Blue Iris Camera Compatibility.

[talisman2208]

Hello -

I'm trying to replace my 6x Amcrest Indoor Cameras, with something smaller, and with a wider FOV. I purchased two sets of smaller cameras and neither works. I really like this pair I purchased but can't seem to get them to work - what do I need to look for in order to determine if a camera is compatible with BI?

Since I (think) I have to send these back, does anyone have a reccommendation for a small similar wide FOV indoor cam with NV?

 

[wittaj]

Most of the cheap stuff is cloud based. You need to find a camera that is ONVIF compliant.

 

[TonyR]

Consider one of the TP-LINK Tapo's. I'll let you do the legwork to discover FOV, etc. But I did find where at least 9 models are ONVIF and can stream RTSP as here, so very likely they'll work with Blue Iris ==> How to view Tapo camera on PC through RTSP stream?

There's the C110 and the C210.



EDIT 11/23 @ 1426 CST: I just ordered one of the C110's as above to replace an ailing indoor Foscam at a tanning salon, they use Blue Iris.

 

[Flintstone61]

Owltron...a classic name.

 

[talisman2208]

Oh god that sounds like a pain in the ass running Ispy and all that. I do not want to run through RTSP

Consider one of the TP-LINK Tapo's. I'll let you do the legwork to discover FOV, etc. But I did find where at least 9 models are ONVIF and can stream RTSP as here, so very likely they'll work with Blue Iris ==> How to view Tapo camera on PC through RTSP stream?

There's the C110 and the C210.

View attachment 146433

EDIT 11/23 @ 1426 CST: I just ordered one of the C110's as above to replace an ailing indoor Foscam at a tanning salon, they use Blue Iris.

 

[TonyR]

Oh god that sounds like a pain in the ass running Ispy and all that. I do not want to run through RTSP

I think that's only if your want to run it with iSpy.
And FWIW, RTSP is THE way to stream video to BI.
In any event, I'll have one in a week to try with BI, so I'll let you know the outcome.

 

[TonyR]

Oh god that sounds like a pain in the ass running Ispy and all that. I do not want to run through RTSP

OK, I got a TP-LINK Tapo C110 last week and have it streaming RTSP to Blue Iris 5 and also VLC. Not bad looking for a $25 wireless only, little cam with 2-way audio and selectable 720p/1080p/2K resolution.

As I stated in post 6, no iSpy needed. Here's how:

How to stream RSTP from TP-LINK Tapo C110 camera to Blue Iris or VLC

1. Install the Tapo app on your phone, open it and power up the Tapo cam. Refer to the included instructions if needed.
2. Configure your phone to locate and log onto the Wi-Fi SSID being broadcast by the Tapo, no password needed.
3. When logged into cam's broadcast, follow prompts in the app to get the cam logged onto your location's Wi-Fi.
4. Once the cam is on your location's Wi-Fi, change your phone back to your location's Wi-Fi as well.
5. When ready, in the app select the "+" sign to "Add Your Device".
6. Select "Cameras" on the left, then select "Tapo C110". Do NOT select the C100.
7. Go to the "Home" screen and click on the icon for the cam.
8. When the cam's live view comes up, you can then proceed to the next step.

Create a camera account in the Tapo app

1. On the home page, tap on your camera model card or tap "Camera Preview" => "Manage" to go to the "Live View" page.
2. On the "Live View" page, tap the gear icon to enter the "Camera Settings" page.
3. Tap "Advanced Settings", then select "Camera Account" to create an account (username and password) for camera login for use with Blue Iris and/or VLC.

Find the cam's LAN IP address

1. Log into your router's webGUI and look up in the LAN settings under DHCP the devices that are online. Look for a device named "c110_" and then the last 6 digits of the cam's MAC address which can be found on the bottom of the cam's stand. It will be similar to "c110_54b7f4".
2. Note or write down that device's IP address.
3. While still in that router's webGUI for the LAN DHCP settings, reserve that IP that was assigned by the router's DHCP server to the cam. That will be the IP address you use in Blue Iris or VLC.

