RTMFP uses the User Datagram Protocol, (UDP) to send video and audio data over the Internet, so needs to handle missing, dropped, or out of order packets.
For example, when a laptop on a wireless network is plugged into a wired connection and receives a new address.
UDP‐based protocols have some specific advantages over TCP‐based protocols when delivering live streaming media, such as decreased latency and overhead, and greater tolerance for dropped or missing packets, at the cost of decreased reliability.
Unlike RTMP, RTMFP also supports sending data directly from one Adobe Flash Player to another, without going through a server.
RTMFP's underlying protocols are the result of Adobe's acquisition of Amicima in 2006; strong architectural similarities exist between RTMFP and Amicima's GPL-licensed Secure Media Flow Protocol (MFP).