Do Trail Cameras w/RTSP exist?

[xfx503]

Hi, first post here.

I've been using BlueIris for several years now with disparate camera brands coexisting within.
But now I need a Trail Camera with Real-Time Streaming Protocol and can't seem to find any.

Can anyone recommend any Trail Camera brands w/RTSP?

Thanks

[PaulDaisy]

I have not seen any, and battery life and network bandwidth required for real time streaming immediately look prohibitive for a streaming trail camera. If it is a cell camera, it will need a solar panel and a decent size battery, and a cell plan, and probably be in a 5G service area to work decently. There are cell connected trail cameras but those provide static image lookup, and rightly so.

If you are looking to install one in a back yard where there is WiFi, the options open up immediately.

[xfx503]

Good points - Thanks
Yes, I intend to use it in the yard with home WIFI but still need RTSP to view it in the Blue Iris App (with other cameras).

[PaulDaisy]

In that case, you have hundreds of options. It doesn't have to be a "trail camera", a quick search for "wifi outdoor camera" will keep you busy for days. Most of those will have RTSP and can be made to work with BI.

I personally use two Wyze cameras, and they have been working fine with BI for over two years. I am not too thrilled with them, as they like to call home, and when I firewall those off, they can't be configured to a specific NTP server and will not update the time and will not change the DST. I would also steer clear of Reolinks: those are notoriously fussy in BI. Some people spent weeks making those work and succeeded, but why go through that when you can buy another brand for the same price and it will just work.

A quick search brought up a TP-Link 𝗧𝗮𝗽𝗼 SolarCam C402, and there is a thread here that says those are easy to set up: https://blueirissoftware.com/phpbb3/vie ... php?t=3888 . I am actually thinking to try one in my own back yard to watch the foxes, as I presently have an IP camera with a 200 ft cable strung across the lawn there. and I know that it is only a matter of time before rabbits and squirrels chew through it

>>>> EDIT <<<<

I take it back. Straight from the TP-Link website (https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2680/):

Important Notes:
1. Battery cameras and doorbells (such as Tapo C410/C420/C425/D230) do not support RTSP streaming due to battery and electronic design limitations.

So, you will have to do more research to see which WiFi cams support RTSP. Wyze definitely does, but you'd have to come up with your own power solution. The ones I have use USB power adapters plugged into the house power.

[xfx503]

I specified the "Trail" camera because I want to look back at the full house from a distant tree with trail camo and within the house WiFi range. This will need battery and/or solar power. A requirement that may ultimately defeat my goal as you mentioned.

I'm also a happy Wyze camera user (somewhat), but have only found the early Wyse 2.0 cam cubes support RTSP (after a firmware update). I've asked Wyze support several times if the newer (or any) cams have RTSP - The answer is always "no". Do you know different?

My RTSP doorbell camera is Amcrest, BTW.

Otherwise, we've got cats, raccoons, coyotes, possums, and deer vying for dominance over here.

Thanks for the detailed info!
The quest/research continues.

[PaulDaisy]

My Wyze are Gen. 2 as well. The special firmware for RTSP turned me off after I got them to work, because I thought that Wyze will discontinue it, given how reluctant they were implementing it.

You may wish to consider something like Tapo WiFi (C120 is what I am playing with now). Camo? Spray paint. Power? Garden mower battery + solar maintainer from Amazon, in a box. Total cost, $100. They even have a magnetic base to stick onto anything magnetic.

I have to admit that I almost sent them back after the first C120 showed me blurry areas in the image. It was blurry both on BI and in their own app. But I tried another one and it is sharp, so I think it may be a bad unit, or maybe a lens focused too close. Their simplicity (bordering on primitivism) makes them an attractive "add-a-camera-in-a-minute-right-here" substitute for a proper camera.

[Pogo]

WyzeCam V3s support RTSP in several ways, the easiest of which is their RTSP BETA firmware made available publicly several years ago. I've used it successfully since its release. Just flash it and go. The main limitation is still the powering..., provided a clean and robust wi-fi network is available.

A cleaner and more independent method is the wz_mini_hack which turns a V3 into a whole different camera complete with POE capability via the USB port which eliminates both the power and wifi issues..., all without touching the OEM firmware as everything is booted from the microSD card. It's also the only Windows friendly hack for WyzeCams out there. But you hafta want to do it because it can be done, not necessarily because it makes sense. LOL (You couldn't give me V2s due to the horrible night time peformance alone.)

But at this point, a careful look at a POE solution for the requirements involved would be the way to go from every logical consideration. CAT5 is cheap with partials for sale everywhere. Lay it on the ground for the winter and bury it in the spring. The camera options become infinite (and instant) at that point.

Keep it simple. Everything is more reliable that way..., and usually more economical.

[xfx503]

@PaulDaisy:
I'll look into Tapo. B
Not looking forward to painting my own camo.
Trail cameras just come with all that + straps, etc. included. Thanks.

@Pogo:
Wyze V3 is RTSP capable?! Same as the V2 flash or different?
POE is something I never considered - Thanks!

[Pogo]

@Pogo:
Wyze V3 is RTSP capable?! Same as the V2 flash or different?
POE is something I never considered - Thanks!

The V3 RTSP implementation is a better version than the V2. And yes, just flash it as you would a normal manual upgrade (as I recall).

RTSP is an additional option at the bottom of the Advanced pane and needs to be enabled. An arrow to the basic config parameters provides the login credential and stream profile stuff. User/pass is what you used for the camera's wi-fi credentials. The stream profile provided is what would be used in other streaming media such as VLC, etc. Only the default main stream profile of "/live" (no quotes) is required for Blue Iris as everything else is already estblished in the BI config.

For BI: Use Generic/ONVIF for Make, *RTSP/H.264/H.265/MJPEG/MPEG4 for Model, 80, 8000, 8999, for Discovery/ONVIF port, /live for the Main stream profile, save the config without using Find/Inspect and you should be good to go. (And keep in mind, there is nothing ONVIF about the WyzeCams so the port selection will basically be incidental.)

As for the camo thing, there are many ways to disguise a camera in the wild. Get creative. Hide it in a birdhouse or create a blind to hide it..., any number of things that would be less conspicuous than plastic camo srtapped to a tree! LOL

Check your inbox for both the RTSP firmware and a regular rollback version if you don't already have one handy. And depending on which version is currently in the camera, you may need to flash back to the earlier stock version to then flash the RTSP version. BTW, the RTSP firmware will NOT auto-update to the latest regular version and screw things up.

If nothing else, just being able to pull a smooth real time stream from your WyzeCams is worth the hassle. I run both wired and wi-fi versions of the RTSP firmware and it works fine.

Good luck!

[xfx503]

Thank you sir.
Inbox drop is much appreciated.
What is the model number of the Wyze V3 camera you're using for the V3 RTSP flash?