Another Newbie In The House

L

Looksee

n3wb
Aug 20, 2025
3
6
United States
Hello, techno-voyeurs!

I bought Wyze OGs last October to get my feet wet with regard to security cams. Learned about RTSP, ONVIF and Wyze’s lack of same. Switched to Tapo C120s to play around with. Haven’t had much time to do this for months and am trying to get back to this now.

Thank you for having me. I am here to learn.
 
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Welcome!

Once you are tired of the quality you will see from the consumer cams like in this thread:

The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.

Then start looking at threads like these that are used as the go to for the new person here outlining the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value/best bang for the buck in terms of price and performance day and night. It might be a 2MP camera in some instances. Many here feel 4MP is the current sweet spot for these cameras.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

And coupled with that thread is this great thread which will show why all of the same 2.8 or 3.6mm cameras is the wrong choice (these are the common focal lengths consumer brands sell):

i-want-2-8mm-cameras-everywhere-to-see-everything-this-is-why-you-need-specific-fovs-with-purposeful-focal-lengths.70053/

We would encourage you to look at those threads in detail.

It will probably raise more questions than answers LOL
 
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Welcome to IPCT! :wave:

I have a couple of Tapo C-110's streaming via RSTP to Blue Iris, watching some dogs. They can also stream to VLC and other media players via RTSP. Nice, cheap camera to learn the do's and don't, in's and out's, terminology and if needed, some basic networking....an essential component to safe and secure deployment of IP cameras and iOT devices on your LAN.

Enjoy, read and learn.....as you do it'll get even more fun and if you're like most of us, more expensive!
 
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Thanks, guys. I will definitely read those threads. I did read the focal length one when I found it.

Yes, the cheapie cams, 1 Wyze OG and 4 C120s that I bought were intended to be toys to play with and to see if there would be a "what next". "What next" came with a cheap DVR with the same experimental reasoning behind the purchase.

I have problems with connectivity with the C120. It is hit and miss with wifi, mostly miss. It also has poor image quality whether set for 1080 or 2K. I'm going to force myself to make time to take both of the C120s that I have opened and take them outside to finally check their image quality without the glass in the window they have sat behind. The Wyze OG sits right next to the active C120, shares the same view and has operated flawlessly, putting the C120 to shame. This is really only a concern because I need to decide whether or not to contact Tapo because the 1 year warranty will end in October. Being frustrated with the C120s performance and how to keep the cameras and recording going during a power failure have led me to start leaning towards a hard wired solution.

Since joining the forum, I have been learning bits and pieces and I decided to take the plunge and move up to my first POE camera. Maybe next year I'll install it. ;)
 
Also, please bear with the forum difficulties these days. We are unable to post attachments/images, and often receive database errors when browsing the forums. Several of us members are currently attempting to raise some attention to these issues.
 
Looksee said:
I have problems with connectivity with the C120. It is hit and miss with wifi, mostly miss. It also has poor image quality whether set for 1080 or 2K. I'm going to force myself to make time to take both of the C120s that I have opened and take them outside to finally check their image quality without the glass in the window they have sat behind.
Click to expand...
That's too bad, I have had great success streaming to Blue Iris or VLC the 2 C-110's that I have that are also 2K and Wi-Fi....image is great and they are rock-steady for hours on end with an occasional blip for 15 seconds a couple of times daily. It's OK with me, they are looking at dogs. :cool:

That said, the 3 Wi-Fi pet-sitting cams (two Tapo C-110's and one Amcrest !P2M-841 V2) that I use have their own dedicated wireless AP, no other traffic goes thru the AP except the 3 cams.

Which makes me ask:
  1. How are you viewing your cams when you get the "poor image quality"?
  2. Are you using the mainstream URL of
    Code: 
    rtsp:/IP Address/stream1
    ?
Of course, there's 2 "/" after "rtsp:" as forum software won't display 2 consecutively here.
 
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That is an excellent question. I normally use the Tapo and Wyze apps to receive event notifications and then to view through them. This is where I have more issues with connecting with the C120 and trying to access event videos. However, the image is soft when viewed through the app, the nvr or VLC (still to be diagnosed).

The 2 C120s that I have tried have the same issues. When I have tested them through VLC on my laptop I had no problems connecting or viewing the stream. Please be aware that there is no substance yet behind my comments about performance. They are based only on my subjective day in and day out experience with them. I haven't completed a fully functioning setup yet. I need to make more time to work on this is all.
 
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