Hey, thanks for the thorough review and a quick overview on how to set these up with HA. This is actually what I needed to build my HA from scratch again.. I had a sweet setup running on Raspberry Pi, but lost it after my SD card corrupted, and haven't really had the mojo to set it up again. Anyway, I consider the tapo cameras excellent value for money despite the fact that certain features can only be unlocked through TP-Link's own cloud subscription. The image quality and easy setup alone make these worthwhile, even with the basic feature set. I bought 6 of them just for the fact that they can stream a good quality image very well for what they cost. The fact that they can be integrated into HA, even if not natively, is a huge plus. Thanks again for walking through the setup, and for giving your honest overall opinion.
Thanks for watching. If you've lost an SD card from a pi, I'd recommend looking into booting from USB and using a USB-SATA connector and a SATA SSD in a caddy. SD Cards aren't really good with constant writes to the card. Another alternative is moving the data recorder off to a mySQL Database that's not hosted on the Pi.
Great review, thanks! Is this camera still useful if you have a burglar coming in and disconnecting it? Is the motion detection notification your only remaining piece of data then (including the screenshot)?
If you've got an SD Card in the camera it'll record to the SD card, so long as the burglar doesn't steal the whole camera you'll get something. There's no Battery backup though, so it's not going to continue recording.
"Great" and "Battery Operated Security Camera" are mutually exclusive terms. They simply don't exist. In my opinion. That said, Arlo cameras seem to be decent, however there's some security/privacy concerns. Ring cameras have the same problem. There ARE some TP-Link Tapo Battery operated cameras such as the C425: amzn.to/4eovU30 (Affiliate Link) but they are always a compromise, and you'll need to be very careful about monitoring your battery levels to ensure they don't drop too low. There is a Solar panel accessory you can add to top up the battery which would probably be worthwhile if mounting outdoors. Come to think of it, I might get one of these C425's in to test out and see if I can pull the Battery data into Home Assistant to then setup an automation to "Warn" me to charge the battery.
Great review, thanks for that. Just one question, can it sustain a few hours of live feed? I don't really need a recording just a camera that is capable of a few hours of real time feed.
Can't say I've tried several hours but it's been rock-solid for me to login to on demand. I think the only limiting factor with a "several hours" live feed might be your internet connection.
I think if you subscribe to the TP-Link Cloud service there's an allowance for recording without an SD Card. Can't be certain though. If you want something without a subscription, you'd need to implement your own NVR system using something like Shinobi or MotionEye.
It seems like - at least at the moment - the motion sensor isn't properly exposed to Home Assistant. There's a checkbox to "Use Motion Sensor" in the setup, but I couldn't find any entity or attribute for it. I might keep poking at it to see if I can get any different results
Okay, that's weird... a Motion Sensor just came up for it... took a while after checking the box to be available. So yes, theoretically you SHOULD be able to use the Motion entity to trigger Automations, just be aware that it may take a while for the Motion Sensor to become available in Home Assistant.
@@HiveMindAutomation Ver 200 has more hardware versions that result in some differences at the software/firmware level. A little bit annoying, but what can we do. I purchased the 200 version twice and I got different things.
I'm not aware of anything currently that provides that service. I honestly haven't looked at cameras for a while. I'm pretty heavily invested in the Ubiquiti UniFi Protect Ecosystem
question : When i open another app(s), recording stops on tapo i have to click record again. is this normal or am i missing something? Does it mean tapo window should remain open until it is recording? can anyone answer
Interesting. I assume this would only be for manual recordings, not for event triggered recordings. That said I mostly use mine to spy on the cat when I'm out of the house.
The motion sensors are based on pixel differentials, so it WILL pick up motion through glass. By G sensor I assume you mean vibration sensor, and no, it doesn't seem to have one.
I don't pay for the cloud service and can still view the camera when I'm not at home. I've not gone through any special setup to pass through the ports or anything, which is actually cause for alarm.... I really should do a security scan of my network.
Hey, thanks for the thorough review and a quick overview on how to set these up with HA. This is actually what I needed to build my HA from scratch again.. I had a sweet setup running on Raspberry Pi, but lost it after my SD card corrupted, and haven't really had the mojo to set it up again.
Anyway, I consider the tapo cameras excellent value for money despite the fact that certain features can only be unlocked through TP-Link's own cloud subscription. The image quality and easy setup alone make these worthwhile, even with the basic feature set. I bought 6 of them just for the fact that they can stream a good quality image very well for what they cost. The fact that they can be integrated into HA, even if not natively, is a huge plus. Thanks again for walking through the setup, and for giving your honest overall opinion.
Thanks for watching. If you've lost an SD card from a pi, I'd recommend looking into booting from USB and using a USB-SATA connector and a SATA SSD in a caddy. SD Cards aren't really good with constant writes to the card. Another alternative is moving the data recorder off to a mySQL Database that's not hosted on the Pi.