To view in Blue Iris

1. Create a new camera, refer to the image below for the following steps.
2. Go to "Camera settings" => "Video" tab => "configure"
3. Type in camera's IP address, username and password (sub your correct info for my info, it's the user/pass you created above in step 3 in the Tapo app's "Camera Account").
4. For "Make" select "Generic/ONVIF"
5. For "Model" select "*RTSP/H.264/H.265/MJPG/MPEG4"
6. Enter "/stream1" in the "Main" stream profile and "/stream2" in the "Sub" stream profile.
7. Click on "OK".

You may have to remove power from the cam, count to 10 then re-apply power for it to incorporate the changes to its stream and account settings. If all info is correct, camera should be displayed.



To view in VLC

1. Open VLC.
2. Go to "Media" => "Open Network Stream" => "Network" tab.
3. Type in one of the following URL's and click on "Play".

For main stream, use the following URL:

rtsp:/username:password@Camera-IP/stream1

For sub stream, use the following URL:

rtsp:/username:password@Camera-IP/stream2

NOTE: Be sure to put 2 "/" after "rtsp:", as forum won't display 2 consecutively here.

REMINDER: The Tapo C110 streams to TP-LINK's cloud and back down to be streamed to your phone, Blue Iris or VLC so your phone's cellular data and/or your location's Wi-Fi data rates can apply. I mention this cloud also because there can be concerns about security and/or reliability with a P2P/cloud operation.

EDITED 6/14/23 @ 0743 CT: Let me correct my previous statement that the Tapo C-110 has to stream to the cloud. That is not correct, I missed a step. Once you set the cam up with the Tapo app, go to that camera's "Settings" (the gear icon at upper right) => "Advanced Settings" => "Device Account". Create a username for the cam and a password and save it, then enter those EXACT credentials into Blue Iris for that cam.

I now have a $25 indoor, 1080p/2K wireless cam, with a mic (speaker AND mic works in the Tapo app for 2-way talk) , SD card storage and IR that streams RTSPwith audio to Blue Iris, no cloud or P2P involved. The 9VDC USB wall power supply is UL-listed as well. I can see this little guy in my garage's utility closet, staring at the status LEDs on my fiber modem or watching the status LEDs on my water heater...both non-critical roles but very convenient, IMO....for $25!

EDITED 10/12/24 @ 0530 CDT: A new firmware update allows you to configure the Tapo with a static IP instead of only DHCP. More info here.

 

[rfj]

Thanks for the detailed settings. As for your reminder, when you record to BI does the stream indeed first go to the TP-Link cloud and then back to your network? In your BI setting you have a local IP so I was assuming it gets the stream directly from the camera. If that is not the case, then I guess they camera wouldn't work if you block it from the internet. I was hoping for a camera where BI can directly get a high-quality stream for recording and maybe a lower quality stream when accessing over the internet via the provided app.

 

[TonyR]

Thanks for the detailed settings. As for your reminder, when you record to BI does the stream indeed first go to the TP-Link cloud and then back to your network? In your BI setting you have a local IP so I was assuming it gets the stream directly from the camera. If that is not the case, then I guess they camera wouldn't work if you block it from the internet. I was hoping for a camera where BI can directly get a high-quality stream for recording and maybe a lower quality stream when accessing over the internet via the provided app.

Sorry, just saw this, not sure why I didn't see it before.
Yes, the RTSP stream goes to the cloud then back down to BI via your network as noted in the last sentence of my post #7 above...to test, I unplugged my fiber modem from the router and 'bang'...no more stream, the Tapo cam and BI were still on my LAN. Plugged back in, stream resumed.

EDITED 6/14/23 @ 0735 CT: Let me correct my previous statement that the Tapo C-110 has to stream to the cloud. That is not correct, I missed a step. Once you set the cam up with the Tapo app, go to that camera's "Settings" (the gear icon at upper right) => "Advanced Settings" => "Device Account". Create a username for the cam and a password and save it, then enter those EXACT credentials into Blue Iris for that cam.

