RTP Control Protocol

The RTP Control Protocol (RTCP) is a binary-encoded out-of-band signaling protocol that functions alongside the Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP). Its basic functionality and packet structure is defined in RFC 3550. RTCP provides statistics and control information for an RTP session. It partners with RTP in the delivery and packaging of multimedia data but does not transport any media data itself.

The primary function of RTCP is to provide feedback on the quality of service (QoS) in media distribution by periodically sending statistics information such as transmitted octet and packet counts, packet loss, packet delay variation, and round-trip delay time to participants in a streaming multimedia session. An application may use this information to control quality of service parameters, perhaps by limiting flow, or using a different codec.