@@HiveMindAutomation Thanks for the pointers - indeed, looks like I need to take the SSD route or just set up a dedicated PC as a HA server.
Great review, thanks! Is this camera still useful if you have a burglar coming in and disconnecting it? Is the motion detection notification your only remaining piece of data then (including the screenshot)?
If you've got an SD Card in the camera it'll record to the SD card, so long as the burglar doesn't steal the whole camera you'll get something.
There's no Battery backup though, so it's not going to continue recording.
@@HiveMindAutomation- they predators are turning off the WI-FI connection therefore no recording to prove the pilfering!
Can you recommend a great battery operated secure camera(s)?
"Great" and "Battery Operated Security Camera" are mutually exclusive terms. They simply don't exist.
In my opinion.
That said, Arlo cameras seem to be decent, however there's some security/privacy concerns.
Ring cameras have the same problem.
There ARE some TP-Link Tapo Battery operated cameras such as the C425:
amzn.to/4eovU30 (Affiliate Link)
but they are always a compromise, and you'll need to be very careful about monitoring your battery levels to ensure they don't drop too low.
There is a Solar panel accessory you can add to top up the battery which would probably be worthwhile if mounting outdoors.
Come to think of it, I might get one of these C425's in to test out and see if I can pull the Battery data into Home Assistant to then setup an automation to "Warn" me to charge the battery.
Does it connect back to the wifi network automatically once the power goes and comes ?
Yes. it will automatically re-join Wi-Fi
Great review, thanks for that. Just one question, can it sustain a few hours of live feed? I don't really need a recording just a camera that is capable of a few hours of real time feed.
Can't say I've tried several hours but it's been rock-solid for me to login to on demand. I think the only limiting factor with a "several hours" live feed might be your internet connection.
Hi, is it possible to use this for 24/7 recording via cloud storage without an SD card and view playback?
I think if you subscribe to the TP-Link Cloud service there's an allowance for recording without an SD Card. Can't be certain though.
If you want something without a subscription, you'd need to implement your own NVR system using something like Shinobi or MotionEye.
Hi, I try to connect the device to wifi but it doesn’t show tapo cam to select. How
Maybe try resetting the device? There should be a button next to the SD Card Slot.
How is the audio quality ?
Not great but passable
is it possible to turn on smart devices/lights when the sensor catches motion?
It seems like - at least at the moment - the motion sensor isn't properly exposed to Home Assistant. There's a checkbox to "Use Motion Sensor" in the setup, but I couldn't find any entity or attribute for it. I might keep poking at it to see if I can get any different results
Okay, that's weird... a Motion Sensor just came up for it... took a while after checking the box to be available. So yes, theoretically you SHOULD be able to use the Motion entity to trigger Automations, just be aware that it may take a while for the Motion Sensor to become available in Home Assistant.
I have a couple of tp link cams, 200 and 210.
210 doesn't have distorsion correction as 200. Disappointing.
interesting, I'd have thought the 210 would have more features than the 200...
@@HiveMindAutomation Ver 200 has more hardware versions that result in some differences at the software/firmware level. A little bit annoying, but what can we do. I purchased the 200 version twice and I got different things.
Does this give you a picture preview in the notification, or does it just give you a message that it detected movement?
"Rich" Notifications require you to have a paid Cloud subscription account. (it's free for 30 days)
@HiveMindAutomation do you know of any other than Wyze or Eufy that provides rich notifications without a subscription?
I'm not aware of anything currently that provides that service. I honestly haven't looked at cameras for a while. I'm pretty heavily invested in the Ubiquiti UniFi Protect Ecosystem
The share device can do movement and audio calling???
I tested it and it seems it couldn't do movement, not sure about calling. Seems like a weird limitation.
question :
When i open another app(s), recording stops on tapo i have to click record again. is this normal or am i missing something? Does it mean tapo window should remain open until it is recording?
can anyone answer
Interesting. I assume this would only be for manual recordings, not for event triggered recordings. That said I mostly use mine to spy on the cat when I'm out of the house.
Great video nice channel
Thanks for Watching. Hope it helped.
Does this device have a g-sensor and will it pick up activity through glass?
The motion sensors are based on pixel differentials, so it WILL pick up motion through glass.
By G sensor I assume you mean vibration sensor, and no, it doesn't seem to have one.
@@HiveMindAutomation thank you
Why is mine asking for my bank account number and pin number? Weird!!
I'm assuming this is a joke, but there IS a Cloud subscription Service for the Tapo range which would probably ask for a credit card.
cannot view anywhere only within your house
This has not been my experience
I don't pay for the cloud service and can still view the camera when I'm not at home. I've not gone through any special setup to pass through the ports or anything, which is actually cause for alarm.... I really should do a security scan of my network.
nice.
Thanks for watching!