I now have a $25 indoor, 1080p/2K wireless cam, with a mic (speaker AND mic works in the Tapo app for 2-way talk) , SD card storage and IR that streams RTSPwith audio to Blue Iris, no cloud or P2P involved. The 9VDC wall power supply is UL-listed as well. I can see this little guy in my garage's utility closet, staring at the status LEDs on my fiber modem or watching the status LEDs on my water heater...both non-critical roles but very convenient, IMO....for $25!

 

[rfj]

Sorry, just saw this, not sure why I didn't see it before.
Yes, the RTSP stream goes to the cloud then back down to BI via your network as noted in the last sentence of my post #7 above...to test, I unplugged my fiber modem from the router and 'bang'...no more stream, the Tapo cam and BI were still on my LAN. Plugged back in, stream resumed.

Interesting. I have to check if my cameras do that (Q-See, WansView and the first Amcrest 841 I received today).

 

[TonyR]

Interesting. I have to check if my cameras do that (Q-See, WansView and the first Amcrest 841 I received today).

A tell-tale sign of cloud/P2P operation is either scanning a QR code or putting in a UID / serial number in an app or creating an account with a username/password then having the app 'discover' the device.

My three Amcrest IP2M-841's stream directly to Blue Iris.

 

[CCTVCam]

Why not the faithfull old Dahua Cube or it's clone? Might not looks as fancy but does the job.

 

[TonyR]

Why not the faithfull old Dahua Cube or it's clone? Might not looks as fancy but does the job.

So do the Amcrest IP2M-841's.
I think the OP wanted something small and cheap like the second link in his first post, a combo not hard to find but also having Blue Iris compatibility makes it very difficult.
Add 'no cloud' usage and it's practically impossible.

 

[wepee]

OK, I got a TP-LINK Tapo C110 last week and have it streaming RTSP to Blue Iris 5 and also VLC. Not bad looking for a $25 wireless only, cloud-based little cam with 2-way audio and selectable 720p/1080p/2K resolution.

As I stated in post 6, no iSpy needed. Here's how:

How to stream RSTP from TP-LINK Tapo C110 cloud camera to Blue Iris or VLC

1. Install the Tapo app on your phone, open it and power up the Tapo cam. Refer to the included instructions if needed.
2. Configure your phone to locate and log onto the Wi-Fi SSID being broadcast by the Tapo, no password needed.
3. When logged into cam's broadcast, follow prompts in the app to get the cam logged onto your location's Wi-Fi.
4. Once the cam is on your location's Wi-Fi, change your phone back to your location's Wi-Fi as well.
5. When ready, in the app select the "+" sign to "Add Your Device".
6. Select "Cameras" on the left, then select "Tapo C110". Do NOT select the C100.
7. Go to the "Home" screen and click on the icon for the cam.
8. When the cam's live view comes up, you can then proceed to the next step.

Create a camera account in the Tapo app

1. On the home page, tap on your camera model card or tap "Camera Preview" => "Manage" to go to the "Live View" page.
2. On the "Live View" page, tap the gear icon to enter the "Camera Settings" page.
3. Tap "Advanced Settings", then select "Camera Account" to create an account (username and password) for camera login for use with Blue Iris and/or VLC.

Find the cam's LAN IP address

1. Log into your router's webGUI and look up in the LAN settings under DHCP the devices that are online. Look for a device named "c110_" and then the last 6 digits of the cam's MAC address which can be found on the bottom of the cam's stand. It will be similar to "c110_54b7f4".
2. Note or write down that device's IP address.
3. While still in that router's webGUI for the LAN DHCP settings, reserve that IP that was assigned by the router's DHCP server to the cam. That will be the IP address you use in Blue Iris or VLC.

