I’d like to review some of the information around how RTSP might work with the Wyze cameras.
If you have three cameras and you are using the Wyze app, you typically manage them by viewing them one at a time within the application, like this:
Each camera acts as a little web server, and serves up content via your router through the cloud. The live streams are provided via the app. The 12 second video clips are uploaded to the Amazon Web Services (AWS). You also have local storage on any MicroSD cards you’ve installed.
If these three hypothetical cameras have RTSP enabled, it gives a lot more flexibility. I’ll describe what I mean in this diagram:
The little web server that each camera has can now be accessed as a local web page within your network. You should be able to manage some basic settings this way - IR filter, night mode, status lights, that sort of thing - but nothing fancy.
You can expose your multiple camera feeds to video surveillance software (also known as a Digital Video Recorder DVR) or Network Video Recorder (NVR). There are lots of options here (for example, I use Netcam Studio), but the key point is that all the NVR software generally offers these features:
- View multiple sources at the same time
- Motion detection with zones
- Audio detection with thresholds
- Recording to local hard drive / cloud accounts
- Scheduled recording | Constant Recording | Record On Event
- PTZ controls
- Time lapse
- Recording Library
- Secure remote access to all of these features
Most of the NVR software supports up to 64 video sources.
The whole point of requesting RTSP support for the WyzeCams is that they would be simple and easy to add as a video source to existing NVR software. This would provide options for people who wanted more flexibility. It doesn’t matter what your focus is, it will provide you the ability to do what you want with a little research and effort.
Want to have more control over your detection zones? Easy. Want to set up timelapse? Straight to your hard drive. Need more control over where your video feed goes? Secure your camera IP addresses to be internal only. Want license plate detection capabilities? Just pick the right software.
I appreciate that Wyze Labs are still working on the RTSP implementation. I wanted to bring some clarity to this discussion to confirm why RTSP is important. I am aware that there are solutions to expose the video feeds to other sources, and I understand a lot of time and effort has gone into that. However, my focus in on the hopeful implementation of a separate RTSP firmware, and the reasons why this would be useful.
(Edit: Added a little cloud in my second picture)