multi-Lens Switching Supports rear, ultrawide, telephoto, and front cameras when available.
Pinch-to-Zoom Smooth digital zoom with a live zoom indicator.
Screen-Off Streaming Mode Dims the phone to a black overlay while keeping capture and streaming active.
Torch and Screen Controls Keeps the phone awake and can toggle torch while streaming.
OBS Slot Picker Shows available OBS camera slots on the phone and blocks busy slots from accidental reuse.
Auto-Discovery Finds OpenStream OBS listeners on the same LAN and advertises the phone back to OBS.
Manual Connect Supports manual IP and port entry when discovery is blocked.
Live Stream Telemetry Shows frames, keyframes, transferred megabits, errors, and active lens while streaming.
Identify Overlay Displays a large slot label on the phone when triggered from OBS.
Reconnect Hold Keeps a reserved OBS slot for 45 seconds after a disconnect to make brief Wi-Fi drops less disruptive.

OBS Plugin

Feature Details
Native OBS Source Adds an OpenStream V8 source type inside OBS Studio while preserving V7 scene compatibility.
One-Click Installer Windows installer copies the plugin into the OBS plugin folder.
Camera Slots Gives each source a stable slot label such as CAM A, CAM B, or a custom slot name.
Phone Discovery Lists discovered Android phones, includes a refresh action, and can let the phone choose the OBS slot.
Auto-Connect Listens for the Android app and connects without typing IP addresses.
Deep-Link Pairing URL Exposes an openstream://connect pairing URL with slot, port, latency, and source identity.
Separate Audio Mixer Phone microphone audio gets its own OBS mixer channel.
Remote Controls Adjust zoom, torch, rear/front camera, and the phone slot label overlay from source properties.
Reconnect Handling Reserves and releases phones per source so streams recover into the same OBS slot.

UX Flow

Moment Experience
First launch The phone opens directly to the camera preview, requests camera/microphone permissions, and waits for OBS.
OBS setup Add one OpenStream V8 source per camera angle, then name slots for the production layout.
Pairing The phone lists available OBS slots; OBS can also select a discovered phone or show a pairing URL.
Going live A LIVE badge, zoom chip, stream stats, and status text make the active connection visible at a glance.
Multi-camera work Busy and reserved slots prevent two phones from fighting over the same source.
On-set checks Use Show Slot Label on Phone in OBS to flash the slot label on the physical phone.
Battery and heat Use DISPLAY for a black screen-off overlay or STAY to keep the phone awake.

Architecture

Android phone
  Camera2 preview/capture
  MediaCodec HEVC/H.264 video
  MediaCodec AAC audio
  MPEG-TS muxer
  libsrt sender
        |
        | SRT media stream on port 9000
        v
Windows PC
  OBS Studio
  OpenStream native source plugin
  FFmpeg SRT receive/decode
  OBS video frame + audio mixer output

Discovery uses UDP port 51515. Camera remote controls use the phone HTTP control server on port 9001.

Transport Defaults

Parameter Default Notes
Resolution 1920x1080 Full HD capture target
Frame rate 60 fps 30-60 fps depending on device support
Video codec HEVC/H.265 H.264 fallback
Bitrate 20 Mbps Tuned for local Wi-Fi
SRT latency 120 ms 80-200 ms useful range
Discovery port 51515/udp LAN discovery beacon
SRT port 9000 Media stream
Control port 9001/http Remote zoom, torch, lens

Building

Android App

Development build:

cd android
$env:JAVA_HOME = 'C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr'
.\gradlew.bat :app:assembleDebug

Debug APK output:

android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

Note

Normal APK builds link bundled libsrt static libraries for real network streaming. Use -Popenstream.nonStreamingCiBuild=true only for intentional source-compile checks.

Signed release build:

$env:OPENSTREAM_RELEASE_KEYSTORE = "$PWD\openstream-release.keystore"
$env:OPENSTREAM_RELEASE_STORE_PASSWORD = "<store-password>"
$env:OPENSTREAM_RELEASE_KEY_ALIAS = "<key-alias>"
$env:OPENSTREAM_RELEASE_KEY_PASSWORD = "<key-password>"
.\gradlew.bat :app:assembleRelease

OBS Plugin

The easiest local build path on Windows is the included script:

.\build_plugin.bat

To package without installing:

$env:OPENSTREAM_SKIP_INSTALL = "1"
$env:OPENSTREAM_PLUGIN_PACKAGE_DIR = "$PWD\artifacts"
.\build_plugin.bat

The package output is artifacts/openstream-obs-windows-x64.zip.


Release Notes

GitHub Actions publishes:

Asset Purpose
openstream-android.apk Signed Android app install package
openstream-obs-plugin-installer-windows-x64.exe Recommended Windows OBS plugin installer
openstream-obs-windows-x64.zip Manual OBS plugin package

See docs/release.md for release tagging and validation.


Developer Smoke Test

Validate SRT transport without OBS:

python tools/openstream_receiver.py --port 9000 --latency-ms 120 --ffplay

This is a developer/debug tool only. Normal users should install the OBS plugin.


Roadmap

  • Camera2 hardware-accelerated capture
  • HEVC/H.265 and H.264 encoding with MediaCodec
  • SRT transport with MPEG-TS muxing
  • Native OBS source plugin with FFmpeg decode
  • LAN auto-discovery
  • Audio streaming into the OBS mixer
  • Remote camera controls from OBS
  • Windows plugin installer
  • Adaptive bitrate based on network conditions
  • QR pairing for restricted networks
  • GPU zero-copy receive path
  • macOS/Linux OBS plugin packages

Links

Link URL
Website OpenStream.pages.dev
Releases github.com/YashasVM/OpenStream/releases
Issues github.com/YashasVM/OpenStream/issues

Made by @YashasVM

Turn your phone into a pro OBS camera source. No cables required.