To view in Blue Iris

1. Create a new camera, refer to the image below for the following steps.
2. Go to "Camera settings" => "Video" tab => "configure"
3. Type in camera's IP address, username and password (sub your correct info for my info, it's the user/pass you created above in step 3 in the Tapo app's "Camera Account").
4. For "Make" select "Generic/ONVIF"
5. For "Model" select "*RTSP/H.264/H.265/MJPG/MPEG4"
6. Enter "/stream1" in the "Main" stream profile and "/stream2" in the "Sub" stream profile.
7. Click on "OK".

You may have to remove power from the cam, count to 10 then re-apply power for it to incorporate the changes to its stream and account settings. If all info is correct, camera should be displayed.

View attachment 147831

To view in VLC

1. Open VLC.
2. Go to "Media" => "Open Network Stream" => "Network" tab.
3. Type in one of the following URL's and click on "Play".

For main stream, use the following URL:

rtsp:/username:password@Camera-IP/stream1

For sub stream, use the following URL:

rtsp:/username:password@Camera-IP/stream2

NOTE: Be sure to put 2 "/" after "rtsp:", as forum won't display 2 consecutively here.

REMINDER: The Tapo C110 streams to TP-LINK's cloud and back down to be streamed to your phone, Blue Iris or VLC so your phone's cellular data and/or your location's Wi-Fi data rates can apply. I mention this cloud also because there can be concerns about security and/or reliability with a P2P/cloud operation.

Questions:
First of all, thank you for sharing your findings.

However, do you mind sharing your experience on camera on the following areas of concern:

1) I worry about the wifi connection at 2.4GHz channel. As you know, this channel is widely used and very crowded.
Everyone in your neighborhood uses this channel at their homes, So, there is no doubt, there will be many wifi
interference, which will disrupt the video streaming, and when it does, does the camera suffer intermittent dropouts?

2) Is the camera's two-way audio communication fully compatible with Blue Iris & Blue Iris App.

Thank you.

 

[TonyR]

1) I worry about the wifi connection at 2.4GHz channel. As you know, this channel is widely used and very crowded.
Everyone in your neighborhood uses this channel at their homes, So, there is no doubt, there will be many wifi
interference, which will disrupt the video streaming, and when it does, does the camera suffer intermittent dropouts?

I live in a sparsely populated, rural area so there's little ambient Wi-Fi. But I do have three 2.4/5GHz AP's in my house, all set to different channels. One is dedicated to 3 each 2.4GHz pet cams which periodically may drop signal for 15 to 30 seconds, 2 or 3 times a day.

2) Is the camera's two-way audio communication fully compatible with Blue Iris & Blue Iris App.

Yes. When configured as stated, I can hear/talk with the cam on the BI app of my iPhone and I can hear camera audio for it's mic on the BI console and UI3.

 

[wepee]

One is dedicated to 3 each 2.4GHz pet cams which periodically may drop signal for 15 to 30 seconds, 2 or 3 times a day.

Hmmm....that is strange, since you are living in the rural area, are there distant houses which
cause your wireless streaming to drop out. 2.4GHz frequency can travel far. Maybe someone is using
2.4GHz CPE on a tall mast or something.

What kind of AP are you using with the latest 802.11AX?

Thanks.

 

[wepee]

Yes. When configured as stated, I can hear/talk with the cam on the BI app of my iPhone and I can hear camera audio for it's mic on the BI console and UI3.

That is good news to me.
However, without a RJ45 network socket on the camera, this does not appeal to me.
If it does have one, I can hook up to an AX client bridge running on a 5 GHz channel.
just to avoid the wifi interference at my home.

 

[TonyR]

What kind of AP are you using with the latest 802.11AX?.

It's a spare Asus RT-N66U configured as an AP, is 802.11n spec. It serves 3 pet cams which are of low priority to me.

 

[looney2ns]

Another alternative.
Review-Dahua IPC-K42A 4mp Indoor Cube cam 2.8mm | IP Cam Talk

 

[wepee]

Another alternative.
Review-Dahua IPC-K42A 4mp Indoor Cube cam 2.8mm | IP Cam Talk

Thanks for the recommendation, but I think this model is already EOL.
I cannot find it locally.