Even GET_PARAMETER is hardly good, as it is not mandatory to implement either, but it is a defined way to ping (which SET_PARAMETER ain't).
In any case, the only proper way to ping a stream is RTCP feedback.
When it comes to the control session, better check OPTIONS Allow: header for GET_PARAMETER.
I really wonder how live555 can be so low-level though - smells like we are trying to be too intelligent here.
/* Check if we need to send the server a Keep-A-Live signal */
if( p_sys->b_timeout_call && p_sys->rtsp && p_sys->ms )
{
- p_sys->rtsp->setMediaSessionParameter( *p_sys->ms, "vlc" , "1" );
+ char *psz_bye = NULL;
+ p_sys->rtsp->getMediaSessionParameter( *p_sys->ms, NULL, psz_bye );
p_sys->b_timeout_call = VLC_FALSE;
}