How to view Tapo camera on PC/NAS/NVR through RTSP/Onvif Protocol

Configuration Guide
Updated 03-06-2024 11:38:11 AM 1749441
This Article Applies to: 

The Tapo camera supports the RTSP and Onvif protocol, so it can work with third-party NVR or NAS devices that also support the RTSP/Onvif protocol. If a user wants to view the live stream of the camera with a third-party app like VLC Player, iSpy, here is the method for him.

Notes:

1. The username/password is the camera account that you created via the Tapo app. If you haven’t created the username and password, please follow the instruction of Step 1 in this article.

2. The IP address is the camera’s IP address assigned by your host router. You can find it on your host router’s DHCP list or in the Tapo app (Go to the Device Settings page of the camera and tap Device Info to see its IP).

3. If you want to view the live stream of the Tapo camera with a third-party app remotely, you will need to open port 554 for the camera on your host router first. Please enable the TCP forwarding for port 554.

4. You could use ONVIF standards to add the Tapo camera with its username/password and IP address. Please see the example of iSpy in Case 2 to know how to use onvif protocal to control the camera.

5. For Tapo C310, the resolution of the stream1 is determined by the video quality set on the Tapo APP.

If you need to watch the 3MP HD Video via RTSP, please change the video quality to Best Quality on the Tapo APP and use: rtsp://IP Address/stream1

6. If the Camera is inserted microSD card and subscribed Tapo Care, its RTSP stream will fail. You need to remove microSD card or cancel Tapo Care to get its RTSP stream.

7. If you find that there’s no or very little sound when using RTSP/Onvif to watch live stream, please adjust the camera microphone on Tapo APP.

Apart from the Tapo app, Tapo cameras can work with other third-party software to use and manage your Tapo camera.

Note: Before you start, make sure the computer/NAS/NVR and your camera are connecting to the same network or can visit the public IP and port of your camera.

Step 1: Create a camera account in the Tapo app

1. On the Home page, tap on your camera model card to go to the camera Live View page (or you can click on Cameras tab>tap Manage on your camera model to go to the Live View page).

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2. On the Live View page, tap the icon at the top right corner to enter the Device Settings page.

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3. Tap Advanced Settings, then select Camera Account to create an account (username and password) for camera login on other portals.

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You will see a prompt like below (About Camera Account), please read it and tap Understand and Agree to Use, then you can create an account for the camera.

Note: The username and password should contain 6 to 32 characters.

https://static.tp-link.com/upload/faq/image-20230913144754-52_20230913064756t.pnghttps://static.tp-link.com/upload/faq/image-20230913144754-53_20230913064756u.png

Step 2: Add your Tapo camera on iSpy (Example of Onvif protocol connection)

1. Run the iSpy software on your computer.

2. Click Add on the top left menu and select ONVIF Camera.

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3. Enter the Username and Password that you set for your camera on the pop-up window, select Network Address, and click Next. You can customize other parameters if needed.

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4. Choose the video resolution and click OK.

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5. Customize the camera settings as needed, including Microphone, Talk, Motion Detection, Alerts, Recording, Images, Scheduling, and Storage. You can also change all the settings later. Click Finish to complete adding your camera to iSpy.

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6. After adding your Tapo camera to iSpy, you can monitor and manage it using the app. View the live, customize motion detection, check the recordings when motion detected, set recording schedules, record videos and more.

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Step 3: Watch your Tapo camera on VLC (Example of RTSP protocol connection)

  1. Open the VLC software, select Media > Open Network Stream
  2. Fill in the URL of the Tapo camera

The URL of the RTSP live stream for the Tapo cameras will be:

For high quality stream1: rtsp://IP Address/stream1

For low quality stream2: rtsp:// IP Address/stream2

In some software, the URL need to add the port to access live stream, the default port is 554:

For high quality stream1: rtsp://IP Address:554/stream1

For low quality stream2: rtsp:// IP Address:554/stream2

If you fail to stream the Tapo camera via the RTSP/ONVIF protocol, you may refer to the article for the troubleshooting:

https://community.tp-link.com/en/smart-home/forum/topic/652710

To get to know more details of each function and configuration, please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.

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