If you have the time give WebRTC for the Curious[0] a read. I try and explain what WebRTC is and how it actually works. The big advantages that I see are.

* Can do P2P (and Client/Server)

* Mandatory Encryption

* Handles codec/track negotation. You don't need to know ahead of time what is being sent.

* Data channels. Can also be configured to be lossy/unordered for kind of performance needed for gaming.

* Uses existing protocols. Really easy to bridge with SIP/RTSP. This software/hardware goes all the way back to the late 90s

* Multiple implementations and available in the browser. No other protocol comes close in availability.

[0] https://webrtcforthecurious.com/docs/01-what-why-and-how/

WebRTC is generally for video conferencing as that requires real time communication.

Live streams or videos on the web are most commonly hls or dash protocols. Just mp4 file play while download also works.

Hls/dash are not built for lower latencies. They are built for easy CDN distribution and flexible switching between different resolutions and bitrates. Live streams generally are at least a few seconds behind.

People mostly do this for lower latency.

What other protocols do you know that offer low latency almost real time video and all that in the browser?

There is RTSP but that does not work in browsers.

My understanding: Most IP cameras only have an RTSP stream, which would need to be proxied expensively by some server if you want to view it over the internet or be exposed directly to the internet. WebRTC would allow the server to help negotiate a connection directly from client to camera, thereby bypassing having to host expensive proxy.

How is it better than what?