Turn Any Qt App into a Web App Using WebRTC & GStreamer

Adding a secondary screen to your Qt-based product is often expensive and complex. What if you could turn your users' smartphones, tablets, or laptops into an interface for your application instead?

In this video, Christoph Sterz demonstrates how to extend your existing Qt application with WebRTC streaming, allowing it to be accessed from any device with a modern web browser. This solution functions like a high-performance live stream, but with a critical advantage: full bidirectional interaction.

Using GStreamer, we handle video capture and encoding directly on the GPU, ensuring efficiency while maintaining low latency. We also utilize a specialized backchannel to send touch, keyboard, and mouse inputs from the browser back to your app, meaning users can operate your software remotely.

This video covers:

• High-Performance Streaming: Why we use GStreamer to keep video processing on the GPU.
• Full Interactivity: How to implement the WebRTC backchannel for remote control.
• Implementation Guide: A walkthrough of the code and the streaming pipeline.
• Real-World Use Cases: From headless industrial IoT devices to remote maintenance and offsite quality assurance.

Chapters:

0:00 - Introduction

0:28 - Architecture & GStreamer

1:21 - WebRTC Streaming

1:45 - Interactive Backchannel

2:34 - Main Function Walkthrough

3:02 - The GStreamer Pipeline

4:32 - Scenario 1: Headless Devices

5:28 - Scenario 2: Factory Maintenance

6:00 - Scenario 3: Offsite Monitoring

6:30 - Scenario 4: Remote Support

6:51 - Scenario 5: Multi-Device Grid

7:27 - Security Considerations

7:38 - Conclusion

Links:

• GitHub code
• All "Embedded with Qt" videos